China is the most common country of birth for non-UK-born short-term residents

There were 136,000 non-UK-born short-term residents recorded by Census 2021; 45% were men and 55% were women, while a third (33%) were aged between 20 and 24 years. Compared with the 2011 Census, the proportion of EU-born short-term residents fell from 35% to 25% in 2021, while the proportion of non-EU-born residents rose from 65% to 75%.

Almost a third of non-UK-born short-term residents lived in London (29%), while Westminster (and City of London) (1.4%), and Cardiff (0.6%) were the English and Welsh local authorities with the highest percentage of non-UK-born short-term residents in their total population.

China was the most common country of birth for non-UK-born short-term residents (21%) followed by India (10%) and Romania (5%); in 2011, India, China and United States were the most common, while Romania was not present in the top 10.

Of non-UK-born short-term residents, 42% were economically inactive students, with 45% of this population born in China.

There were 136,000 non-UK-born short-term residents in England and Wales, of which 33% were aged 20 to 24 years. Over 40% (57,135) of non-UK-born short-term residents were economically inactive students, which may explain the high proportion of short-term residents in this age group. In Census 2021, 45% of non-UK-born short-term residents were men and 55% were women. This differs from the 2011 Census, where 50% were men and 50% were women.

Figure 1: The most common age group for EU and non-EU-born short-term residents was 20 to 24 years

Percentage of non-UK-born short-term residents by age, and country of birth group

• Figure 1 shows the distribution of the EU and non-EU-born short-term resident population by age. EU and non-EU-born short-term residents follow a similar age distribution pattern, with a peak in short-term residents aged 20 to 24 years. This age grouping accounts for a third (34%) of non-EU-born short-term residents, and just below a third (30%) of EU-born short-term residents.

  There was a higher proportion of EU-born short-term residents aged between 16 and 19 years while non-EU-born had a higher proportion between ages 25 and 29 years. This may be partly because of the Erasmus student exchange programme, where EU students have the mobility to study abroad at Erasmus partner universities. This likely contributed to the EU-born short-term resident population in the UK.

  Although the UK withdrew from the Erasmus programme in January 2021, all Erasmus projects commencing under the 2014 to 2020 programme were able to continue operations until their completion. As many Erasmus projects are multi-annual, those involving the UK were allowed to continue if they were not complete by January 2021.

• In the 2011 Census, although non-UK-born short-term residents were also most likely to be between the ages of 16 and 29 years, the higher proportion of women to men was less pronounced in ages 20 to 24 years. The subsequent ages of 25 to 34 years were characterised by a higher proportion of men (16% of non-UK-born short-term residents) to women (13%).
• London accounted for the highest percentage of non-UK-born short-term residents (29%), followed by South East (14%) and North West (11%). The top three regions remained the same as they did in the 2011 Census.

  Wales contained the smallest percentage of non-UK-born short-term residents (3%), followed by the North East (3%) and East Midlands (6%). This is consistent with the 2011 Census where these also had the smallest proportion of non-UK-born short-term residents, though the North East showed the smallest percentage.

• The North West had the largest proportional difference between EU (20%) and non-EU-born (80%) short-term residents. The East of England had the smallest proportional difference, with 34% EU and 66% non-EU-born short-term residents. For Wales, 23% were EU-born and 77% were non-EU-born.

  The top 15 local authorities contained 43,315 non-UK-born short-term residents, accounting for nearly a third of the total in England and Wales. The local authority with the most non-UK-born short-term residents was Manchester, with 5,420 short-term residents (0.9% of Manchester’s total population). This was followed by Birmingham, with 4,110 non-UK-born short-term residents (0.4% of Birmingham’s total population). Coventry was third at 3,260 (0.9% of Coventry’s total population). In Wales, Cardiff was the local authority with the most non-UK-born short-term residents at 2,045 (0.6% of total population).

  Of the top 15, non-UK-born short-term residents made up the highest percentage of the total population in Westminster (and City of London) and Oxford, at 1.4% each, followed by Camden, at 1.3%. Each of the 15 local authorities are city areas and contain at least one university

• Breaking down non-UK-born short-term residents by residence type shows that a large proportion of EU-born short-term residents lived in households (82%) compared with communal establishments (18%). Non-EU-born short-term residents were slightly more evenly distributed, with 67% residing in households, and 33% in communal establishments. In comparison, a small proportion of usual residents lived in communal establishments for both EU (2%) and non-EU-born (3%).

  When looking at residence type by economic activity, economically inactive students accounted for 85% of all non-UK-born short-term residents living in communal establishments. In comparison, just over half (53%) of non-UK-born usual residents living in communal establishments were economically inactive students.

• Another important change in 2021 was the rise of Romania to be the third most common country of birth among short-term residents. As these comparisons are proportional, they are unable to show whether the changes were caused by fewer EU-born individuals coming to the UK or influenced by changes in people from non-EU countries.

  When compared with usual residents, there were some differences between the two population groups. Poland was the second most common country of birth for usual residents, compared with the eighth in non-UK-born short-term residents. China was the most common country of birth for non-UK-born short-term residents but was not present in the top 10 for usual residents. Ireland was also not in the top 10 for non-UK-born short-term residents but fifth highest for usual residents. India and Pakistan were ranked highly for both population groups, with India the most common for usual residents and second for non-UK-born short-term, while Pakistan was third (long-term) and fourth (short-term).

• When broken down by passports held, Figure 8 shows that the proportion of non-UK-born short-term residents holding United Kingdom passports had more than doubled since 2011, rising from 5% to 11%. Despite being outside the top 10 in 2011, Hong Kong (Special administrative region of China) passport holders were the seventh most common in 2021.

  There was also a decrease in the proportion of United States passport holders, falling from the third most common in 2011 (5%) to the 10th in 2021 (2%). Other changes included a decrease in the proportion of France and Italy passport holders since 2011, while Romania passport holders became the third most common among non-UK-born short-term residents.

• Short-term migrants come to the UK for a variety of reasons, including for study, employment and looking after family. Breaking down by economic activity means we can see why people from different countries may have come to the UK. The Census provides a snapshot of non-UK-born short-term residents and may not reflect the movements of short-term residents in employment throughout the year, such as a potential increase in short-term residents working in agriculture during harvest season for example.

  Census 2021 took place during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a period of unparalleled and rapid change; the national lockdown, associated guidance and furlough measures will have affected the labour market topic. Take care when using these data for planning and policy purposes. For more information see our article comparing LFS estimates to census labour market estimates.

  46% of non-UK-born short-term residents were economically inactive students, with 83% of this group born in non-EU countries. This was followed by those in employment (23%) where 59% of this group was born in non-EU countries.

• Census 2021 also provided industry breakdowns of non-UK-born short-term residents who were employed at the time. However, it is important to acknowledge the relatively small counts involved (28,880) when interpreting these breakdowns.

  Wholesale and retail and repair of motor vehicles was the most common industry among all non-UK-born short-term residents in employment, accounting for 15% of both EU and non-EU-born. This is followed by non-UK-born short-term residents employed in human health and social work activities, representing 12% of EU-born and 15% of non-EU-born.

  There is variation in the proportion of EU-born by industry compared with non-EU-born short-term residents by industry. For example, there was a higher proportion of non-EU-born short-term residents employed in information and communication (6%) compared with EU-born (3%). Non-EU-born were also more likely to work in professional, scientific and technical activities (8%) compared with EU-born (5%).

  EU-born short-term residents in employment were much more likely to work in agriculture, forestry and fishing (7%) compared with non-EU-born (1%). There was also a higher proportion of EU-born short-term residents in employment in the manufacturing and construction industries.