50 years of collecting ethnicity data
![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).](https://history.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/2011-census-England-ethnic-group-question-landscape-1024x723.png)
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.
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.