2011 Census: Non-UK born short-term residents in England and Wales

This story presents the picture in 2011 for non-UK born short-term residents in England and Wales using census data from that year; analyses of age, sex and economic activity are reported at national, regional and local levels.

• The 2011 Census recorded 195,000 non-UK born short-term residents (STRs) in England and Wales; this is 35 STRs per 10,000 usual residents. The ratio for London was more than twice the national level at 84 STRs per 10,000 usual residents

• Nearly 70 per cent (135,000) of STRs were aged 15 to 29; in the usual resident population, those aged 15 to 29 accounted for 20 per cent (11.2 million)

• India, China and the United States are the three most popular countries for both country of birth and passports held for STRs

• London (69,000) and the South East (28,000) together contained 50 per cent of the non-UK born short-term resident population in England and Wales, whereas these two regions accounted for 30 per cent of the usually resident population

• Full-time students accounted for over half (55 per cent) of all non-UK born STRs aged 16 and over in 2011.

This story summarises data on non-UK born short-term residents (STRs) from the 2011 Census for England and Wales, conducted on 27 March 2011. Data are derived from census releases 1.1 (16 July 2012), 1.2 (24 September 2012) and 2.4 (26 March 2013), consisting of univariate tables. The 2011 Census is the first census of England and Wales to produce outputs relating to short-term residents.

The United Nations (UN) provides a definition of short-term migrants rather than short-term residents. The UN definition of a short-term migrant is someone who changes their country of usual residence for between 3 and 12 months for the purpose of work or study. The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) short-term migration estimates are produced to this definition, and cover both UK-born and non-UK born short-term migrants. The national estimates also cover the broader group of short-term migrants who change their country of usual residence for 1 to 12 months for any reason. ONS measures short-term migration by identifying the actual time spent living in the UK from departing short-term migrants interviewed by the International Passenger Survey (IPS).

The ONS definition of a short-term resident differs from that of a short-term migrant. A ‘short-term resident’ (STR) was defined in the 2011 Census as anyone living in England and Wales who was born outside the UK and who intended to stay in the UK for a period of between 3 and 12 months, for any reason. These data represent the stock of non-UK born short-term residents at a particular point in time (those present on 27 March 2011), and are not estimates of short-term migration moves (measured by short-term migrant estimates produced by ONS). Estimates of short-term residents and migrants are used by central and local government to assess community needs and inform demands for public services such as education and health; they can also be useful to explain differences between ONS population estimates, which do not include short-term migrants, and various administrative sources which include both short and long-term migrants.

There were estimated¹ to be 195,000 STRs in England and Wales on 27 March 2011. This means there were 35 STRs per 10,000 usual residents². The 2011 Census estimated that the usually resident population was 56.1 million; this includes 7.5 million non-UK born usual residents. The non-UK born short-term residents are not included within this total figure. The latest available short-term migrant estimates³ for the year to mid-2010 estimated 214,000 short-term migrant visits to England and Wales; this is 19,000 more than the stock of short-term residents in the 2011 Census but will include some UK-born short-term migrants. Furthermore, most of the short-term migrants arriving in the year to mid-2010 would have left England and Wales by census day 2011. A reconciliation report will be published by ONS in May 2013 that addresses differences between the STR estimates and short-term migration estimates.

Notes

1. The same system of estimation was used for short-term residents as for usual residents. Hence the estimate includes those that are estimated to be present but who did not respond to the census. For further information on the estimation process see “Trout, Catfish and Roach: The beginner’s guide to census population estimates”

2. The usually resident population refers to people who live in the UK for 12 months or more, including those who have been resident for less than 12 months but intend to stay for a total period of 12 months or more. The population base for the 2011 Census was the usually resident population of England and Wales, defined as anyone who, on the night of 27 March 2011, was either (a) resident in England and Wales and who had been resident, or intended to be resident in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or (b) resident outside the UK but had a permanent England and Wales address and intended to be outside the UK for less than a year

3. This ONS report on reconciliation of 2011 Census estimates of STRs and estimates of short-term immigration to England and Wales is based upon the International Passenger Survey (IPS). IPS-based estimates will include UK-born people who reside in an overseas country and migrate to the UK for a short period (3 to 12 months); the census excludes this group of migrants from its estimates of short-term residents

The age distribution of STRs compared to the usually resident population¹ is shown in figure 1. Overall, the STR² population was relatively younger than the usually resident population: nearly 70 per cent (135,000)³ of STRs were aged 15 to 29; within that age range the majority (77,000) were aged 20 to 24 years, indicating that many may be in the UK for study purposes (see economic status section below). In the usually resident population, those aged 15 to 29 accounted for 20 per cent (11.2 million); of these 3.8 million were aged 20 to 24.

The STR population aged 65 and over accounted for 2.9 per cent (6,000) of all STRs, with 0.8 per cent aged 75 and over (2,000). By contrast, the resident population aged 65 and over accounted for 16 per cent (9.2 million) of the total resident population, with 7.8 per cent (4.4 million) aged 75 and over.

In the 2011 Census just over half of STRs were female (98,000), giving a sex ratio of 98 males per 100 females.

Figure 2 summarises the breakdown of STRs by sex and age. The age distributions of male and female STRs differ: females are more concentrated in ages 15 to 24, while males outnumber females at ages 25 to 44.

Notes for Age and sex of non-UK born short-term residents

1. The usually resident population refers to people who live in the UK for 12 months or more, including those who have been resident for less than 12 months but intend to stay for a total period of 12 months or more. The population base for the 2011 Census was the usually resident population of England and Wales, defined as anyone who, on the night of 27 March 2011, was either (a) resident in England and Wales and who had been resident, or intended to be resident in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or (b) resident outside the UK but had a permanent England and Wales address and intended to be outside the UK for less than a year.

2. Short-term residents (STRs) were identified in the census as people who were born and usually live outside the UK, who are intending to stay in the UK for between 3 and 12 months, and who were in England or Wales on 27 March 2011.

3. Some numbers and percentages throughout this report may not sum due to rounding.

Figure 3 summarises the distribution of the 195,000 non-UK born STRs¹ across England and Wales. London (69,000) and the South East (28,000) together contained 50 per cent of the STR population in England and Wales. A similar proportion (54 per cent) of the non-UK born usually resident population also lived in London and the South East, whereas these two regions account for 30 per cent of the total usually resident population². The North East region has the smallest proportion (3.4 per cent) of all STRs in England and Wales and also accounted for the lowest proportion of all non-UK born usual residents (1.7 per cent). The male to female ratios for all regions were quite even, with the greatest difference in Wales, where there were 125 males per 100 females.

Table 1 presents a summary of the ratio of STRs to the total usually resident population nationally, and for each English region and Wales. Nationally there were 35 STRs per 10,000 usual residents. The ratio for London was more than twice the national level at 84 STRs for every 10,000 usual residents, while the South East was second highest at 33; for all the other regions and Wales, there were between 22 and 27 short-term residents for every 10,000 usual residents.

Table 2 summarises the non-UK born usual residents (who are in the UK for 12 months or more) and the non-UK born STRs (who are in the UK for between 3 and 12 months). The regional distribution is similar for both non-UK born usual residents and STRs, but the STRs are slightly less concentrated within London and slightly more concentrated within the North East and Wales. The proportion of long-term non-UK born residents has been summarised in an earlier publication³.

Notes for Regional geography of non-UK born short-term residents

1. Short-term residents (STRs) were identified in the census as people who were born and usually live outside the UK, who are intending to stay in the UK for between 3 and 12 months, and who were in England or Wales on 27 March 2011.

2. The usually resident population refers to people who live in the UK for 12 months or more, including those who have been resident for less than 12 months but intend to stay for a total period of 12 months or more. The population base for the 2011 Census was the usually resident population of England and Wales, defined as anyone who, on the night of 27 March 2011, was either (a) resident in England and Wales and who had been resident, or intended to be resident in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or (b) resident outside the UK but had a permanent England and Wales address and intended to be outside the UK for less than a year.

3. ONS report on International Migrants in England and Wales, 2011.

Table 3 shows the local authorities (LAs) with the highest ratio of STRs¹ to usual residents. The top ten are all in London with the exception of the two university cities of Cambridge and Oxford. Of the LAs ranked between 11 and 20, nine include university areas where there were overseas student populations at the time of the census in 2011.

Map 1 shows the ratio of STRs present in LAs across England and Wales per 10,000 usual residents²; the map complements the data presented in table 3. Many of the concentrations of STRs correspond to university towns and cities; student activity will be discussed further in the economic section. In addition, there are some agricultural areas with high STR levels, notably Herefordshire and Lincolnshire. A series of interactive maps is available that summarises the distribution of STRs across LAs in England and Wales, divided into two groups: European and the rest of the world. The European STR map highlights concentrations in the agricultural areas of Herefordshire, Lincolnshire, parts of East Anglia and North Somerset. The ‘rest of the world’ map highlights concentrations in Gwynedd, West Yorkshire, Bradford, Harrogate and Lancaster.

Map 1: Non-UK born short-term residents per 10,000 usual residents, England and Wales local or unitary authority districts; 2011

Source: Census - Office for National Statistics

Notes for Local geography of non-UK born short-term residents

1. Short-term residents (STRs) were identified in the census as people who were born and usually live outside the UK, who are intending to stay in the UK for between 3 and 12 months, and who were in England or Wales on 27 March 2011.

2. The usually resident population refers to people who live in the UK for 12 months or more, including those who have been resident for less than 12 months but intend to stay for a total period of 12 months or more. The population base for the 2011 Census was the usually resident population of England and Wales, defined as anyone who, on the night of 27 March 2011, was either (a) resident in England and Wales and who had been resident, or intended to be resident in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or (b) resident outside the UK but had a permanent England and Wales address and intended to be outside the UK for less than a year.

Figure 4 summarises the top 10 countries of birth¹ for STRs² in England and Wales; these accounted for 52 per cent (102,000) of all STRs. The four countries accounting for the largest numbers of STRs were India (11 per cent or 21,000 of all non-UK born STRs), China (11 per cent or 21,000), the United States (5 per cent or 10,000) and France (5 per cent or 10,000). Within the non-UK born usually resident population, the respective positions for these four countries were: India first (9.2 per cent of all non-UK born usual residents), China eleventh (2.0 per cent), the United States ninth (2.4 per cent) and France fourteenth (1.7 per cent). STRs from the accession countries³ formed 13 per cent (26,000) of the total number of STRs; (this compares with 15 per cent of non-UK born usual residents who are from accession countries).

Figure 5 summarises the top three countries of birth for STRs in each of the English regions and Wales. For example, in the North East the top three countries of birth for STRs are China, India and Malaysia, and these account for 38 per cent of all the STRs in that region. India features in the top three countries of birth in all regions and China in all regions except London. Poland is highly ranked in three regions, with France, Germany, Malaysia, Pakistan and the United States each appearing in the top three countries of birth in at least one region.

Figure 5: Top three countries of birth for STRs for each English region and Wales, 2011

Source: Census - Office for National Statistics

Notes for Country of birth of non-UK born short-term residents

1. Country of birth cannot change over time (unlike nationality) and so those born outside the UK represent a stable definition of a migrant. It is a measure of ‘foreign-born’ people, but includes some people who were UK citizens at birth even though born abroad (for example, to parents working overseas in the armed forces). Additionally some short-term residents born outside the UK may have subsequently become UK citizens.

2. Short-term residents (STRs) were identified in the census as people who were born and usually live outside the UK, who are intending to stay in the UK for between 3 and 12 months, and who were in England or Wales on 27 March 2011.

3. Accession countries refer to those nations in Central and Eastern Europe that joined the European Union in May 2004 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) and Cyprus and Malta. Additionally, Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union in January 2007.

Passports held^1,2 is derived from census question 22 (see figure 6), which asks “What passports do you hold?”³. Passport held is used to determine nationality in this analysis.

The 195,000 STRs included 10,000 non-UK born British nationals and 2,000 Irish nationals who were present here on census day, even though they were not usually resident in the UK. There were 178,000 non-UK and non-Irish passports held by STRs⁴ who were not British or Irish nationals in England and Wales at the time of the 2011 Census⁵. The remaining 5,000 STRs stated that they did not have a passport; many of these may have been European Economic Area (EEA) citizens travelling on national identity cards.

Figure 6: Census question 22 on passports held, 2011

Figure 7 summarises the top 10 nationalities of STRs. These top 10 nationalities accounted for 53 per cent (103,000) of all STRs. As with data presented for country of birth, India heads the list with 10 per cent of all STRs in England and Wales being Indian nationals; this is followed by Chinese (10 per cent) and American (5 per cent). These are followed by a range of EU countries and Pakistan. A key difference from the country of birth data is that non-UK born British passport holders are included and account for 5 per cent (10,000) of all STRs.

Figure 8 presents the top three nationalities for STRs for each English region and Wales in 2011. Indian is the most reported nationality for STRs, being present in the top three in all regions. Chinese is present in the top three in nine regions, though it is notably absent from the top three in London. British is present in the top three in four regions; the British category will include children born to British nationals abroad, including those in the armed forces. German and American are included in the top three in two regions, while French, Polish and Malaysian feature in the top three in one region each.

Figure 8: Top three nationalities for STRs for each English region and Wales, 2011

Source: Census - Office for National Statistics

Figure 8 also shows how the contribution made by the top three nationalities found in the STRs in each region can vary, depending on the range of different nationalities in each region. For example, the top three nationalities in the North East sum to 36 per cent of the total STR population there, while in the South East the top three sum to only 22 per cent. There is therefore considerable variation in the range and diversity of nationalities in the regional STR populations.

Table 4 shows the three countries of birth¹ where there are more passports held than STRs born there; Portugal has the highest ratio with 144 passports for every 100 STRs born in Portugal. This may be because many people born in former Portuguese colonies such as Angola and Mozambique have Portuguese nationality. The three countries of birth with the lowest ratios are also shown; Somalia has the least with 9 passports held for every 100 STRs born in Somalia. This low ratio may be due to Somalis obtaining UK or Italian nationality (these are the two former colonial powers that controlled the territory of what is now Somalia) while some may have acquired dual nationality⁵.

Notes for Passports held (to determine nationality)

1. While country of birth remains constant, people may change their nationality over time or acquire dual nationality; accordingly there are differences between the data presented for country of birth and passports held.

2. The terms “passports held”, “nationality”, and “citizenship” are used interchangeably in this document.

3. This question should not be confused with census question 15, which deals with national identity (“How would you describe your national identity?”). Whereas passport held (nationality) is an objective measure, national identity is a subjective self-defining measure. In this short story we do not use national identity as it does not indicate a person’s migration status.

4. Short-term residents (STRs) were identified in the census as people who were born and usually live outside the UK, who are intending to stay in the UK for between 3 and 12 months, and who were in England or Wales on 27 March 2011.

5. Some people may hold more than one passport. If someone has more than one passport, one of which is British, then they are recorded in the British category. If someone does not have a British passport but holds more than one passport, one of which is Irish, then they are recorded in the Irish category. If someone has neither a UK nor an Irish passport, then they are coded according to the response written in the "other" passport box (see figure 6). In table AP1202EW (Passports held (non-UK born short-term residents)) the number of passports is the same as the number of STRs, whereas in Table KS205EW (Passports held) used in International Migrants in England and Wales 2011 the number of passports held by usual residents was greater than the number of residents owing to dual nationality.

Figure 9 summarises the economic status of STRs¹ aged 16 and over (181,000) at national and regional levels. Nationally, around 55 per cent (100,000) of these STRs were full-time students² (in the usually resident population³ aged 16 to 74⁴, full-time students accounted for 9.0 per cent (3.7 million))⁵. Around 27 per cent (49,000) of STRs aged 16 and over were working⁶ and 17 per cent (32,000) were classified as ‘other’ (that is, visiting relatives, on extended vacations etc)⁷.

Within the North East region, students accounted for 82 per cent of all total STRs aged 16 and over; this is the result of the region having several universities despite having a relatively small usually resident population and a small number of STRs aged 16 and over (6,000). A similar situation appears to apply in Wales, where 71 per cent (5,000) of the STRs aged 16-and over were full-time students.

By contrast, 48 per cent of London’s STRs aged 16 and over were full-time students, although the region still accounted for 31 per cent (31,000) of all student STRs aged 16 and over in England and Wales. In the resident population, London accounted for 19 per cent (700,000) of the total full-time student population aged 16 to 74 in England and Wales.

London had the highest proportion of its STR population aged 16 and over working of any region (32 per cent), followed by the East of England and the South East (both 30 per cent); by contrast the proportion working in the North East was 8.9 per cent and 17 per cent in Wales. London accounted for 42 per cent (21,000) of all working STRs aged 16 and over in England and Wales, followed by 16 per cent (8,000) in the South East; by contrast the North East accounted for 1.1 per cent (1,000) and Wales 2.3 per cent (1,000).

Table 5 summarises the top 20 LAs with the highest number of students in their STR populations aged 16 and over. Of these 14 are large cities with universities, while the remaining six are London boroughs.

Table 6, by contrast, ranks the top 20 LAs with the highest number of workers in their STR populations aged 16 and over; of these 15 are London boroughs, four are large cities and only one, Herefordshire, is a mainly agricultural area.

Notes for Economic status of non-UK born short-term residents

1. Short-term residents (STRs) were identified in the census as people who were born and usually live outside the UK, who are intending to stay in the UK for between 3 and 12 months, and who were in England or Wales on 27 March 2011.

2. A full-time student is a person aged 16 or over who has indicated that they are a student in full-time education.

3. The usually resident population refers to people who live in the UK for 12 months or more, including those who have been resident for less than 12 months but intend to stay for a total period of 12 months or more. The population base for the 2011 Census was the usually resident population of England and Wales, defined as anyone who, on the night of 27 March 2011, was either (a) resident in England and Wales and who had been resident, or intended to be resident in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or (b) resident outside the UK but had a permanent England and Wales address and intended to be outside the UK for less than a year.

4. Economic activity data for the usually resident population includes those aged 16 to 74. Economic activity data for the STR population are for those aged 16 and over; therefore the two are not directly comparable.

5. Data derived from Table QS603EW 2011 Census: Economic activity - Full-time students, local authorities in England and Wales.

6. A short-term resident aged 16 and over is defined as employed (or in employment) if in the week before the census they carried out at least one hour's paid work, either as an employee or self-employed. This includes casual or temporary work, on a government-sponsored training scheme, doing paid or unpaid work for their own or family business, being away from work ill, or on holiday or temporarily laid off. This excludes full–time students who are working.

7. Some numbers and percentages throughout this report may not sum due to rounding.

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