Immigration surge swells English population

The population of England and Wales swelled between 2001 and 2011 after an influx of 2.9 million people born abroad, while the number of Christians plunged, according to census data published on Tuesday.

The figures from the March 2011 census paint a picture of a changing population, with more foreign-born residents and fewer people of faith.

The population of England and Wales was 56.1 million, an increase of 3.7 million or seven percent since 2001.

The number of foreign-born residents there rose by 63 percent from 4.6 million in 2001 to 7.5 million a decade later. They now account for 13 percent of the population, up from nine.

White Britons account for 80 percent of the population, at 45.1 million people.

The percentage who identified themselves as Christian dropped from 72 percent to 59 percent, while those who said they had no faith rose from 15 percent to a quarter of the population.

The fastest-growing religion was Islam, which now accounts for 4.8 percent of the population, or 2.7 million adherents.

Some 1.5 percent of the population said they were Hindus, while 0.8 percent said they were Sikhs.

"These statistics paint a picture of society and help us all plan for the future using accurate information at a local level," said ONS census director Guy Goodwin.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg of census statistics," he added.

White Britons are no longer the majority in London. They now account for 3.7 million Londoners, or 44.9 percent of the capital's population.