Request
Under Freedom of information legislation please provide me with the best estimates of the (a) the numbers of people by ethnicity, and (b) the current birth rates expressed as children per female for each group (c) the median age of each group
Response
a) Numbers of people by ethnicity
ONS produces experimental Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (PEEG) which provide estimates of the population in England and Wales by ethnic group. These use the ethnic group classification used in the 2001 Census in England and Wales. Latest 2009 estimates.
b) Current birth rates expressed as children per female for each group
ONS does not hold the birth rates you describe. However, ratios of the estimated number of children to the estimated number of females of each group can be calculated using Table EE4 in the estimates described above. Implied Total Fertility Rates for 2003 based on the first release of the PEEGs were published in a Population Trends article
(447.2 Kb Pdf)
.
c) Median age for each group
Estimated median ages by ethnic group derived from the results of the 2001 Census are shown in the PEEG methodology document.
Estimated median ages derived from the latest PEEGs are not held by ONS. Again, these can be approximated using the five-year age group data in Table EE4 in the estimates described above. ONS holds a file of single year of age estimates (from which Table EE4 is derived) which would allow a more accurate estimate of median age to be derived and will provide this if requested (the file is quite large (c. 18MB as a zipped Excel file)).
