2021 census: How many veterans are there?

The 2021 Census in England and Wales included a question on veterans for the first time. On 10 November the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its first release of this data.

This Insight explores what the data so far reveals about the UK’s veteran population.

Why ask about veteran status?

The 2021 Census in England and Wales asked all respondents aged 16 or over if they had previously served in the UK armed forces (including both regulars and reservists). Anyone who has served in the armed forces for at least one day is classed as a veteran.

The intention behind this is to improve understanding of the veteran community, which up until now has been limited. This will help the Government, service providers and others to target funding and support for veterans in line with the Armed Forces Covenant.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a statement of the moral obligation which exists between the nation, the Government and the armed forces. It promises to ensure that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are not disadvantaged compared to other citizens.

Scotland’s Census was delayed until 2022 but contains an identical question on veterans. This data will be released in approximately a year’s time. The Census in Northern Ireland did not ask about veteran status, although future estimates will be produced by linking data with the Ministry of Defence’s Service Leavers Database (PDF).

How many veterans are there in England and Wales?

On Census Day (21 March 2021), 1.85 million people in England and Wales reported that they had previously served in the UK armed forces. This represents 3.8% (almost 1 in 25) of the total population aged 16 or over.

Of these, 76.3% (1.41 million people) previously served in the regular forces, 19.5% (361,000 people) in the reserve forces, and 4.3% (79,000 people) served in both the regular and reserve forces.

Overall, 7.0% of households (1.75 million) in England and Wales included one or more persons who had served in the UK armed forces.

Variations in the veteran population

The proportion of UK armed forces veterans was higher in Wales (4.5% of the population) than it was in England (3.8%). Overall, there were 1.74 million veterans living in England and 115,000 living in Wales.

Within England, the regions with the highest proportion of veterans were the South West (5.6% or 265,000 veterans) and the North East (5.0% or 109,000 veterans). These were also the regions that had the highest percentage of households with at least one veteran (10.1% and 8.8% respectively).

By contrast, London had the lowest proportion of veterans (1.4% or 101,000 veterans). Here just 2.8% of households included a veteran.

Across England and Wales, there was wide variation in the size of veteran population between different local authorities. Gosport had the highest proportion of veterans (12.5%), followed by North Kesteven (10.2%) and Richmondshire (9.5%).

Newham (0.7%), Tower Hamlets (0.8%) and Brent (0.8%) had the lowest proportion. London boroughs made up 23 of the 25 local authorities with the lowest proportion of veterans.

The ONS has produced an interactive map which allows users to explore the veteran population by local authority.

Which neighbourhoods have the highest proportion of veterans?

Data is also available for smaller neighbourhoods within local authority areas, known as Middle-Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs).

The table below shows the top 20 neighbourhoods in England and Wales with the highest proportion of veterans, and the parliamentary constituencies they overlap with most. Alverstoke & Privett in Hampshire has the highest proportion of veterans with 15.7% of the population aged 16 and over.

Some neighbourhoods overlap with more than one constituency.

Neighbourhoods with the highest proportion of veterans

The Library’s own interactive map allows users to explore veteran population by neighbourhood (see below). This also includes details of the parliamentary constituencies that these neighbourhoods overlap with. The map initially shows figures for local authority districts. Hover over a local authority district to view statistics for that area. Click on a local authority district to zoom to MSOAs in that area. Press the reset button to the top left to return to the local authority district view.

Veteran population by neighbourhood