Main language (detailed for England, Northern Ireland and Wales) 2011

Dataset population: Persons aged 3 and over

Main language (detailed)

The language that is a person's first or preferred language.

This information helps central government, local authorities and the NHS to allocate resources and provide services for non-English speakers, e.g. English teaching and translation services. It is a better indicator than country of birth, which was previously used to forecast the additional cost of providing services to people whose first language is not English.

The data are also used to assess the impact of English or Welsh language ability on employment and other social inclusion indicators.

Information on the number of British Sign Language users helps with service planning and assists in developing policies to address the needs of the deaf community.

These statistics are used by public service providers to effectively target the delivery of their services, for example in the provision of translation and interpretation services, the availability of English language lessons, and the distribution of official information leaflets in alternative languages.

Data and Resources

Local Authority and aboveCSV datastore Error
England, Northern Ireland and Wales coverage
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Wards and Electoral DivisionsCSV datastore Error
England, Northern Ireland and Wales coverage
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Middle Super Output Areas and Intermediate ZonesCSV datastore Error
England and Wales coverage
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Lower Super Output Areas and Data ZonesCSV datastore Error
England, Northern Ireland and Wales coverage
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Output Areas and Small AreasCSV datastore Error
England, Northern Ireland and Wales coverage
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Merged Local AuthoritiesCSV datastore Error
England coverage
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Merged Wards and Electoral DivisionsCSV datastore Error
England and Wales coverage
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Bulk data (all geographies)ZIP
Codes as headers, descriptions in separate file. England, Northern Ireland...
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Main language (detailed) DefinitionCSV datastore Error
Metadata
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Additional Info

Field	Value
Last Updated	September 20, 2022, 17:17 (BST)
Created	September 20, 2022, 17:17 (BST)
Visibility	Public
Year	2011
Topics	Language
Units	Persons
Geographic Layer	Census Electoral Divisions Census Wards Counties Countries Local Authorities Local Government Districts London Boroughs Lower Super Output Areas Merging Local Authorities Merging Wards and Electoral Divisions Metropolitan Districts Middle Super Output Areas Non-Metropolitan Districts Output Areas Regions Small Areas Super Output Areas Unitary Authorities
Frequency	Decennial
DOI	http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2011-2
Citation	Office for National Statistics; National Records of Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency; UK Data Service. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2011-2
Geographical Coverage Location	England, Northern Ireland and Wales
Granularity	Country level down to Output Areas and Small Areas
Geographic Spatial data	{"geo_type": "multipolygon", "lat": "52.8489", "lon": "-3.20552", "left": "-8.17382", "top": "55.8111", "right": "1.76277", "bottom": "49.8866", "srid": null, "accuracy": null, "source": null}