The small area ethnic group, national identity, language and religion census data is now live in Local Insight. You can start using and analysing this data for all your custom areas.
For guidance on using Census 2021 data in Local Insight please see “How to explore Census 2021 data in Local Insight”.
Summary of published data
Download the full list of indicators now available in Local Insight
We have added 68 indicators to Local Insight. This release includes small area data from the ethnic group, national identity, language and religion topic summary. Indicators for the following datasets can now be seen live in Local Insight:
- English language proficiency (5 indicators)
- Ethnic Group (25 indicators)
- Household language (4 indicators)
- Households with multiple ethnic groups (6 indicators)
- Households with multiple languages (4 indicators)
- National identity (16 indicators)
- Religion (8 indicators)
ONS also published detailed breakdowns of main language, national identity and religion datasets. These are currently not available in Local Insight as the data has not been published at Output Area (and will show very low numbers in many instances). However, we can add breakdowns that are useful to you upon request – please send these to support@ocsi.co.uk
Additional census religion data in Local Insight
The question about religion in the 2021 census was voluntary. Overall, 94.0% (56.0 million) of usual residents answered the question.
ONS percentages are calculated out of the overall population as opposed to out of the population who responded to the religion question. Because the census question about religious affiliation is voluntary and has varying response rates, caution is needed when comparing figures between different areas or between censuses (source ONS).
Alongside adding the official ONS figures to Local Insight, we have also included an additional indicator for each religion that uses only people who responded to the religion question as the denominator. These indicators are displayed as [Religion] (% of all respondents – Census 2021)
Below is an example how these distinct indicators display in Local Insight
- Jewish (% of all people – Census 2021)
- Jewish (% of all respondents – Census 2021)
These supplementary indicators that use respondents only as the denominator provide additional value as the response rates vary considerably across local areas. There are a multitude of possible driving factors behind non-response rates, which are not necessarily related to religious affiliation.
The ONS figures are the ones that will be in your default themes. However, should you want to use the alternative figures you can find these on the Dashboard or add them to the map using the manage indicators page.
Reports
We have updated 35 of the indicators in the Local Insight report. You will need to update your reports in order to see Census 2021 data here.
Data includes:
- Population by ethnic group (pg. 5)
- Population by household language(pg. 6)
- Population by religion (pg. 9)
