Ethnic group
Definition
Ethnic group classifies people according to their own perceived ethnic group and cultural background.
Classification
The Ethnicity question has 6 broad categories from which the user would select one and then pick a specific ethnicity within that category, or fill in the text box underneath whilst ticking the “other” box. Responses are assigned codes based on the ethnicity classification codes.
The categories in this classification may have been combined within the tables based on the ETHNICID_S hierarchy.
Source question or variables
15: What is your ethnic group?
Choose ONE selection from A to F, then tick ONE box which best describes your ethnic group of background.
A White
- Scottish
- Other British
- Irish
- Gypsy / Traveller
- Polish
- Other white ethnic group, please write in
B Mixed or multiple ethnic groups
- Any mixed or multiple ethnic groups, please write in
C Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British
- Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British
- Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British
- Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British
- Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British
- Other, please write in
D African
- African, African Scottish or African British
- Other, please write in
E Caribbean or Black
- Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British
- Black, Black Scottish or Black British
- Other, please write in
F Other ethnic group
- Arab, Arab Scottish or Arab British
- Other, please write in
Reason for asking
This information helps public bodies meet statutory obligations relating to race equality. It is also used for resource allocation and to develop and monitor policy on improving the life-chances for disadvantaged groups, including many ethnic minority groups.
The statistics provide a better understanding of communities and are used for the government-wide race equality and community cohesion strategy, which seeks to improve race equality outcomes in areas such as housing, education, health & Criminal Justice for all groups across society.
Additionally, the Ministry of Defence uses the information to provide a benchmark against which to measure ethnic minority recruitment and representation in the armed forces.
England and Wales (2011) and Scotland (2001) comparison
England and Wales (2011)
What is your ethnic group?
Choose ONE section from A to E, then tick ONE box to best describe your ethnic group or background.
A White
- English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British
- Irish
- Gypsy or Irish Traveller
- Any other White backgroundp, write in
B Mixed/multiple ethnic groups
- White and Black Caribbean
- White and Black African
- White and Asian
- Any other Mixes/multiple ethnic background, write in
C Asian/Asian British
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese,
- Any other Asian background, write in
D Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
- African
- Carribbean
- Any other Black/African/Caribbean background, write in
E Other ethnic group
- Arab
- Any other ethnic group, write in
Scotland (2001)
What is your ethnic group?
Choose ONE section from A to E, then the appropriate box to indicate your cultural background.
A White
- Scottish
- Other British
- Irish
- Any other White background, please write in
B Mixed
- Any mixed background, please write in
C Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese
- Any other Asian background, please write in
D Black, Black Scottish or Black British
- Caribbean
- African
- Any other Black background, please write in
E Other ethnic group
- Any other background, please write in
Changes to the question:
- Colour terms “White” and “Black” are retained, because testing showed that an ethnic classification based only on geography can cause confusion
- Under the “White” category, new tick boxes are provided for “English”, “Welsh”, “Northern Irish”, “British”, “Gypsy/Traveller” and “Polish”
- The “Mixed” category is re-termed “Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Groups”
- The “Black, Black Scottish or Black British” category is re-termed “African, Caribbean or Black”. A new tick box is added for “Black, Black Scottish or Black British” to give respondents the option to identify in this way if they wish. People who do not wish to identify as “Black” will not be required to do so and will be able to choose an “African, African Scottish or African British” or “Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British” tick box or to write-in their response
- Tick boxes under the “Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British” and “African, Caribbean or Black” category are re-worded to add references to “Scottish” and “British” e.g. “Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British”, “African, African Scottish or African British”
- A tick box is added in the “Other Ethnic Group” category for people who are “Arab”
Definition
This question records each person's perceived ethnic group and cultural background. Although the questions differ between the different parts of the UK, the same detailed codes are used across the UK to code the write-in responses. In standard output the most detailed classification used is 16 groups (England and Wales), 14 groups (Scotland) and 12 groups (Northern Ireland). The full list of categories will be available for commissioned output.
Classification
Total number of categories 126
Code | Name |
---|---|
Scotland (ETHGRPS) | |
01 | White Scottish |
02 | Other White British |
03 | White Irish |
04 | Other White |
05 | Mixed or multiple ethnic group |
06 | Indian |
07 | Pakistani |
08 | Bangladeshi |
09 | Other South Asian |
10 | Caribbean |
11 | African |
12 | Black Scottish or Other Black |
13 | Chinese |
14 | Other Ethnic Group |
England and Wales (ETHGRPEW) | |
01 | White British |
02 | White Irish |
03 | Other White |
04 | White and Black Caribbean |
05 | White and Black African |
06 | White and Asian |
07 | Other Mixed |
08 | Indian |
09 | Pakistani |
10 | Bangladeshi |
11 | Other Asian |
12 | Black Caribbean |
13 | Black African |
14 | Other Black |
15 | Chinese |
16 | Other Ethnic Group |
Northern Ireland (ETHGRPNI) | |
01 | White |
02 | Irish Traveller |
03 | Mixed |
04 | Indian |
05 | Pakistani |
06 | Bangladeshi |
07 | Black Caribbean |
08 | Black African |
09 | Other Black |
10 | Chinese |
11 | Other Ethnic Group |
12 | Other Asian |
Detailed categories (ETHNIC1) | |
01 | British, Mixed British |
02 | Irish |
03 | English |
04 | Scottish |
05 | Welsh |
06 | Cornish |
07 | Cypriot |
08 | Greek |
09 | Greek Cypriot |
10 | Turkish |
11 | Turkish Cypriot |
12 | Italian |
13 | Irish Traveller |
14 | Traveller |
15 | Gypsy/Romany |
16 | Polish |
17 | Commonwealth of (Russian) Independent States |
18 | Kosovan |
19 | Albanian |
20 | Baltic States (Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian) |
21 | White and Black Caribbean |
22 | White and Black African |
23 | White and Asian |
24 | Black and Asian |
25 | Black and Chinese |
26 | Black and White |
27 | Chinese and White |
28 | Asian and Chinese |
29, 52 - 56, 58, 67, 68, 80, 91 - 99 | Other Mixed, Mixed unspecified |
30 | Latin American |
31 | Bosnian |
32 | Croatian |
33 | Serbian |
34 | Other republics which made up the former Yugoslavia |
35 | South and Central American |
36 | Other Mixed White |
37 | Other White European, European Mixed |
38 | Northern Irish |
39 | Other White, White unspecified |
40 | Mixed: Irish and Other white |
41 | Indian or British Indian |
42 | Pakistani or British Pakistani |
43 | Bangladeshi or British Bangladeshi |
44 | Mixed Asian |
45 | Punjabi |
46 | Kashmiri |
47 | East African Asian |
48 | Sri Lankan |
49 | Tamil |
50 | Sinhalese |
51 | British Asian |
57 | Caribbean Asian |
59 | Other Asian, Asian unspecified |
60 | Ulster Scots |
61 | Caribbean |
62 | African |
63 | Somali |
64 | Mixed Black (Detail |
65 | Nigerian |
66 | Black British |
69 | Other Black, Black unspecified |
71 | Buddhist |
72 | Hindu |
73 | Jewish |
74 | Muslim |
75 | Sikh |
76 | Arab |
77 | Kurdish |
78 | Moroccan |
79 | Israeli |
81 | Chinese |
82 | North African |
83 | Other Middle Eastern (excluding Israeli, Iranian and 'Arab') |
84 | Vietnamese |
85 | Japanese |
86 | Filipino |
87 | Malaysian |
88 | Iranian |
89 | Any other group |
90 | Multi-ethnic islands: Mauritian, Seychellois, Maldivian, St Helena |