More Wigan residents identify as British rather than English than they did a decade ago

Jon Wroth-Smith, census deputy director, said the recent data highlights that we are living in an "increasingly multi-cultural society" across England and Wales, with fewer people saying they belong to a particular nation.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics show 18 per cent of people in Wigan identified as English only when the census took place last year, down significantly from 74 per cent in 2011.

And 58 per cent selected British only in the recent survey while 12 per cent chose the identity a decade ago.

Overall, about 96 per cent of people in Wigan chose any UK identity in 2021, down slightly from 98 in 2011.

Across England and Wales, 90 per cent usual residents identified with at least one UK national identity – a slight decrease from 92 in 2011.

The proportion of people identifying as English only saw the sharpest fall, from 58 per cent selecting the national identity 10 years ago to just 15 last year.

People opting for Welsh only also fell slightly, from 3.7 per cent of the population 10 years ago to 3.2 per cent last year.

Nationally, 55 per cent said they identified as British – leaping from 19 in the previous census.

The census also revealed shifts in ethnicities across England and Wales with the proportion of people identifying as white falling to 82 per cent last year from 86 in 2011.

And 74 per cent of the total population in identified their ethnic group as white English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British in the recent survey – down from 81 per cent a decade prior.

About 95 per cent of people identified as white in Wigan in 2021, down slightly from 97 in the previous census.

Additionally, 92 per cent identified as white English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British – a slight decrease from 95 per cent in the previous census.

Mr Wroth-Smith said: "The percentage of people identifying their ethnic group as 'White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British', continues to decrease.

"Whilst this remains the most common response to the ethnic group question, the number of people identifying with another ethnic group continues to increase."

In Wigan 5,826 residents (two per cent) identified as Asian or Asian British and 3,907 (one per cent) selected black or black British as their ethnicity. A further 4,353 (one per cent) said they were mixed ethnicity.