2011 Census Analysis, What does the 2011 Census tell us about the characteristics of Gypsy or Irish Travellers in England and Wales?

From the ONS

8,000 people identified themselves as Gypsy or Irish Traveller in the 2011 Census (0.1 per cent of the usual resident population of England and Wales).

People identifying as Gypsy or Irish Traveller had a higher proportion of residents under the age of 20 at 39 per cent. This compares to 24 per cent of the overall England and Wales population who were under 20.

Gypsy or Irish Travellers born in non-UK EU countries was double the proportion for England and Wales as a whole – 8 per cent compared to 4 per cent.

The majority of people who identified as Gypsy or Irish Traveller identified with an English only national identity (66 per cent) and were Christian (64 per cent).

Gypsy or Irish Travellers had the highest proportion with no qualifications for any ethnic group (60 per cent) – almost three times higher than for England and Wales as a whole (23 per cent).

Gypsy or Irish Traveller was the ethnic group with the lowest proportion of respondents who were economically active at 47 per cent, compared to 63 per cent for England and Wales as a whole.

Over half of those who were economically active were employed (51 per cent compared to 75 per cent for the total of England and Wales) and 20 per cent were unemployed (compared to 7 per cent for the whole of England and Wales). Gypsy or Irish Traveller had the highest proportion of self-employed out of the ethnic groups at 26 per cent compared to 14 per cent for England and Wales.

Elementary occupations (such as sales, service or construction) were the most common type of employment at 22 per cent for Gypsy or Irish Traveller (11 per cent for England and Wales as a whole).

Just under half of Gypsy or Irish Traveller households had dependent children (45 per cent) – above the average for the whole of England and Wales (29 per cent).

Whole house or bungalow was the most common type of accommodation for respondents who identified as Gypsy or Irish Traveller, at 61per cent (84 per cent for England and Wales as a whole), followed by caravan or other mobile or temporary structure at 24 per cent (0.3 per cent for England and Wales as a whole).

Gypsy or Irish Travellers were more than twice as likely to live in social housing than the overall population of England and Wales (41 per cent compared to 16 per cent) and less likely to own their accommodation outright (21 per cent compared to 26 per cent).

Gypsy or Irish Travellers had the lowest proportion of any ethnic group rating their general health as ‘good’ or 'very good' at 70 per cent compared to 81 per cent overall of the overall population of England and Wales.

Gypsy or Irish Traveller ethnic group was among the highest providers of unpaid care in England and Wales at 11 per cent (10 per cent for England and Wales as a whole) and provided the highest proportion of people providing 50 hours or more of unpaid care at 4 per cent (compared to 2 per cent for England and Wales as a whole).

see also: The Daily Telegraph - Younger, sicker, less educated: first census into Britain's Gypsy population


The Daily Mail - Unhealthy, uneducated and unemployed: But first census into Britain's Gypsy population reveals only a quarter live in a caravan

The Belfast Telegraph - Census highlights Gypsy concerns

The Independent - Gypies and Irish Travellers are more likely to live in a house than a caravan, data shows