GENDER IDENTITY, ENGLAND AND WALES: CENSUS 2021

The census question on gender identity was a voluntary question asked of those aged 16 years and over. The question asked “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?”.
Overall, 45.7 million (94.0% of the population aged 16 years and over) answered the question.
In total, 45.4 million (93.5%) answered “Yes” and 262,000 (0.5%) answered “No”.
The remaining 2.9 million (6.0%) did not answer the question.

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2. GENDER IDENTITY

Gender identity refers to a person’s sense of their own gender, whether male, female or another category such as non-binary. This may or may not be the same as their sex registered at birth.

The question on gender identity was new for Census 2021. It was added to provide the first official data on the size of the transgender population in England and Wales. The data will help to:

provide better quality information for monitoring purposes
support anti-discrimination duties under the Equality Act 2010
aid allocation for resources and policy development

The question was voluntary and was only asked of people aged 16 years and over. People were asked “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?”, and had the option of selecting either “Yes”, or selecting “No” and writing in their gender identity.

Across England and Wales, there were responses from 45.7 million people (94.0% of the population aged 16 years and over).

A total of 45.4 million (93.5%) answered “Yes”, indicating that their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth.

A total of 262,000 people (0.5%) answered “No”, indicating that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth. Within this group:

118,000 (0.24%) answered “No” but did not provide a write-in response
48,000 (0.10%) identified as a trans man
48,000 (0.10%) identified as a trans woman
30,000 (0.06%) identified as non-binary
18,000 (0.04%) wrote in a different gender identity

The remaining 2.9 million (6.0%) did not answer the question on gender identity.

Figure 1: Gender identity, 2021, England and Wales

Download the data – .xlsx

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3. HOW GENDER IDENTITY VARIED ACROSS ENGLAND AND WALES

Census 2021 data reveal how gender identity varied across England and Wales. As the question was voluntary, please be aware of differences in response rates when comparing between different areas.

The percentage of the population aged 16 years and over who reported that their gender identity was different from their sex at birth was slightly higher in England (0.55%) than it was in Wales (0.40%).

Within England, the region with the highest percentage who reported that their gender identity was different from their sex at birth was London (0.91%), and the region with the lowest percentage was the South West (0.42%).

Compared with England and Wales as a whole, London had higher percentages of people who identified as a trans man (0.16%), who identified as a trans woman (0.16%), and who answered “No” but did not provide a write-in response (0.46%).

Table 1: Gender identity, 2021, England, Wales and regions of England

Area Name	Gender identity the same as sex registered at birth (percent)	Gender identity different from sex registered at birth but no specific identity given (percent)	Trans woman (percent)	Trans man (percent)	Non- binary (percent)	All other gender identities (percent)	Not answered (percent)
England	93.47	0.25	0.10	0.10	0.06	0.04	5.98
Wales	93.28	0.16	0.07	0.08	0.06	0.04	6.32
North East	94.81	0.20	0.08	0.09	0.06	0.03	4.73
North West	94.19	0.23	0.09	0.09	0.06	0.03	5.31
Yorkshire and The Humber	93.65	0.25	0.09	0.09	0.06	0.04	5.81
East Midlands	93.44	0.22	0.08	0.09	0.06	0.03	6.08
West Midlands	93.14	0.26	0.10	0.10	0.05	0.03	6.33
East of England	93.92	0.20	0.09	0.09	0.05	0.04	5.62
London	91.21	0.46	0.16	0.16	0.08	0.05	7.88
South East	94.12	0.18	0.09	0.09	0.07	0.04	5.42
South West	93.99	0.14	0.08	0.08	0.07	0.04	5.59

Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021

Download this table – .xls

Download this table – csv

Of the 10 local authorities with the largest proportion of the population aged 16 years and over whose gender identity was different from their sex at birth, 8 were in London, with Newham (1.51%) and Brent (1.31%) topping the list. The two non-London local authorities in the top 10 were Oxford (1.25%), which was third, and Norwich (1.07%), which was ninth. In Wales, the local authorities with the highest percentages were Cardiff (0.71%) and Ceredigion (0.70%).

In terms of specific gender identities, Brent and Newham also had the highest percentage who identified as a trans man (0.28% and 0.25%, respectively), while Barking and Dagenham had the highest percentage who identified as a trans woman (0.25%). Newham also had the highest percentage of people who answered “No” but did not provide a write-in response (0.91%). In Wales, Cardiff had the highest percentage who identified as a trans man (0.12%) and also had the highest percentage who identified as a trans woman (0.13%).

The five local authorities with the highest proportion of the population aged 16 years and over who identified as non-binary were all outside London. Brighton and Hove had the highest percentage (0.35%), followed by Norwich (0.33%) and Cambridge (0.26%). In fifth place was Ceredigion (0.23%), which had the highest percentage who identified as non-binary of any local authority in Wales.

Figure 2: Gender identity, 2021, local authorities in England and Wales

Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021

Download the data – .xlsx

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4. FUTURE PUBLICATIONS

More detailed data and analysis on gender identity will be published in the coming months, alongside the release of multivariate data. Read more about our sexual orientation and gender identity analysis plans and the release plans for Census 2021 more generally.

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5. GENDER IDENTITY – ENGLAND AND WALES DATA

Gender identity
Dataset | Released 6 January 2023
This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales by gender identity.

Gender identity (detailed)
Dataset | Released 6 January 2023
This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales by gender identity.

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6. GLOSSARY

Gender identity

Gender identity refers to a person’s sense of their own gender, whether male, female or another category such as non-binary. This may or may not be the same as their sex registered at birth.

Gender identity different from sex registered at birth but no specific identity given

These are people who answered “No” to the question “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?” but did not write in a gender identity.

Non-binary

Someone who is non-binary does not identify with the binary categories of man and woman. In these results the category includes people who identified with the specific term “non-binary” or variants thereon. However, those who used other terms to describe an identity which was neither specifically man nor woman have been classed in “All other gender identities”.

Trans man

A trans man is someone who was registered female at birth, but now identifies as a man.

Trans woman

A trans woman is someone who was registered male at birth, but now identifies as a woman.

Usual resident

A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

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7. MEASURING THE DATA

Reference date

The census provides estimates of the characteristics of all people and households in England and Wales on Census Day, 21 March 2021. It is carried out every 10 years and gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales.

Response rate

The overall person response rate for the census is the number of usual residents for whom individual details were provided on a returned questionnaire, divided by the estimated usual resident population.

The person response rate for Census 2021 was 97% of the usual resident population of England and Wales, and over 88% in all local authorities. Most returns (89%) were received online. The response rate exceeded our target of 94% overall and 80% in all local authorities.

Read more about question-specific response rates at local authority level in Section 4 of our Measures showing the quality of Census 2021 estimates.

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8. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS

Quality considerations along with the strengths and limitations of Census 2021 more generally can be found in the Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) for Census 2021. Read more about the Sexual orientation and gender identity quality information for Census 2021.

Further information on our quality assurance processes is provided in our Maximising the quality of Census 2021 population estimates methodology.

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9. RELATED LINKS

Census maps
Interactive content | Updated 6 January 2023
Interactive map tool that visualises Census 2021 data on different topics down to a local authority area and neighbourhood level.

Sexual orientation and gender identity quality information for Census 2021
Methodology | Released 6 January 2023
Known quality information affecting sexual orientation and gender identity data from Census 2021 in England and Wales.

Sexual orientation and gender identity variables, Census 2021
Supporting information | Released 4 January 2023
Variables and classifications used in Census 2021 data about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Sexual orientation and gender identity in Wales (Census 2021)
Statistical bulletin | Released 6 January 2023
A summary by Welsh Government of Census 2021 data about sexual orientation and gender identity in Wales.

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10. CITATION

Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 6 January 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Gender identity, England and Wales: Census 2021

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COMMENTARY

Making Sense of the Census: A Trans Population of 0.5%?

JAMES ESSES – 6 January 2023 – TRANSparency

Gender Identity – Census 2021

Today, a ‘Statistical Bulletin’ was released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), regarding ‘Gender Identity’ from the ‘England and Wales: Census 2021’.

The purpose of this bulletin was to document the ‘gender identity’ of residents in England and Wales, aged 16 and over, who responded to the last Census.

This is the first time in which this type of data has been collated on a national scale.

The question contained in the Census (which was optional to answer) was: “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?”.

Over 94% of the population in England and Wales (roughly 45.7 million people) answered the question above – a sizeable figure. Of this figure, 0.5% answered “no”.

This equates to roughly 262,000 people in England and Wales self-identifying as ‘trans’.

The breakdown of ‘gender identities’ was as follows:

· 48,000 identified as a ‘trans man’.

· 48,000 identified as a ‘trans woman’.

· 30,000 identified as ‘non-binary’.

· 18,000 identified as a ‘different gender identity’.

Initial Reflections on the Data

There are a number of initial comments to be made:

1. The way in which the question is phrased, and the context of the present times, creates an artificially low threshold for identifying as a ‘different gender identity’. We know that gender ideology revolves around regressive stereotypes of what it means to be ‘male’ or ‘female. I regularly publicise materials, suggesting to young people that the colours they favour or the clothes they prefer could have some bearing as to whether or not they are ‘trans’. Given that the concept of being ‘trans’ is based around ‘self-identification’, with no objective measurement ever possible, the data should be taken with a pinch of salt. It’s also worth highlighting the fact that just under 3 million people did not answer the above question at all.

2. It is clear that the ONS have taken an ideological stance on this issue. The question posed in the Census completely conflates the concepts of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’. This type of conflation can prove to be extremely dangerous, as we have seen in Scotland over recent weeks. The Court of Sessions there has held that a gender recognition certificate has the effect of legally changing the sex of the holder.

The ONS double down on their ideological framework in the following explanatory description: “Gender identity refers to a person’s sense of their own gender, whether male, female or another category such as non-binary. This may or may not be the same as their sex registered at birth.”.

The fact that the ONS included specific recognition of the identity of ‘non-binary’, even though there is no legal recognition of ‘non-binary’ in England or Wales, is extremely telling.

3. The data tells us absolutely nothing about the ‘self-identity’ of those under the age of 16. This is the cohort that I and others are most concerned about when it comes to gender ideology, particularly given their inherent vulnerabilities. Given the fact that younger and younger children are being placed down potentially irreversible pathways, this type of data would be of significant importance.

Celebration?

Some of the immediate responses to the release of the data above were bizarre to say the least. Nancy Kelley, the CEO of Stonewall, appeared to be in a celebratory mood. She announced the fact that 0.5% of the population now identified as ‘trans’ with a ‘raised fist emoji’, which Emojipedia tells me is used “as a symbol of resistance or defiance”.

She went on to announce gleefully that the area she lives, Newham, has the “highest percentage of trans residents” in the country. She described this as a “big surprise” and said it made her “want to run out of my front door and shout HELLOOOO!”.

Nancy was not alone in her celebrations. The official Stonewall Twitter account announced: “we’re making history”.

This is not a new phenomenon. There is a plethora of school materials which tell teachers and students that any child who comes out as ‘trans’ in class should be ‘celebrated’. As I have publicised before, Mermaids have previously told the young listeners to their podcast that if they come out as ‘trans’, they can “make the world a better place”.

However, I would question whether this news is something that deserves ‘celebration’.

At present in the UK, in order to ‘transition’ either legally or medically, you must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria. This is a debilitating mental health condition. Is it right to be celebrating the fact that an increasing and significant proportion of our population are struggling with this?…