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50 years of collecting ethnicity data

Posted by: Richard Laux, Posted on: 7 March 2019 - Categories: Cabinet Office
The question asks ‘What is your ethnic group’, and the instructions say “Choose ONE section from A to E, then tick one box to best describe your ethnic group or background”. Section A, White, has 4 tick boxes: English/Welsh/Scottish/Norther Irish/British, Irish, Gypsy or Irish Traveller, and Any other White background (with a space to write in). Section B, Mixed/multiple ethnic groups, has 4 tick boxes: White and Black Caribbean, White and Black African, White and Asian, and Any other Mixed/multiple ethnic background (with a space to write in). Section C, Asian/Asian British, has 5 tick boxes: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and Any other Asian background (with a space to write in). Section D, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British, has 3 tick boxes: African, Caribbean, and Any other Black/African/Caribbean background (with a space to write in). Section E (Other ethnic group) has 2 tick boxes: Arab, and Any other ethnic group (with a space to write in).

This post looks at how ethnicity data collection has changed, the challenges the government has faced over the years, and the importance of collecting ethnicity data in a consistent way.

Read more of 50 years of collecting ethnicity data

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