What we can't tell you · Partial
What is the population of each ethnic group in each local authority in years between censuses?
Partial Official data answers part of the question: some categories, some years, some geographies or one stage of a process.
Why
ONS produced experimental "population estimates by ethnic group" for English local authorities for 2006 to 2011 and then stopped; its December 2021 review says the 2019 survey-based estimates are available at national and regional level only and that local authority estimates were not possible on sample-size grounds. Research outputs using administrative data (2015) and pooled survey data (2016) exist but are stated not to be official statistics.
What is known
What is not known
- A current annual local authority series by ethnic group
Who holds the data
- ONS
- Department for Education and NHS England (administrative ethnicity used as inputs)
Would a Freedom of Information request help?
Unlikely. ONS holds no local series beyond the published research outputs.
Privacy and disclosure restrictions
Research outputs show non-availability of up to 44% for some groups at local authority level.
Official sources checked
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/methodologies/populationestimatesbyethnicgroup
- https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/articles/reviewofthecurrentevidencebaseforpopulationestimatesbyethnicgroup/latest
Last reviewed 2026-09-02. Availability changes; if a publication now answers this question, challenge the classification below.