Census 2011: Detailed characteristics on Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion in Scotland – Release 3A

The statistics published today by the Registrar General for Scotland on the Scotland’s Census website provide further details from the 2011 Census in Scotland on Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion, from national to local level.

Key points

National identity by sex by age

• 62 per cent of the total population stated their identity was ‘Scottish only’. That proportion varied from 71 per cent for 10 to 14 year olds to 57 per cent for 30 to 34 year olds.
• The second most common response was ‘Scottish and British identities only’, at 18 per cent. This was highest in the 65 to 74 age group, at 25 per cent.
• ‘British identity only’ was chosen by 8 per cent of the population. The highest proportion stating this identity was the 50 to 64 age group (10 per cent).
• ‘Other identity only’ represented 4 per cent of the population. The proportion was highest in the 20 to 24 (11 per cent), 25 to 29 (13 per cent) and 30 to 34 (11 per cent) age groups.
  National identity and ethnic group
• 34 per cent of all minority ethnic groups felt they had some Scottish identity either on its own or in combination with another identity.
• The figure ranged from 60 per cent for people from a mixed background and 50 per cent for those from a Pakistani ethnic group, to 21 per cent for those from an African ethnic group. This compared to 83 per cent for all people in Scotland. 
• 62 per cent of the total population stated ‘Scottish identity only’ as their national identity, of which 98 per cent stated their ethnicity as ‘White: Scottish’.
• 18 per cent of the total population stated ‘Scottish and British identity only’ as their national identity, of which 97 per cent stated their ethnicity as ‘White: Scottish’.
• 8 per cent of the total population stated their national identity as ‘British identity only’. Of these,  49 per cent stated their ethnicity as ‘White: Scottish’, 38 per cent were ‘White: Other British’, and 8 per cent were ‘Asian’.
• 4 per cent of the total population stated their national identity as  ‘Other identity only’ (i.e. no UK identity), 32 per cent of those were ‘White: Other White’, 22 per cent were ‘Asian’ and 21 per cent were ‘White: Polish’.

National identity by religion

• For most national identities the most common answer to the religion question was ‘no religion’. However ‘Roman Catholic’ was the most common answer for ‘Other identity only’ (36 per cent), and ‘Church of Scotland’ (44 per cent) was the most common answer for ‘Scottish and British identities only’

   Country of birth by ethnic group

• 96 per cent of ‘White: Scottish’ respondents were born in Scotland, whilst 2 per cent were born in England. 
• 78 per cent of ‘White: Other British’ respondents were born in England, whilst 9 per cent were born in Scotland, 4 per cent in Northern Ireland and 3 per cent in Wales.

Ethnic group by religion

• Within the ‘White: Scottish’ ethnic group there was an even split of those stating ‘Church of Scotland’ religion and those stating ‘No religion’ (both 37 per cent), with ‘Roman Catholic’ next highest at 15 per cent.
• ‘No religion’ was the most common answer for those with ‘White: Other British’, ‘White: Other White’, ‘White: Gypsy/Traveller’, ‘Caribbean or Black’ and ‘Mixed or multiple ethnic groups’ ethnicities. ‘Roman Catholic’ was the most common response for ‘White: Irish’ and ‘White: Polish’, whilst ‘Muslim’ was most common for ‘Asian’ and ‘Other ethnic groups’, and ‘Other Christian’ was the most common response for the ‘African’ ethnic group.

Ethnic group by sex by age

• All minority ethnic groups in Scotland had a younger age profile than white UK groups.
• 29 per cent of ‘White: Scottish’ people were aged 16 to 39 compared to over 50 per cent of ‘White: Polish’, ‘Asian’, ‘African’ or ‘Other’ ethnic groups.
• This distribution of ethnic groups by age band was similar for males and females.

Religion by sex by age

• ‘No religion’ was the most common response for all age bands up to 45 to 49, whilst from age bands 50 to 54 upwards, ‘Church of Scotland’ was the most common answer, with the highest proportion in the 80 to 84 and 85 and over age bands (60 per cent).
• Males were more likely to state they had ‘No religion’ (39 per cent) than females (34 per cent)

Scots language by sex by age

• 55 to 74 year olds were the highest proportion of people with some skills in Scots, with 43 per cent stating they could do one or a combination of read, write, speak or understand Scots.

All the data contained in this release can be accessed on the Scotland’s Census website.