United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Land Population

Ethnic group	Population
% of total
White	54,153,898	92.1%
Black	1,148,738	2.0%
Mixed race	677,117	1.2%
Indian	1,053,411	1.8%
Pakistani	747,285	1.3%
Bangladeshi	283,063	0.5%
Other South Asian	247,644	0.4%
Chinese	247,403	0.4%
Other (inc. East-Asian, Arab, Oceanic, Latin American)	230,615	0.4%

Languages
The UK does not de jure have an official language but the

predominant spoken language is English, a West Germanic language descended from Old English, which features a large number of borrowings from Old Norse, Norman French and Latin.

Largely because of the British Empire the English language has

spread across the world and become the international language of

business as well as the most widely taught second language.

Scots, a language descended from early northern Middle English, is recognized at European level. There are also four Celtic languages in use in the UK: Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish.

Across the United Kingdom it is generally compulsory for pupils to study a second language to some extent: up to the age of 14 in England and up to age 16 in Scotland. French and German are the two most commonly taught second languages in England and Scotland. In Wales all pupils up to age 16 are either taught in Welsh or taught Welsh as a second language.
Religion
The largest religious group in England is Christianity, with the Church of England (Anglican) being the Established Church: the Church retains a representation in the UK Parliament and the British monarch is a member of the church as well as its Supreme Governor. The Church of England also retains the right to draft legislative measures (related to religious administration) through the General Synod, that can then be passed into law by Parliament. The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is the second largest Christian Church with around 5 million members, mainly in England.

The largest Religious group in Scotland is also Christianity, though the Presbyterian Church of Scotland (known informally as the Kirk), is recognized as the national church. It is not subject to the state control and the British monarch is an ordinary member required to swear an oath to “defend the security” of the church upon his or her accession.

The Church in Wales became independent from the Church of

England in 1920, but remains in the Anglican Communion. Baptist Union of Wales, Methodism and the Presbyterian Church of Wales are present in Wales as well.

The main religious groups in Northern Ireland are organized on an all-Ireland basis. Though Protestants and Anglicans are in the overall majority, the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland is the largest single Church.

The British tradition of religious tolerance has been particularly

important since the 1950s, when immigrants began to introduce a great variety of religious beliefs. There are large and growing communities that practice Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. The largest number of Muslims came from Pakistan and Bangladesh, with sizable groups from India, Cyprus, the Arab world, Malaysia and parts of Africa. The large Sikh and Hindu communities originated in India. There are also many Buddhist groups.