English language skills

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Last updated 17 May 2019 - see all updates

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1. Main facts and figures

  • at the 2011 Census, more than 90% of people in England and Wales said English was their first language
  • 1.3% of the population of England and Wales (726,000 people) could speak English but not well, and 0.3% of the population (138,000 people) reported that they could not speak English at all
  • Polish was the most commonly spoken language after English
  • after White British people, people from a Black Caribbean background were the ethnic group most likely to speak English as their main language
  • people from a Bangladeshi ethnic background were the group most likely to not speak English well, or at all
  • people from an Other White ethnic background were the group least likely to speak English as their main language
  • 3 in 5 of those who couldn’t speak English well were female (Pakistani and Bangladeshi women were 5 times more likely than their male counterparts to speak no English at all)
  • there were regional differences in the percentage of people who couldn’t speak English for most ethnic groups
Things you need to know

When asked in the 2011 Census what their main language was, residents of Wales were given the choice of ‘English or Welsh’ or ‘Other’ (rather than just ‘English’ or ‘Other’). Only respondents selecting ‘Other’ were then asked about their command of the English language, so for the purposes of this analysis Welsh speakers are grouped with English speakers.

When comparing estimates for English language skills between ethnic groups, bear in mind that it’s important to understand the historical contexts in which different ethnic groups settled in Britain.

What the data measures

This data measures the percentage of people in each ethnic group who speak English as their main language. It also measures the English language skills of those who have another language as their main language. It estimates the percentage of people from different ethnicities who in 2011 could:

  • speak English very well or well
  • speak English but not well
  • not speak English at all

The data also includes the numbers of speakers of other languages. These figures come from the 2011 Census, carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in England and Wales.

The data includes all usual residents of England and Wales aged 3 and over.

The ethnic categories used in this data

Data was collected using the 18 categories for ethnicity in the 2011 Census.

The data is broken down at the regional level by ethnicity, sex and age.

The ethnic groupings used are:

  • White and Mixed combined
  • Asian Indian
  • Asian Pakistani
  • Asian Bangladeshi
  • Asian Chinese/Other
  • Black African
  • Black Caribbean
  • Black Other
  • Other
  • All ethnic groups

2. By ethnicity

Location:
England and Wales
Time period:
2011
Source:
England and Wales 2021 Census
Percentage of people in each level of English language skills by ethnicity
Ethnicity Main language is English/Welsh Other main language: could speak English very well or well Other main language: could not speak English well Other main language: could not speak English
All 92.3 6.1 1.3 0.3
White British 99.7 0.2 0.0 0.0
White Irish 98.5 1.3 0.2 0.0
White Gypsy/Traveller 90.8 5.0 3.3 0.9
Other White 35.9 51.9 10.6 1.6
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 98.2 1.5 0.3 0.1
Mixed White/Black African 83.0 14.2 2.3 0.4
Mixed White/Asian 90.4 7.7 1.7 0.3
Other Mixed 83.7 13.4 2.5 0.5
Asian Indian 63.4 29.2 6.0 1.4
Asian Pakistani 61.7 27.2 9.1 2.1
Asian Bangladeshi 47.9 36.0 13.2 3.0
Asian Chinese 44.4 40.4 13.0 2.3
Asian other 42.4 47.9 8.4 1.3
Black African 71.9 24.4 3.3 0.5
Black Caribbean 98.5 1.2 0.2 0.1
Other Black 82.3 14.3 2.8 0.5
Arab 40.8 48.5 8.9 1.8
Any other 47.0 41.7 9.6 1.6

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)

Summary of English language skills By ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

  • 98.5% of people from both Black Caribbean and White Irish backgrounds spoke English as their main language – a higher percentage than any other group after White British (99.7%), and considerably higher than the 92.3% average for England and Wales

  • more than 6 in 10 people from an Indian or Pakistani background spoke English as their main language, and a further 3 in 10 didn't speak English as their main language but spoke it very well

  • less than half (47.9%) of people from a Bangladeshi background spoke English as their main language, 13.2% spoke English but not well, and 3.0% didn’t speak English at all

  • people from Other White backgrounds were the least likely to speak English as their main language (35.9% did so) and around 1 in 8 (12.2%) couldn’t speak English well, or at all

3. By ethnicity and sex

Location:
England and Wales
Time period:
2011
Source:
England and Wales 2021 Census
Percentage of people who couldn't speak English, or had poor English, by gender
Males Females
Ethnicity Males Could not speak English Males Could not speak English well Females Could not speak English Females Could not speak English well
All 0.2 1.2 0.3 1.5
White British 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
White Irish 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.2
White Gypsy/Traveller 0.9 3.1 0.9 3.4
Other White 1.5 11.0 1.7 10.3
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.3
Mixed White/Black African 0.3 1.9 0.5 2.8
Mixed White/Asian 0.2 1.6 0.4 1.8
Other Mixed 0.4 2.4 0.5 2.6
Asian Indian 0.6 4.0 2.2 8.1
Asian Pakistani 0.7 5.8 3.5 12.5
Asian Bangladeshi 1.1 9.7 5.0 16.9
Asian Chinese 2.1 13.4 2.4 12.6
Asian other 0.8 7.0 1.8 9.6
Black African 0.3 2.2 0.7 4.2
Black Caribbean 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.2
Other Black 0.4 1.9 0.7 3.8
Arab 1.1 6.6 2.8 12.1
Any other 1.1 8.0 2.2 11.5

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and sex’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and sex’ (CSV)

Summary of English language skills By ethnicity and sex Summary

This data shows that:

  • while just 1.6% of the population (863,000 people) couldn’t speak English well or at all, around 6 in 10 of these were girls or women (510,000 people)
  • the Chinese ethnic group had the highest percentage of boys and men with poor English language skills, at 15.5%
  • the Bangladeshi ethnic group had the highest percentage of girls and women with poor English language skills, at 21.9%
  • the biggest gender differences in English language skills were in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups: 16.0% of Pakistani girls and women couldn’t speak English well or at all, compared with 6.5% of boys and men, while 21.9% of Bangladeshi girls and women couldn’t speak English well or at all, compared with 10.8% of boys and men

4. By ethnicity and area

Location:
England and Wales
Time period:
2011
Source:
England and Wales 2021 Census
Percentage of people who couldn't speak English, by ethnicity and region
Ethnicity North East North West Yorkshire and The Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East South West Wales
White British 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
White Irish 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
White Gypsy/Traveller 0.6 1.2 1.7 1.5 0.8 0.5 2.6 0.3 0.3 0.4
Other White 1.7 1.9 2.7 2.5 2.3 1.8 1.3 1.1 1.3 2.5
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1
Mixed White/Black African 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.2
Mixed White/Asian 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.3
Other Mixed 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.2
Asian Indian 0.5 1.2 1.1 2.5 1.7 0.6 1.3 0.7 0.5 0.6
Asian Pakistani 1.3 2.0 2.7 2.0 2.8 1.9 1.1 1.6 0.7 1.2
Asian Bangladeshi 2.6 3.5 3.3 2.6 3.5 2.5 3.1 1.9 1.5 2.7
Asian Chinese 2.7 3.2 2.4 1.7 2.8 1.9 2.2 1.8 1.7 2.9
Asian other 0.6 1.3 1.5 1.4 2.0 0.7 1.4 1.3 0.8 1.2
Black African 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.7 0.9
Black Caribbean 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Other Black 1.0 0.6 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.7 1.5
Arab 3.0 2.2 2.8 2.4 2.8 1.6 1.4 1.0 1.2 2.8
Any other 1.0 1.3 2.2 2.0 2.1 0.8 1.7 1.0 1.4 2.3

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)

Summary of English language skills By ethnicity and area Summary

This data shows that:

  • overall, the Bangladeshi ethnic group had the highest percentage of people unable to speak English, with the highest percentages found in the West Midlands (3.5%), the North West (3.5%), Yorkshire and the Humber (3.5%) and London (3.1%)

  • in general, across all ethnic groups, the lowest percentages of people unable to speak English were found in the East of England, South East and South West regions

5. By ethnicity, sex and age

Location:
England and Wales
Time period:
2011
Source:
England and Wales 2021 Census
Percentage of people who couldn't speak English, by ethnicity, sex and age
3 to 9 years 10 to 24 years 25 to 44 years 45 to 64 years 65 years and over
Ethnicity 3 to 9 years Males 3 to 9 years Females 10 to 24 years Males 10 to 24 years Females 25 to 44 years Males 25 to 44 years Females 45 to 64 years Males 45 to 64 years Females 65 years and over Males 65 years and over Females
Asian
Bangladeshi 1.2 1.0 0.3 0.7 0.9 2.8 2.5 17.4 5.5 44.9
Chinese 2.1 1.9 0.3 0.3 2.1 1.2 3.0 3.0 11.5 22.8
Indian 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 2.0 2.9 16.2
Pakistani 0.8 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.5 1.5 0.8 9.0 3.9 31.0
Asian other 1.9 1.7 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.9 0.7 2.5 4.0 12.4
Black
Black African 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.6 1.7 10.2
Black Caribbean 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1
Black other 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.6 1.6 8.1
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.6 0.4 2.0
Mixed White/Black African 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.9 2.0 5.6
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2
Mixed other 0.5 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.8 0.9 0.6 1.7
White
White British 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
White Irish 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
White Gypsy/Traveller 2.4 2.1 0.5 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.7 0.9 0.4 0.4
White other 5.1 4.7 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 2.3 2.9 1.5 3.5
Other
Arab 4.4 4.2 0.4 1.1 0.6 2.0 0.7 3.1 2.6 17.5
Any other 2.2 2.3 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.2 1.1 2.6 4.3 12.5

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity, sex and age’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity, sex and age’ (CSV)

Summary of English language skills By ethnicity, sex and age Summary

This data shows that:

  • across most ethnic groups, women were more likely than men to be unable to speak English – and the likelihood increased with age

  • 44.9% of Bangladeshi women aged 65 and over (3,500 people) couldn’t speak English, making them the single group of people most likely to be unable to do so

  • by comparison, only 5.5% of Bangladeshi males aged 65 and over, and 0.8% of female Bangladeshi children aged under 25, couldn’t speak English

  • people in the Black Caribbean and Mixed White and Black Caribbean ethnic groups had similar (and very small) proportions of people who could not speak English, regardless of sex or age

6. Other languages spoken

Location:
England and Wales
Time period:
2011
Source:
England and Wales 2021 Census
Number of speakers (1,000s) of main languages
Language '000s
English (English or Welsh in Wales) 49,808
Polish 546
Panjabi 273
Urdu 269
Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya) 221
Gujarati 213
Arabic 159
French 147
Chinese (other than Mandarin and Cantonese) 141
Portuguese 133
Spanish 120

Download table data for ‘Other languages spoken’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Other languages spoken’ (CSV)

Summary of English language skills Other languages spoken Summary

This data shows that:

  • Polish was the most commonly spoken language after English, with 546,000 people (1% of the population) reporting it as their main language

  • after English and Polish, the most commonly spoken languages were Panjabi and Urdu, with 273,000 and 269,000 speakers respectively

7. Methodology

Standard statistical techniques have been used to measure how much the 2011 Census has undercounted, to adjust the results and to help more accurately assess the characteristics of individuals and households.

All census population estimates were extensively quality assured using other national and local sources of information.

The 2011 Census achieved its overall target response rate of 94% of the usually resident population of England and Wales, and over 80% in all local authorities. The population estimate for England and Wales of 56.1 million is estimated with 95% confidence to be accurate to within +/- 85,000 (0.15%).

Simultaneous but separate censuses took place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. These were run by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) respectively.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

In order to protect against disclosure of personal information, records have been swapped between different geographic areas. Some counts will be affected, particularly small counts at the lowest geographical level.

Related publications

2011 Census; language by region, ONS

Language in England and Wales: 2011

Quality and methodology information

Further technical information

2011 Census information on The Office for National Statistics website

8. Data sources

Source

Type of data

Survey data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Office for National Statistics

Publication frequency

Every 10 years

Purpose of data source

The Census takes place every 10 years. Census data gives the government the information it needs to plan and run public services. It is also used as a benchmark for other statistical estimates, and can help illustrate differences between various groups in the population.

9. Download the data

English language skills - Spreadsheet (csv) 4 MB

This file contains: Region code, Region name, Time, Gender, Age group, Ethnicity, Language proficiency, Count, Percentage

Publication release date: 7 February 2018

Updated: 17 May 2019

full page history
  1. Added the date range that the data covers (2011) to the first bullet point in 'Main facts and figures’.
  2. Some headings have been changed. No data or commentary has been updated.
  3. First published

From: Office for National Statistics

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