Census 2011 and Census 2021 · ONS
Dorset between the censuses
The census is taken once a decade, so what it gives Dorset is two readings, ten years apart — not a trend. Each table below shows both censuses’ published counts, each year’s share of its own total, and the change. Where the two censuses named a category differently, the note under the table says exactly which labels are compared.
Religion
All usual residents: 365,153 in 2011, 379,579 in 2021 (+14,426). Shares are of each census’s own total.
| Category | 2011 | 2021 | Change | 2011 share | 2021 share | Share change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | 237,680 | 195,676 | −42,004 | 65.1% | 51.6% | −13.5 pp |
| No religion | 92,930 | 152,267 | +59,337 | 25.4% | 40.1% | +14.7 pp |
| Muslim | 1,172 | 1,562 | +390 | 0.3% | 0.4% | +0.1 pp |
| Hindu | 499 | 714 | +215 | 0.1% | 0.2% | +0.1 pp |
| Sikh | 83 | 117 | +34 | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.0 pp |
| Jewish | 423 | 453 | +30 | 0.1% | 0.1% | +0.0 pp |
| Buddhist | 1,123 | 1,613 | +490 | 0.3% | 0.4% | +0.1 pp |
| Other religion | 1,966 | 2,361 | +395 | 0.5% | 0.6% | +0.1 pp |
| Not stated | 29,277 | 24,816 | −4,461 | 8.0% | 6.5% | −1.5 pp |
The 2011 census called the voluntary non-answer “Religion not stated” and 2021 calls it “Not answered”; they are the same tick-box question left blank and are compared as one category.
Ethnic group (five broad groups)
All usual residents: 365,153 in 2011, 379,580 in 2021 (+14,427). Shares are of each census’s own total.
| Category | 2011 | 2021 | Change | 2011 share | 2021 share | Share change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 357,726 | 368,415 | +10,689 | 98.0% | 97.1% | −0.9 pp |
| Asian or Asian British | 3,338 | 4,305 | +967 | 0.9% | 1.1% | +0.2 pp |
| Black, African, Caribbean or Black British | 841 | 1,082 | +241 | 0.2% | 0.3% | +0.1 pp |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups | 2,895 | 4,436 | +1,541 | 0.8% | 1.2% | +0.4 pp |
| Other ethnic group | 353 | 1,342 | +989 | 0.1% | 0.4% | +0.3 pp |
The five broad groups are the ONS’s own harmonised comparison between the two censuses; 2021 renamed the groups (adding “Welsh” variants) without changing what they contain.
Born in and outside the UK
All usual residents: 365,153 in 2011, 379,579 in 2021 (+14,426). Shares are of each census’s own total.
| Category | 2011 | 2021 | Change | 2011 share | 2021 share | Share change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born in the UK | 344,700 | 354,852 | +10,152 | 94.4% | 93.5% | −0.9 pp |
| Born outside the UK* | 20,453 | 24,727 | +4,274 | 5.6% | 6.5% | +0.9 pp |
* all usual residents minus born in the UK, both published census counts.
The 2011 census grouped birthplaces by EU membership and 2021 groups them by continent, so the detailed categories cannot be compared. Born in the UK is published in both; born outside the UK is all usual residents minus born in the UK — our subtraction of two published figures.
Who lives in social housing
On Census Day 2021, 20,840 of Dorset’s 169,261 households rented from a council or another social landlord. Split by where the household reference person was born:
| Country of birth of household reference person | Social-rented households | Share of social housing | Share of all households |
|---|---|---|---|
| Born in the UK | 19,702 | 94.5% | 93.3% |
| Born in Ireland | 87 | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Born in Europe outside the UK and Ireland | 546 | 2.6% | 2.9% |
| Born in Africa | 204 | 1% | 1.1% |
| Born in the Middle East or Asia | 203 | 1% | 1.4% |
| Born in the Americas or Caribbean | 63 | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Born elsewhere | 35 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
Census 2021, tenure by country of birth of the household reference person (ONS create-a-custom-dataset). Country of birth is not nationality or citizenship. Social rented adds the two published categories (council and other social landlord); shares divide by the sum of the published cells, as ONS publishes no totals for this cross. Counts are households and carry the census’s small-count perturbation.
Who owns and who rents, by ethnic group
How Dorset’s 169,263 households were housed on Census Day 2021, split by the ethnic group of the household reference person. Each row reads within its own group: of households whose reference person is in that group, the share owning, social renting and private renting.
| Ethnic group of household reference person | Households | Own | Social rent | Private rent | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 165,884 | 70.8% | 12.3% | 16% | 1% |
| Asian or Asian British | 1,476 | 55.5% | 8.3% | 34.5% | 1.7% |
| Black, Caribbean or African | 401 | 36.2% | 26.9% | 34.7% | 2.2% |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups | 975 | 56.7% | 17% | 25.6% | 0.6% |
| Any other ethnic group | 527 | 50.7% | 9.5% | 39.1% | 0.8% |
Census 2021, tenure by ethnic group of the household reference person (ONS create-a-custom-dataset), the six-group top-level classification. “Own” adds outright and mortgaged; “Other” is shared ownership and living rent free. Shares divide by the sum of the group’s published cells, as ONS publishes no totals for this cross; counts are households and carry the census’s small-count perturbation. Ethnic group is the reference person’s own answer and says nothing about other household members.
Work, by where people were born
On Census Day 2021, 167,779 of the 321,902 residents of Dorset covered by the census work question (broadly, those aged 16 and over) were in employment. Split by country of birth:
| Country of birth | Residents 16+ | In employment | Share in employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Born in the UK | 298,950 | 153,889 | 51.5% |
| Born in Ireland | 1,356 | 505 | 37.2% |
| Born in Europe outside the UK and Ireland | 10,140 | 6,846 | 67.5% |
| Born in Africa | 3,492 | 2,030 | 58.1% |
| Born in the Middle East or Asia | 4,855 | 2,763 | 56.9% |
| Born in the Americas or Caribbean | 2,145 | 1,149 | 53.6% |
| Born elsewhere | 964 | 597 | 61.9% |
Census 2021, economic activity by country of birth (ONS create-a-custom-dataset). The share is of all residents aged 16 and over, so it is not the official employment rate: a group with many retirees or students shows a lower share whatever its working-age employment is. Country of birth is not nationality. Shares divide by the sum of the published cells, as ONS publishes no totals for this cross; counts carry the census’s small-count perturbation.
Qualifications, by where people were born
Highest qualification held by Dorset’s 321,903 residents covered by the census qualification question (broadly, those aged 16 and over), split by country of birth:
| Country of birth | Residents 16+ | Degree level or above | No qualifications | Other or unstated equivalence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born in the UK | 298,950 | 30.6% | 16% | 2.7% |
| Born in Ireland | 1,355 | 35.2% | 24% | 5.7% |
| Born in Europe outside the UK and Ireland | 10,142 | 40.1% | 14.1% | 4.8% |
| Born in Africa | 3,491 | 46.5% | 7% | 3.6% |
| Born in the Middle East or Asia | 4,856 | 44.4% | 13.4% | 4.6% |
| Born in the Americas or Caribbean | 2,143 | 56% | 8.5% | 4% |
| Born elsewhere | 966 | 44.8% | 8.4% | 4.1% |
Census 2021, highest qualification by country of birth (ONS create-a-custom-dataset). Qualifications gained outside England and Wales with no stated equivalent are counted under “Other”, not under the named levels — so for people educated abroad the degree-level share is an undercount, by up to that column’s amount. Shares are of all residents aged 16 and over and divide by the sum of the published cells; country of birth is not nationality; counts carry the census’s small-count perturbation.
Social class of work, by where people were born
The census classifies every resident aged 16 and over by the kind of work they do or last did (NS-SEC). For the 321,906 residents of Dorset the classification covers, split by country of birth:
| Country of birth | Residents 16+ | Higher managerial and professional (L1–L3) | Routine and semi-routine (L12–L13) | Never worked or long-term unemployed (L14) | Full-time students (L15) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born in the UK | 298,950 | 12.9% | 22.6% | 5.6% | 4.2% |
| Born in Ireland | 1,361 | 14.3% | 24.7% | 6.7% | 1.9% |
| Born in Europe outside the UK and Ireland | 10,142 | 12% | 28.7% | 4.3% | 4% |
| Born in Africa | 3,490 | 17.1% | 16.4% | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| Born in the Middle East or Asia | 4,856 | 13.3% | 20.7% | 8.3% | 6% |
| Born in the Americas or Caribbean | 2,142 | 17.4% | 17% | 4.7% | 4% |
| Born elsewhere | 965 | 17.2% | 15.5% | 3.5% | 5.9% |
Census 2021, NS-SEC by country of birth (ONS create-a-custom-dataset). The four columns are the standard NS-SEC bands and do not sum to 100% — the classes between them are not shown. Country of birth is not nationality. Shares divide by the sum of the published cells, as ONS publishes no totals for this cross; counts carry the census’s small-count perturbation.
What this can and cannot say
These figures say how many people, and what share, identified each way on the two census days. They do not say why the make-up changed: births, deaths, people moving in and out, and people answering differently all move these numbers, and the census does not separate them. The area’s year-by-year components of change cover the why for total population.