Over 1 lakh people in England Opt For Sikh as Their Ethnicity : Reveals 2021 Census
Over 1 lakh people in England Opt For Sikh as Their Ethnicity : Reveals 2021 Census (Representational Image )
The recently released 2021 census data from the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) unveils a substantial increase in the number of individuals in England choosing ‘Sikh’ as their ethnic identity, with a total of 97,910 people embracing this classification. This marks the initial disclosure of information regarding individuals identifying as Sikhs in the 2021 census in England and Wales.
Breaking down the figures, 18.6% (97,910 people) identified themselves as ‘Sikh’ through both the ethnic and religious questions, while 0.3% (1,725 people) exclusively selected this identification through the ethnic question. A majority of 81.1% (426,230 people) opted for ‘Sikh’ through the voluntary religion question. Of those identifying as Sikh solely through the ethnic group, 55.4% did not disclose their religion, 13.6% identified as Muslim, 12.5% reported no religion, and 8.7% stated their religion as Christian.
Combining these statistics, the ONS deduced a total of 525,865 Sikhs in England and Wales, indicating a remarkable 22% increase from the 2011 census, surpassing the general population increase of 6.3%.
Respondents were given the option to choose from predefined response categories such as “Indian” and “Pakistani,” along with a write-in box. Dabinderjit Singh, principal adviser of the Sikh Federation (UK), encouraged Sikhs to reject the given options and write in ‘Sikh.’ Approximately 100,000 Sikhs followed this suggestion, although Singh estimates the total number of Sikhs to be closer to 900,000.
The majority of those identifying as Sikh did so through the religion question, with 524,140 people, constituting 99.7% of all individuals identifying as Sikh. The census also revealed that 56.5% of Sikhs were born in England, 34.1% in India, with other common countries of birth being Kenya (2.5%) and Afghanistan (2.5%).
In terms of “national identity” in England, 75% of Sikhs identified as “British only,” while 13% identified as “Indian.” Sikhs exhibited higher rates of home ownership and marriage compared to the general population, although a higher percentage reported having no qualifications. ONS data indicates that “home ownership rates were high among people who identified as Sikh, with most residents reporting owning their home outright or having a mortgage, loan, or shared ownership (77.7%), compared with 62.7% of the England and Wales population.”
Those identifying as Sikh were more likely to be married than the England and Wales population (61.0% and 44.4%, respectively) and tended to marry at a younger age. Additionally, people identifying as Sikh comprised the majority of Panjabi speakers in England and Wales, with 63.9% of Panjabi speakers identifying as Sikh.
