LONDON The population of England and Wales swelled between 2001 and 2011 after an influx of 2.9 million people born abroad, while the number of Christians plunged, according to census data published Tuesday.
The figures from the March 2011 census paint a picture of a changing population, with more foreign-born residents and fewer people of faith.
The population of England and Wales was 56.1 million, an increase of 3.7 million or seven percent since 2001.
The number of foreign-born residents rose by 63 percent from 4.6 million in 2001 to 7.5 million a decade later. They now account for 13 percent of the population, up from nine.
White Britons now make up 80 percent of the population, at 45.1 million people, down from 87 percent in 2001. Some 2.5 percent are ethnic Indian, 2.0 percent ethnic Pakistani.
Indians accounted for the biggest number of those born abroad, rising 52 percent to 694,000.
The number of Poles saw a 10-fold increase from 58,000 in 2001 to 579,000 last year and they now make up one percent of the population.
The Pakistani-born population rose by 56 percent to 482,000. Ireland, Germany, Bangladesh, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States and Jamaica made up the rest of the top 10.
Forty percent of all foreign-born individuals arrived since 2004, when the European Union expanded to include eastern European countries.
Foreign-born women have a higher birth rate and the percentage of total births to non-UK-born mothers rose from 18.3 percent in 2004 to 24.3 percent in 2011.
"These statistics paint a picture of society and help us all plan for the future using accurate information at a local level," said census director Guy Goodwin from the Office for National Statistics.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg of census statistics," he added.
The percentage who identified themselves as Christian dropped from 72 percent to 59 percent, while atheists rose from 15 percent to a quarter of the population.
The fastest-growing religion was Islam, which increased by 75 percent in 10 years to 2.7 million adherents, or 4.8 percent of the population.
Some 1.5 percent of the population said they were Hindus, while 0.8 percent said they were Sikhs.
In London, white Britons are no longer the majority. They now account for 3.7 million Londoners, or 44.9 percent of the capital's population.
Other whites account for 14.8 percent of Londoners. Asians make up 16.9 percent, while people who identified themselves as black account for 11.2 percent.
Some 61.1 percent of London residents were born in England, followed by 3.2 percent born in India, 1.9 percent in Poland and 1.6 percent in Ireland.
Twenty-six percent (848,000) of London households contained a resident whose main language was not English.
The percentage of married people dropped below 50 percent, from 50.9 to 46.6, while the percentage of people divorced rose from 8.2 to 9.0 percent.
The wealth held by the richest 10 percent of households accounted for 44 percent of overall wealth. The entry bar was ?967,000 ($1.55 million, 1.2 million euros). That held by the poorest 50 percent of households accounted for 10 percent.
Among the more curious statistics, around 177,000 people claimed to follow the Jedi religion from the "Star Wars" films. Some 6,242 identified their religion as heavy metal, while 1,893 claimed to be Satanists.
Despite having two cathedrals and more medieval churches than anywhere north of the Alps, some 42.5 percent of people in Norwich, eastern England, said they had no religion, the highest proportion in the census.
The figures from the March 2011 census paint a picture of a changing population, with more foreign-born residents and fewer people of faith.
The population of England and Wales was 56.1 million, an increase of 3.7 million or seven percent since 2001.
The number of foreign-born residents rose by 63 percent from 4.6 million in 2001 to 7.5 million a decade later. They now account for 13 percent of the population, up from nine.
White Britons now make up 80 percent of the population, at 45.1 million people, down from 87 percent in 2001. Some 2.5 percent are ethnic Indian, 2.0 percent ethnic Pakistani.
Indians accounted for the biggest number of those born abroad, rising 52 percent to 694,000.
The number of Poles saw a 10-fold increase from 58,000 in 2001 to 579,000 last year and they now make up one percent of the population.
The Pakistani-born population rose by 56 percent to 482,000. Ireland, Germany, Bangladesh, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States and Jamaica made up the rest of the top 10.
Forty percent of all foreign-born individuals arrived since 2004, when the European Union expanded to include eastern European countries.
Foreign-born women have a higher birth rate and the percentage of total births to non-UK-born mothers rose from 18.3 percent in 2004 to 24.3 percent in 2011.
"These statistics paint a picture of society and help us all plan for the future using accurate information at a local level," said census director Guy Goodwin from the Office for National Statistics.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg of census statistics," he added.
The percentage who identified themselves as Christian dropped from 72 percent to 59 percent, while atheists rose from 15 percent to a quarter of the population.
The fastest-growing religion was Islam, which increased by 75 percent in 10 years to 2.7 million adherents, or 4.8 percent of the population.
Some 1.5 percent of the population said they were Hindus, while 0.8 percent said they were Sikhs.
In London, white Britons are no longer the majority. They now account for 3.7 million Londoners, or 44.9 percent of the capital's population.
Other whites account for 14.8 percent of Londoners. Asians make up 16.9 percent, while people who identified themselves as black account for 11.2 percent.
Some 61.1 percent of London residents were born in England, followed by 3.2 percent born in India, 1.9 percent in Poland and 1.6 percent in Ireland.
Twenty-six percent (848,000) of London households contained a resident whose main language was not English.
The percentage of married people dropped below 50 percent, from 50.9 to 46.6, while the percentage of people divorced rose from 8.2 to 9.0 percent.
The wealth held by the richest 10 percent of households accounted for 44 percent of overall wealth. The entry bar was ?967,000 ($1.55 million, 1.2 million euros). That held by the poorest 50 percent of households accounted for 10 percent.
Among the more curious statistics, around 177,000 people claimed to follow the Jedi religion from the "Star Wars" films. Some 6,242 identified their religion as heavy metal, while 1,893 claimed to be Satanists.
Despite having two cathedrals and more medieval churches than anywhere north of the Alps, some 42.5 percent of people in Norwich, eastern England, said they had no religion, the highest proportion in the census.
