2011 Census: Fact Sheet 9
Nationality and National Identity: Key facts and figures
Nationality (passports held)
The 2011 Census introduced a new question on passports held, and the data this provides
is used to determine nationality. While country of birth remains constant, people may
change their nationality over time or acquire dual nationality.
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In Leeds, there are more than 2½ times as many residents born outside the EU as
there are holding non-EU passports, suggesting that a large proportion of people
who were born outside the EU have acquired British citizenship (nationality) and
hold a British passport
83.7% of people hold at least one passport and 77.5% hold a UK passport
(including those who also hold a foreign passport)
There are 5,738 people with dual or multiple nationalities
16.3% of people do not hold a passport (this includes people whose passport has
expired)
Polish was the highest ranking foreign nationality
Foreign nationals overall have a younger age structure, with relatively few older
adults; there was a concentration of almost 54% in the age band 25 to 39
Figure 1 shows the top ten non-UK nationalities in Leeds (this list does not included
aggregates of areas such as “Other Middle East” or “Other Southern Asian”). These ten
nationalities account for over half (55%) of those holding a foreign passport and for
3.4% of the resident population as a whole. The most common foreign nationality of
residents in is Polish followed by Indian and Irish. Together, these three nationalities
account for a third of all non-UK nationals in the city.
Figure 1: Top 10 non-UK nationalities in Leeds
Economic activity
 Across the city 63.7% of people are economically active; the rate for UK
passport holders is 67.8%, for non-UK passport holders it is 65.6%, and for
people without a passport it is 39.2%
 For non-UK passport holders rates vary from 50% for those with a passport
from the Middle East or Asia to 83.1% for those with a passport from an EU
Accession country
 4.4% of the population (aged 16 and over) were unemployed at the time of the
Census (this does not include full-time students who are unemployed but
actively seeking work), the rate for those with a UK passport is 3.6%, for nonUK passport holders it is 5.5% and for those without a passport it is 8%
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For non- UK passport holders rates vary from 2.7% for those with an Irish
passport to 9.5% for those with a passport from an African country
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Across the city 36.3% of people are economically inactive; the rate for UK
passport holders is 32.2%, for non-UK passport holders it is 34.4%, and for
people without a passport it is 60.8%
 For non-UK passport holders rates vary from 16.9% for those with a passport
from an EU Accession country to 50% for those with a passport from the Middle
East or Asia
 7.5% of people across the city are economically inactive because they are fulltime students; the rate for UK passport holders is 7.4%, for non-UK passport
holders it is 17.3%, and for people without a passport it is 3.8%
Qualifications
 Across the city over 142,000 people have no formal qualifications (23.2% of all
people aged 16 and over) – the rate for those with a UK passport is 19.1%, for
those with a non-UK passport it is 14.3% but for those without a passport it is
51.2%
 8.8% of people aged 16-24 do not have any formal qualifications - the rate for
those with a UK passport is 6.6%, for those with a non-UK passport it is 9%
but for those without a passport it is 28%
 Across the city 26.9% of people are educated to degree level or higher - the
rate for those with a UK passport is 29.2%, for those with a non-UK passport it
is 37.9% but for those without a passport it is just 8.8%
National Identity
The 2011 Census also introduced a new question on national identity. This was due to
an increased interest in 'national’ consciousness and demand from people to
acknowledge their national identity. National identity is a subjective self-identifying
measure which may or may not relate to a person’s ethnic group or country of birth.
It is multi-dimensional, so respondents were allowed to tick more than one national
identity.
This question of nationality (as determined by passports held) should not be confused
with national identity. The passport held (nationality) is an objective measure, whereas
national identity is a subjective self-defining measure and is intended primarily to record
identification with the different countries within the United Kingdom.
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92.2% of people identified with at least one UK national identity (English, Welsh,
Scottish, Northern Irish, and British)
English, as a sole identity, was chosen by 61.9% of people in Leeds, with a
further 18.5% identifying as British and 10% as English and British
The proportions of people identifying as English dips below 55% in the age
bands between 25 and 39 years (perhaps reflecting international migrants), but
increases to over 70% in all age bands from 65 years upwards
Analysing the data by ethnic group shows that the majority of people in the
White ethnic group identified as English only, but the pattern across other ethnic
groups is very different with much lower proportions identifying themselves as
English and much higher proportions identifying as British
Analysing the data by religion shows that the majority of people in the Christian
and Jewish communities identified as English only, but that the pattern across
other religious groups is very different with much lower proportions identifying
themselves as English and much higher proportions identifying as British
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