Census 2011

Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion in Hackney, May 2013

1. Introduction
The 2011 Census provides a wealth of data about diversity within Hackneys
population. In the 2001 Census, questions were asked about ethnicity, country of
birth and faith, and in 2011, new questions were added on language, nationality, year
of arrival (for those born outside the UK) and national identity. Considered together,
these provide valuable data on the different dimensions of diversity in Hackney. This
paper provides analysis on the following areas:

Ethnicity
Country of Birth and Year of Arrival (migration indicators)
Passport data
National Identity
Language
Religion

Please note that this paper represents analysis of the data that has been released by
ONS to date (May 2013). Further information, including cross-tabulated data is due
for release later in 2013. Further analysis will be conducted once new data has been
released.
Summary and Headlines
The 2011 Census estimates Hackneys population to be 246,270, reflecting a 20%
increase in the population since the last Census estimate in 2001. The working age
population has grown by 27% in the past decade, with the 25-29 age group
demonstrating the most dramatic increase (13,000).
Ethnicity
As well as an increasing working age population, the profile of Hackney is one of
continued increasing diversity, with sizable White British (36.2%) and Black African
communities (11.4%) but also a large and increasing group of residents from mixed
ethnic backgrounds, emphasising the hyper-diversity of the borough. Although at
36.2% the White British population remains the single largest ethnic group in
Hackney, this group has decreased significantly as a proportion of the borough from
44.1% in 2001 especially in the context of 20% growth. Out of the broader ethnic
groups, the White group (which includes White British, White Other, Irish and Gypsy
and Irish Traveller communities) is the largest at 59.4% with 60% growth in the White
Other group. The second largest broad ethnic group is Black/Black British at 23.1%
followed by Asian/Asian British at 10.5%, Mixed Ethnic Groups at 6.4% and Other
Ethnic Groups at 5.3%, a figure that represents a 222% increase from 2001.
Country of birth
Country of birth data shows that 39.1% of the boroughs population were born
outside of the UK. Of this group 45% arrived in the UK between 2001 and 2011.
Within this migrant population the single largest group (8,982) were born in Turkey
accounting for 3.6% of the total borough population.
Language
The majority of Hackneys population (75.9%) speak English as their main language.
Other widely spoken languages include Turkish (4.5%) and Polish (1.7%) with just
1% of the population having no English language skills at all.

Faith
Hackneys faith profile reflects national trends including a significant decrease in the
Christian population which now stands at 38.6%, representing the most significant
decrease of faith in the borough. The proportion of residents with no religion
increased from 19% in 2001 to 28.2% in 2001. Both the Jewish and Muslim
communities saw modest increases.

1. Ethnicity
The single largest ethnic group in Hackney is White British which accounts for 36.2%
of the population. This marks a significant reduction in the proportion of White British
residents from 44.1% in 2001, equating to a 460 person loss and is reflective of
Hackneys increasing diversity which currently marks it out as the 6 th most ethnically
diverse borough in London1 after Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Brent.
Hackneys White British population is low compared to the average for London
(44.9%) and England (80%) although it should be acknowledged that the proportion
of White British residents decreased in the all local authorities in England and Wales
between 2001 and 2011, with the exception of Forest Heath which saw an increase
of 0.8 %. The lowest proportions of White British residents were found in Newham
(16.7%) and Brent (18.0%).
The second largest ethnic group in Hackney is Other White (16.1%) which has
shown a 60% increase since 2001 (+15,036), the highest absolute numeric increase
of all ethnic groups.
Hackney has a large and well established Turkish community, who may fall within the
other white ethnic category. Census data reported that in Hackney, 10,606
residents identified as Turkish; 2083 identified as Kurdish and a further 1,104
identified as Turkish-Cypriot in the write in section of the Census form, totalling
13,793 or 5.6% of the total population. Furthermore, 8,982 residents listed their
country of birth as Turkey. These figures place nine of Hackneys wards 2 into the top
20 wards in the country with the highest numbers of residents who described their
ethnicity as Turkish/British Turkish.3 Despite the significant size of the Turkish
community, this group is not responsible for the growth in the Other White ethnic
category. Turkish, Kurdish and Turkish/Cypriot residents began settling in Hackney in
the 1930s and the proportion of Turkish residents has shown only modest growth
since 2001 (see country of birth data below)
One of the most significant causes behind the increase in the number of Other
White residents is likely the accession of Eastern European countries in 2004 and
the resultant high levels of immigration from these counties, most significantly
Poland. Approximately 8,801 residents in Hackney listed their country of birth as one
of the 2004 accession states, accounting for 3.2% of the population. Just over half
these residents (4,203) were born in Poland. The write in section of the Census,
which enabled users to specify their ethnicity, saw 3454 residents describe their
ethnicity as Polish, a considerable increase of the figure in 2001 (320), providing
further evidence that there is growing, significantly sized Polish community in
Hackney.
1
2

Great London Authority, Diversity Index, Census 2011

Hoxton, Haggerston, Dalston, Chatham, Queensbridge, Hackney Central, Kings Park and De Beauvoir

It should be noted that the Household Survey (2004) estimated the Turkish population at 6%, higher than the
Census estimate. The household survey figure is preferred due to the numerous dimensions used in Census e.g.
language, ethnicity, nationality etc, which can lead to only partial capture of the Turkish population.

Hackney is not alone in seeing an increase in the Other White category: nationally,
the Other White category had the highest increase across the ethnic groups, with
growth of 1.1 million (1.8%) between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses. This includes
people with Poland as a country of birth, who were the second largest group of nonUK born residents in 2011 and increased by 0.5 million (a nine-fold increase)
between 2001 and 2011.
Residents born in 2001-2011 Accession Countries: Where they have settled

The third largest ethnic group in Hackney is black African (11.4%) which has shown
an absolute increase of 15% (+3686) since 2001 although the proportion of this
group making up the population has dropped slightly (0.6%). The largest group within
this category are the Nigerian community. Kings Park and Chatham wards both fall
within the top 20 wards in England with the highest numbers of Nigerian residents

with around 6,692 of Hackney residents listing Nigeria as their country of birth. The
increase in the Black African group has been seen at a regional and national level,
both proportionately and absolutely. The Black African population has increased from
1% percent to 1.8% across England, and from 5.2% to 7% across London. This
growth migth be partially as a result of natural fertility patterns in as far as African
residents who have come to Hackney, settled and have started a family resulting in
children. It is clear, however, that some of these residents were born in Africa and
have arrived in Hackney since 2001 (18,088 residents listed an African country as
their country of birth in 2001 and this figure rose to 21,506 in 2011). The increase in
Black African residents migth therefore also be partially attributed to new migrants.
Changes in Ethnicity since 2001
Most ethnic group populations have shown growth which mirrors the 21% population
growth overall, with the exceptions of Irish (-15%), Pakistani (-12%), Caribbean (-8%)
and White British (-1%) groups which fell in both absolute and relative terms between
2001 and 2011.
In contrast, all Other ethnic groups have shown significant growth, with Other Asian
(+ 308%, an increase of 5092 persons), Other Ethnic Groups (+ 180%, an increase
of 7283 persons), Other Black (+ 101%, an increase of 4874 persons) and Other
Mixed (+122%, an increase of 2743 persons) more than doubling in size.
The reasons behind the increase in mixed ethnic groups are complex. The options
for self identification on the Census 2011 form included more dimensions than in
previous years enabling residents more choice in how they chose to identify
themselves. Where residents now have the option to include both their country of
birth and national identity, they might have chosen to separate their national identity
and/or country of birth from their ethnic identity. It might be that the question of
ethnicity was considered less specific and therefore less important than the selfperceived question of national identity and the factual question of where they were
born. This increased choice in Census 2011 might have led to residents feeling less
pressure to be so prescriptive in describing their ethnic identity, and could, therefore,
be a factor in explaining the increase in Other ethnicities.
Perhaps a more compelling reason for the increase in mixed ethnicities is that of
Hackneys increased diversity and multiculturalism since 2001. There has been
increased ethnic integration in Hackney over the past 10 years with families and
partnerships are becoming increasingly ethnically mixed. In 2011 9.3% of Hackneys
households were formed of mixed ethnic partnerships, a 2% increase since 2001.
The trends in increased mixed partnerships are also evident at a regional and
national level: since 2001, London has seen a 2.2% increase in mixed partnerships
and a 1.6% increase in households with ethnic differences, taking the total figures to
9.5% and 5.9% respectively whilst England as a whole has seen more modest
increases of 0.9% and 0.6% taking the total figures to 4.6% and 2.3%.
Just 39% of Hackneys households are made up of members of the same ethnic
group, the eighth lowest figure across all local authorities in England and lower than
both the regional (46.9%) and national (60.9%) averages. Hackney has, overall, seen
an 8,129 increase in multiple ethnic households across all categories, equating to an
overall 45% increase between 2001 and 2011. Across England, the proportion of
mixed households has increased in 346 out of 348 local authorities since 2001.
Excluding one-person households, 1 in 8 households in England now contain more
than one ethnic group.

Hackneys Diversity Index (by LSOA)

Table 1: Ethnic Groups 2011

2001 Census
Ethnic Group
ALL

Number

2011 Census
Number

Change between
2001 - 2011
%
Number
Change

202,824

100

246,270

100

43,446

21

120,468
89,490
24,861
6,117
NA

59.4
44.1
12.3
3.0
NA

134,617
89,030
39,897
5,216
474

54.7
36.2
16.2
2.1
0.2

14,149
-460
15,036
-901
NA

12%
-1%
60%
-15%
NA

50,009
24,290
20,879
4,840

24.7
12.0
10.3
2.4

56,858
27,976
19,168
9,714

23.1
11.4
7.8
3.9

6,849
3,686
-1,711
4,874

14%
15%
-8%
101%

19,791
7,624
1,655
5,970
2,377
2,165

9.8
3.8
0.8
2.9
1.2
1.1

25,867
7,599
6,747
6,180
3,436
1,905

10.5
3.1
2.7
2.5
1.4
0.8

6,076
-25
5,092
210
1,059
-260

3
1%
0%
308%
4%
45%
-12%

8,501
2,251
3,075
1,576
1,599

4.2
1.1
1.5
0.8
0.8

15,869
4,994
4,989
3,020
2,866

6.4
2.0
2.0
1.2
1.2

7,368
2,743
1,914
1,444
1,267

87%
122%
62%
92%
79%

4,055
4,055
NA

2.0
2.0
NA

13,059
11,338
1,721

5.3
4.6
0.7

9,004
7,283
NA

222%
180%
NA

43,446

21%

White
British
Other white
Irish
Gypsy or Irish Traveller
Black/Black British
African
Caribbean
Other
Asian/Asian British
Indian
Other
Bangladeshi
Chinese
Pakistani
Mixed
Other
White and Black Caribbean
White and Asian
White and Black African
Other
Any other ethnic group
Arab
TOTAL

202,824

246,270

* New ethnicity categories introduced in 2011 Census for the first time.
** There were a number of changes to the ethnic classification between 2001 and 2011 which affect these
comparisons. These include: the introduction of 2 new ethnic categories and; a change to the placement of the
Chinese category (from the 'Other ethnic groups' category to the 'Asian/Asian British' category).

2. Country of Birth and Year of Arrival: Migration Indicators

The Census provides data on where residents were born, complementing both
ethnicity data and passport data by providing important detail on first generation
migrant groups.
60.9% of Hackneys residents were born in the UK, the 12th lowest proportion in
England and significantly lower than the national average (86.2%). However,
Hackneys figure sits about inline with the London average (63%) and is significantly
higher that its neighbouring borough, Newham, where over half the residents were
born outside the UK4.

Migrants born in EU countries comprise 12% of Hackneys population, with Polish

born residents making up the largest single community within this group at 1.7%
(4,203 people). Residents born in Turkey represent 3.6% of Hackneys population
(8,982) and are the largest single migrant group in the borough, followed by Nigeria
at 2.7% (6,692) and Jamaica 1.8% (4,444).
Table 2: Top 10 Countries of Birth (excluding UK)
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Country
Turkey
Nigeria
Jamaica
Poland
Ireland
India
Bangladesh
United States
France
Italy

2011
%
3.6
2.7
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.2
1.1
1.1
1
1

Number
8,982
6,692
4,444
4,203
3,977
2,955
2,659
2,747
2,480
2,360

2001
%
Turkey
3.8
Nigeria
3.3
Jamaica
2.2
Ireland
2.1
India
1.5
Bangladesh
1.5
Cyprus
1.1
Germany
0.6
United States
0.6
Pakistan
0.5

Number
7729
6633
4445
4267
3111
3002
2283
1275
1267
1051

Other boroughs where over half the residents were born overseas are: Kensington and Chelsea, Brent and
Westminster

The majority of the boroughs migrants arrived in the UK when they were young
adults, with 78% aged less than 30 years old at arrival. 25% of migrant residents in
the Borough arrived in Hackney between 10 and 20 years ago (1991-2001) whilst
45% were more recent arrivals who have arrived in Hackney since 2001. Similarly,
the national figures show that 50% of migrant residents arrived in England in the last
10 years, the largest period of migration since 1941.
Changes since 2001
There has been a general increase in the proportion born abroad for all regions over
the period 2001-2011; the increase in number is especially notable for London which
has seen a 10% increase over the past decade. The change in Hackney has been
less extreme, which at 4.7% which is more inline with the national increase of 4%.
Although Census 2011 reported high numbers of Hackney residents born in Turkey,
Nigeria, Jamaica and Ireland, the figures for residents born in these countries have
not changed significantly since 2001. These communities are well established within
Hackney and have been settled in the borough for several decades: Turkish
residents arrived in three phases starting in the1930s then the 1970s and 1980s; the
Irish community began settling in the 1940s and the Jamaican and Nigerian
communities began arriving in Hackney in the 1960s.
In contrast, the number of residents born in Poland has increased from 520 in 2001
to 4203 in 2011 (808%), representing the fastest growing community in Hackney.
Polish born residents are the second fastest growing group (after Indian born
residents) across London and England as a whole and this increase across the board
can be explained with the accession of Poland to the EU in 2004 which enabled
Polish residents free movement across Europe, the majority of whom have arrived as
economic migrants.
Residents born in France, Italy and the United States have increased significantly in
Hackney since 2001, although not on the scale of Polish migrants. Given Hackneys
sizeable student population, coupled with a sharp increase in shared households
since 2001, which has been increasing since 2007 it is a possible that many of these
migrants are students.
Despite no South American countries falling within the countries of birth top ten,
Hackney has seen an increasing number of South American born residents arrive in
the borough over the past ten years. Around 1.7% of Hackney's population (4,221
persons) were born in a South American country in 2011, compared to 1,481 (0.8%
of the population) in 2001, totaling a 185% increase. Hackney has the seventh
highest proportion of South American residents out of all the local authorities across
the country (after Lambeth 3%, Southwark 2.6%, Kensington 2%, Westminster 1.9%,
Hammersmith 1.8% and Haringey 1.8%) - slightly higher than the London average of
1.1% but just under the Inner London average of 1.8%. The reasons for the increase
in South American born residents are diverse and might include residents who have
left countries with documented human rights issues (such as Columbia) or those with
connections to Europe (those who hold Spanish or Portuguese passports for
instance) either completing university studies or looking for employment
opportunities.
3. Passport Data
The 2011 Census was the first Census to ask a question regarding passports held.
Just 6.8% of Hackneys population do not hold a passport, compared with 7.2% for
London and 16.5% of England residents a whole, reflecting Hackneys high
proportion of migrants and ethnic diversity. The majority of passports held (72.2%)

are UK passports, highlighting that although Hackney has a high proportion of foreign
born residents; take up of British citizenship is also high.

The highest proportions of non UK passports in Hackney are from EU countries

(9.8%) African countries (3.7%) and North America and the Caribbean (2.8%).
The proportion of Hackney residents with passports from Non-EU countries is the 3 rd
highest in the country, after Westminster (2.2%) and Kensington (2.4%). Hackney
ranks 7th highest in the country for African passport holders (3.7%) with Southwark
showing the highest proportion at 6.4%.
4. National Identity
A new question was introduced in the 2011 Census to assess peoples national
identity. The question was How would you describe your national identity? and was
asked just before the ethnicity question. In response, residents could tick one or
more of the following six categories: British, English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish
or Other. There was also a write in section to describe national identity where the tick
options were not sufficient. The question was intended to assess which country or
nation(s) that people feel most affiliated to and enabled residents to provide Census
with a self perceived, personal categorisation of national identity, allowing them to
separate identity from country of birth and ethnic heritage if necessary.
In Hackney 76.7% of residents identified as having a UK national identity and 23.3%
identified as other identities only it is worth noting that people could tick as many
boxes as they wished of the groups listed. Within the other category, 11.3%
identified as European, 3.4% identified as African, 2.9% identified as

American/Caribbean, 2.5% identified as Middle Eastern/Asian, 2.2% identified as

Australasian and 0.4% identified as other.
People in Hackney were more likely to identify as British than Londoners generally
(42.8% vs. 38%), but less likely to identify as English (37.9% vs. 44 %). The
proportion identifying as other in Hackney was just under the London average
(23.3% vs. 25 %), but significantly above the national average of 9%.
5. Language
The 2011 Census reveals that 70% of households were English language
households (all adults with main language as English); 12% were mixed households
where English and other languages were the main languages and 14% were
households English was not a main language. Hackney has a low proportion of
English language households compared with the national average (91%) but sits
inline with the London average (74%). The lowest proportion of English language
households are in Newham (53%) and Brent (57%).
Despite a high proportion of households where English is not the main language,
English is the most widely spoken language in Hackney (75.9%). The proportion of
English speakers is significantly lower than the national figure of 92% and two points
lower than Londons figure which stands at 77.9%, and can be attributed to
Hackneys diverse migrant population.
Hackneys second most widely spoken language is Turkish (4.5%), the third highest
rate in London, after Enfield (6.3%) and Haringey (4.9%) and is more than four times
the rate of London as a whole (0.9%), reflecting Hackneys long established, large
Turkish community. Polish (1.7%) is the third most widely spoken language, higher
than the proportion for England (1%) although lower than the proportion in London
(1.9%). Spanish is spoken by 1.5% of Hackneys population, despite just 1659
(0.67% of the population) listing Spain as their country of birth, providing further
evidence of an increasing South American community within the borough.
Table 2: Top ten languages spoken in Hackney
Language
English
Turkish
Polish
Spanish
French
Yiddish
Bengali
Portuguese
Gujarati
German

% of Population in Hackney
75.9
4.5
1.7
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.3
1.2
0.8
0.7

Around 10% of Hackney residents who do not speak English as a main language
class themselves as being able to speak English very well. This is inline with the
regional figure of 9.8% and three times that of the national figure of 3.3%. The
proportion of residents who describe themselves as speaking English well (8.2%) is
the same as the London average and three times that of the figure for England as a
whole (3.3%).

10

Despite high levels of proficiency in English, Hackney has the fifth highest proportion
of residents in the country who cannot speak English at all, although this proportion
accounts for just 1% (2,046) of the population. Tower Hamlets has the highest
proportion of residents who cannot speak English (1.6%) in England.
Proficiency in English

Hackney %

London %

England %

Main language is English

Main language is not English : Can
speak English very well
Main language is not English: Can
speak English well
Main language is not English: Cannot
speak English well
Main language is not English: Cannot
speak English

75.9

77.9

92.0

9.9

9.8

3.3

8.2

8.2

3.0

5.0

3.5

1.4

1.0

0.6

0.3

Comparisons to previous Census data are not possible due to the 2011 Census
being the first to address languages information.
Households where no one speaks English as a main language

11

6. Religion
Christianity remains the leading belief system in Hackney, followed by residents with
no religion, Muslims, Jews and lastly Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus and residents of other
religions which together make up 3.1% of Hackneys population. Nearly one in ten
residents (9.8%) did not state their religion on their Census form.

Hackney has the third highest proportion of Jewish residents across England
(accounting for 6.3% of the population) after Barnet (15.2%) and Hertsmere (14.3%),
significantly higher than the London average of 1.8% and the national average of
0.5%. Over 85% (13,242) of Hackneys Jewish residents live in Springfield, New
River, Lordship and Cazenove wards and most likely form part of the long standing
orthodox (Charedi) community in the north of the borough. All these wards fall into
the top 20 wards in the country for the highest numbers of Jewish residents.
Although the proportion of Jewish residents is high compared to regional and national
figures, it is low compared with other population studies that make up Hackneys
evidence base. The most recent population study, carried out by Mayhew Harper
Associates was conducted in March 2011 (on the same day as Census 2011) and
found that Jewish residents makeup at least 7% of the population. The low figure
found by Census for Jewish residents could be as a result of Jewish residents either
being less likely to answer the question on religion on the Census form (it is an
optional question) and therefore those residents falling under the religion not stated
category or the possibility that Jewish residents, alongside other harder to reach
groups, may have been less likely to fill in the Census form at all.

12

Changes since 2001

Over one in four residents (28.2%) in Hackney have no religion, up from 19% in
2001. The increase in people reporting no religion is inline with the national figure of
25.1% up from 14.8% in 2001. The no religion group was the only category to show
significant growth over the past decade, although there has been a modest increase
in the proportion of Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist residents in Hackney since 2001.
The proportion of residents identifying as Christian has decreased by 8% since the
2001 Census and now stands at 38.6%. Again, this decrease in the proportion of
Christian residents mirrors the national trend which has seen a decrease in Christian
residents from 71.7% in 2001 to 59.3% in 2011.
The decline in Christianity and increase in residents with no religion is part of an
ongoing local, regional and national trend towards multiculturalism and integration
that is happening on a national, as well as local and regional, scale. As noted earlier,
Hackney saw an increase in mixed partnerships and an increase in residents with
mixed ethnic backgrounds between 2001 and 2011. It might be expected that these
changes, together with the fact that around 40% of Hackneys residents were born
abroad, have resulted in a reduction in the Christian population, or rather an increase
in residents with no religious faith and a reduced Christian following.
Religion 2001-2011
Religion
Christian
No religion
Muslim (%)
Religion not stated
Jewish
Buddhist
Sikh
Hindu
Any other religion

2001 (%)
46.6
19
13.8
12
5.3
1.1
0.9
0.8
0.6

2011 (%)
38.6
28.2
14.1
9.6
6.3
1.2
0.8
0.6
0.5

13