The 2021 Census of England and Wales provides us with detailed statistics across all households in Leicester and Leicestershire. Given that the Census only takes place every 10 years the data from the Census is eagerly anticipated and can give us unprecedented insight. The data is being released in stages by the Office for National Statistics with an up to date snapshot of the results for Leicester available from the Nomis statistics portal.
Here, our Frontrunner Intern Patrycja Pyzikiewicz provides a snapshot of the data on religion.
Around 71% of residents in Leicester said they follow a particular religion, 23% follow no religion and 6 % did not state a religion. These figures are the same as those in 2011 and so we observe no overall shift in religiosity.
Leicester continues to have a relatively high level of religion. For instance, the 23% who follow no religion in Leicester compares to 37% in England overall.
In the pie chart below we summarize the breakdown of religions in Leicester in 2021. You can see that most residents who express a religion are either Christian (35% of residents and 91,161 in total), Muslim (33%), Hindu (25%) or Sikh (6%).
If we compare to 2011 (next figure) then we can see a notable reduction in Christians (from 45% of residents to 35%) and increase in Muslims (from 26% to 33%) and Hindus (21% to 25%). The lack of any overall change in religiosity, thus, masks changes across religions.
We can also compare Leicester to England (next figure). The diversity of Leicester is clearly apparent in this comparison with Leicester having a much higher proportion of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs than England overall.
Around 2,100 residents specified a religion other than one of the main religions identified above. The chart below summarizes the main other religions in Leicester.
