White British

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"White British" was a racially-based classification used by the 2001 census. As a result of the census, 50,366,497 people (85.7% of the population) in the United Kingdom were classified as White British. In Scotland the classification was broken down into two different categories: "White Scottish" and "Other White British"^[1]. The classification did not appear in Northern Ireland where the comparable classification is described simply as "White".^[2] As such, a single "White British" choice only existed in the census in one of the three census areas of the United Kingdom, England and Wales. The two subcategories used in the census in Scotland are grouped within "White British" for the purposes of UK-wide statistical analysis.

25% of the total UK population or approximately 14 million of the white British claim Irish descent. The 2001 census included the category "White Irish" as an ethnic classification in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Non-British and non-Irish respondents in Great Britain could choose "White Other". Neither of these classifications appeared in Northern Ireland.

According to an August 2008 article in the Daily Mail, 64.4% of children born in England and Wales in 2005 were recorded as White British.^[3]

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Population

The White British census group have their ages more evenly distributed in their population pyramid and have the highest percent female population of all ethnic census categories. About 64% percent of the White British group are between the ages of 16 and 64 while about 19% percent are under 16 and 19% percent are over 64. All other census groups have a higher percentage of their population under 16 and a lower percentage over 64. Of those aged 65 or over, white British are 41% percent male and 59% percent female, making them have the lowest percent male population among all census groups defined as "ethnic" in the census.^[4]

As a general rule, people classified as White British make up the largest percentage of the population in rural areas, although there are a few large cities that are almost exclusively White British. London contains by far the lowest percentage of the White British category of all the UK regions, with White British making up less than half of the population in two of the 32 boroughs and some areas of others. The city with the lowest White British as a percentage is Leicester. Slough is also comparable to Leicester, whilst not being a major city. Outside London, the highest densities of non-white groups are found in Greater Birmingham, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, South Yorkshire, the larger cities of the East Midlands and satellite-towns of London, such as Luton. There are also significant numbers of non-white people in most major British cities, while the far northern, western and eastern rural fringes of the UK contain the largest percentage of White British classification anywhere in the UK.

[edit] Employment

White British have a lower self-employment rate and lower percent in managerial or professional occupations compared to all other ethnic census categories. Overall, White British are about 13% percent self-employed & amongst these the Irish are 16% percent self-employed. White British with 27% percent have a slightly lower percent of their population in managerial and professional positions compared to all other ethnic categories employed in the census. Among the White British, the Irish with about 35% have a greater percent of their population in managerial or professional positions.^[5]

White British are the most employed and economically active among all census categories.^{[citation needed]} White British have the lowest unemployment rate among all ethnic categories in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} The census group White British have unemployment rates of about 4% percent with less unemployment for women. Smaller White ethnic categories who marked "Other White" have a slightly higher unemployment rate.^[6] White British have the lowest rates of economic inactivity i.e. neither working nor looking for work.^{[citation needed]} White British have an economic inactiviy of 20% percent with higher rates for women. Among White British, the smaller White ethnic groups who marked "Other White" have a slightly higher economic inactiviy.^[7]

[edit] Religion

Statistically, people in the category White British are slightly more Christian than other ethnic categories. White British are 75% Christian, while the percentage for all ethnic categories combined is a little less than 75%. About 17% of the White British category reported having "no religion". The 17% percent figure for "no religion" is about the same for all ethnic categories. About 7% percent of the White British group declined to state any religion.^[8]

[edit] Households

People in the White British census category have an average household size smaller than comparable census groups, with an average of 2.3 people per household.^[9]

[edit] See also

• Demographics of England from the 2001 United Kingdom census
• Demographics of Scotland
• List of United Kingdom censuses
• Census 2001 Ethnic Codes
• National Statistics Socio-economic Classification

[edit] References