Scotland’s New Official Ethnicity Classification

The new ethnicity classification is used for Scottish Official Statistics and recommended for Scotland's 2011 Census.

In 2002 the then Communities Minister promised to review the way that Scottish surveys classify ethnicity, to ensure that they reflect modern circumstances, meets users' information needs and have broad community support.

This followed recommendations by the Race Equality Advisory Forum (REAF) in 2001 and some community concerns about the classification used in Scotland's 2001 Census - in particular the different use of colour and geography across ethnic group categories.

The Scottish Government (SG) worked in partnership with the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) to conduct the review. Scotland's new official ethnicity classification is set out in the detailed report below, together with the wide ranging evidence (including research, consultation and question testing) used to develop it.

The review identified benefits in developing a separate national identity question for use on the Census and relevant Scottish Official Statistics. When used with the classification this would allow people to self-express their 'Scottish-ness', 'British-ness' or any other national identity, more fully, before they go on to express their ethnic origin or heritage.

The new ethnicity classification is now finalised and is recommended for Scotland's 2011 Census and relevant Scottish Official Statistics. However, further work will be undertaken by GROS, in partnership with SG, to develop and test a national identity question for the Census and relevant Scottish Official Statistics (where feasible). This will be published in Autumn 2008 and will appear on this website.

Many organisations who collect ethnicity statistics will wish to adopt the new classification. It is also recommended that, where feasible, they also ask the national identity question (before the ethnic group question), once it is finalised later in the year. The classification has been published now to give users maximum time to prepare for this new approach.

Further details on the benefits of asking a national identity question, as well as some questions that have been tested so far, are also outlined in the report. Official guidance on using the new classification and national identity question to conduct ethnic monitoring will be published by the SG in Autumn 2008 and will appear on this website: Link opens in new window www.scotland.gov.uk/newethnicityclassification.