About this update
This interim update summarises progress on question design (which is based on research and respondent testing completed to date) as we develop a harmonised standard for collecting data on ethnicity. This update focuses on the question design only. Evaluation of response options is underway and an update on this will be provided in Spring 2027.
In this update, we provide a high-level overview, including a summary of the evidence that has informed decisions on the question design so far. The design is being developed to enable people to better reflect their ethnicity. It remains under development and is subject to further testing.
A full report of the research to date will be published alongside the standard-in-development at the end of the Alpha phase in Spring 2027. This standard will not be final and will be subject to potential change following further quantitative and operational testing.
To prepare for assessment in the Beta phase, we are beginning large-scale quantitative testing of the developing question design. We are publishing this update to provide a transparent overview of the research undertaken to date and how the evidence has informed our design decisions. The developing question design has been included in the questionnaire for the 2027 Census Test. This will provide important evidence about how the design works at scale and its implications for respondents, data collection, processing and statistical outputs.
When developing harmonised standards, we use agile methodology and the Respondent Centred Design Framework. This helps ensure the recommendations we make to statistical producers and data collectors are effective, evidence-based, and fit for purpose. Agile delivery consists of three main phases prior to going live; these are Discovery, Alpha, and Beta. Our work to date in the Discovery and Alpha phases is highlighted in the Harmonisation Team Workplan.
In October 2026, we published the “We Asked You Said We Did” update for the public consultation on user needs for additional response options on a future ethnicity standard. The consultation asked participants for their views on whether additional tick-box response options are required in a future ethnicity harmonised standard. Due to the volume of responses and the number of requested ethnic groups needing evaluation exceeding expectation, the timeline for confirming new response options has lengthened. We previously said that we expected to publish new response options in Autumn 2026, with the emerging standard published by the end of 2026. However, we now expect to confirm any new response options in Spring 2027 alongside the standard-in-development. Taking more time will enable us to complete the evaluation thoroughly, including further research and engagement on public acceptability. This will help ensure any additional response options in the ethnicity harmonised standard will be robust, evidence-based and clearly explained.
In this update, we therefore also outline next steps for the remaining research needed to complete the Alpha phase, including further question testing and consultation evaluation to inform new tick-box response options.
Developing a new ethnicity harmonised standard
We began work to update the ethnic group harmonised standard following the publication of our initial workplan in 2022. Ethnicity was prioritised in 2022 in response to the Inclusive Data Task Force’s (IDTF) recommendations to ensure the ethnicity standard reflects the diversity of the UK population.
There is no single definition of ethnicity. It is a multifaceted and subjective concept. To produce meaningful statistics, it is common for broad ethnic groups to be offered as response categories. People are then asked to decide which broader ethnic group aligns best with how they would identify themselves.
There are various ways of defining ethnic groups. Many different approaches have been used over time. These include measuring ethnicity using criteria such as:
- where you were born
- heritage – culture and ways of living passed on from past generations
- culture – including celebrations, food, values, style, and other elements
- national identity – affiliations and connections with a country or nation
- religion – whether you are practising or brought up in a specific religion
- skin colour
- language
A person’s ethnicity is not a static concept. Ideas about what makes an ethnic group may change according to the context of social and political attitudes or developments. People can choose how they define themselves when they are answering questions about ethnicity. Their answer might differ if they are asked the same question at different times or in different situations. It may also change if they are asked about their ethnicity for different purposes, or by different people. How someone chooses to identify can also change over their lifetime.
The broad aim of the work is to improve the inclusivity of the question, ensuring people can recognise themselves and their circumstances in the UK’s data collection tools and processes. It aims to address the user needs identified in our research to date.
Work on a new harmonised standard has two major parts, focussing on:
- the design of the question
- the response options available to respondents
Our Alpha phase research to date has primarily focused on developing and testing the question design, which we present in this update. Work to consider additional response options began in 2025 with a public consultation, and further research is now needed to evaluate these options and test how they work within the proposed question design. The Alpha phase will therefore continue until Spring 2027, when we will confirm any new response options and any further developments for the question design. We will also publish a more detailed report setting out our research findings and the emerging standard.
Proposed question design
In the Alpha phase, we have explored the acceptability of alternative question designs and assessed whether an alternative format better meets the data collection needs of users. So far, our research in this phase has involved approximately 10,000 participants, and we have tested across a broad range of ethnic groups across the whole of the UK. Testing has involved cogability testing (which include cognitive interviewing and usability testing), focus group discussions, quantitative surveys and pop-up research, among other methods.
Testing to date has focused primarily on respondent centred design, to assess the needs of respondents in understanding and answering the question. Further work will continue to test and develop the question design, including operational testing of this in practice. Therefore, changes may be made as we test in different settings.
This section of the update shows the developing question design for collecting data on ethnicity, based on our research so far.
The response options presented alongside this design are based on the England and Wales 2021 Census question content, as an example. Some developments have been made to the Question 1 categories and alphabetical ordering of the options across both questions following research outcomes to date. The main findings from the research so far that have informed this question design are outlined in the next section of this update. As highlighted in the “We Asked You Said We Did” update, following the public consultation additional response options are under consideration. These are Jewish, Kurdish, Latin American, Sikh, Somali, Ukrainian, and separate response options for “Gypsy” and “Irish Traveller” or “Traveller”. Research and evaluation on response options is ongoing and therefore subject to change, including variation for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Alpha phase question design and testing for the ethnicity harmonised standard continues. Further research on the development of this design and response options, within a more comprehensive research report, are due to be published alongside the standard-in-development in Spring 2027.
Question 1
How would you describe your ethnic group?
You will be asked more about your ethnic group in the next question.
- Asian
- Black
- Mixed Asian and White
- Mixed Black and White
- Mixed Other
- White, any country
- None of the above
Question 2
Which of these further describes your ethnic group?
Select all that apply:
- African
- Arab
- Bangladeshi
- British
- Caribbean
- Chinese
- English
- Gypsy or Irish Traveller
- Indian
- Irish
- Northern Irish
- Pakistani
- Roma
- Scottish
- Welsh
- Any other ethnic group
For those who selected specific response options in Question 2
You selected “African”. How would you describe your African ethnic group?
Enter your own answer or select from suggestions [write-in box].
You selected “Any other ethnic group”. How would you describe your ethnic group?
Enter your own answer or select from suggestions [write-in box].
Main findings from our Alpha research so far
In this section we highlight the main findings from our Alpha phase research so far, involving approximately 10,000 participants. These findings have informed the developing question design presented previously in this update. Further research is ongoing. The standard-in-development will be presented in Spring 2027, alongside more detailed findings.
Finding 1: All ethnicity response options are shown to all respondents, regardless of which high-level ethnic group they select
One of the main challenges identified in our research is the difficulty some respondents face when selecting a response option under the current harmonised standard. A major contributing factor is the routing logic between Question 1 and Question 2, which restricts the combinations of responses that can be selected. For example, a respondent cannot currently select both, even if both reflect their identity.
To address this, we have tested presenting all response options to respondents at once at Question 2, regardless of their initial selection. This approach allows for greater flexibility and acknowledges the complexity and nuance in how individuals define their ethnic group, while retaining the high-level categories that are familiar to data-users and respondents in Question 1.
Given ethnicity is diverse and self-defined, the developing standard does not include prescriptive guidance for how respondents should answer. Rather, it supports people being able to respond in a way that reflects how they understand and describe their own ethnicity.
Finding 2: Multi-select
Our Discovery phase found that people define their ethnic group in many different ways. To reflect this, we introduced multi-select at Question 2, giving respondents the ability to “select all that apply”. Question 1 remains single-select.
In our research, some respondents and members of the public from minority ethnic backgrounds expressed frustration that existing classifications did not enable them to identify as British within their ethnic identity.
In the current harmonised standard, a response at Question 1 would route a participant to a limited number of options at Question 2. This means that those who identify in other ways have to either select only one of the relevant terms or use the ‘Other’ write in option. In the new developing question design with multi-select and all response options being shown at Question 2, a respondent can select more than one response and now, for example, identify as Asian in Question 1 and both British and Indian in Question 2, or as Black and both British and Caribbean. This was not possible in the past.
The developing design now has a single “Any other ethnic group” write-in option at Question 2. The multi-select at Question 2 supports people being able to more fully reflect their ethnic group through the ability to select combinations of options, reducing the need for “Other” routing. Having a single write-in box makes it simpler for the respondent to complete and easier for the data collector to process.
At Question 1, respondents who do not identify with the available response options can select “None of the above”. This wording has changed from “Other ethnic group”. Early Discovery research and Alpha testing found that respondents viewed “Other” negatively in this context and felt marginalised by the term. Allowing people to then multi-select from any of the more detailed response options in the newly developing Question 2 aims to reduce the number of people that would have previously selected “Other” in the existing harmonised standard.
Our research shows respondents have positively received the introduction of multi-select reporting that they could better express their ethnic identity. Evidence showed that some respondents will express their ethnic identity with more than one lower-level group when possible. This could support more granular and inclusive reporting, particularly for individuals with multi-ethnic backgrounds. During the Beta phase, we will further assess the impact of multi-select on statistical outputs through quantitative and operational testing, to understand its implications and impact for data collection, reporting, and comparability of data over time.
Finding 3: White, any country
Public acceptability of terminology, particularly colour-based terms, has been a major part of the research throughout the Alpha phase. Our findings show that respondents are strongly influenced by the structure and language of existing ethnicity questions, particularly those used in the UK censuses. When asked, “What is your ethnic group?” most respondents defaulted to familiar census categories, which is reflected in the existing harmonised standard. This reinforces the expectation for a question format and response options that align with established standards to reduce respondent burden.
Our Alpha testing revealed that some European respondents perceive the “White” category as being primarily associated with “White British” identities, especially Southern European respondents. To address this, we tested the addition of “any country” guidance to the White category. This was shown to be understood and acceptable to respondents across White categories, so this addition has been made to provide more clarity and indicate that “White” includes identities beyond “White British”.
Finding 4: Mixed category
In the current harmonised standard a respondent can select from four options at Question 2, after routing from “Mixed/Multiple ethnic group” in Question 1. Three of these options are centred around White ethnicities:
- White and Black Caribbean
- White and Black African
- White and Asian
- Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background, please describe
Findings from our research suggest that the tick boxes within the “Mixed” category are not comprehensive enough. Our research also showed that the tick boxes were sometimes perceived to be prioritising the “White” part of a Mixed ethnic group due to the order in which the response options are presented.
These options are now presented in alphabetical order in the developing design to address this:
- Mixed Asian and White
- Mixed Black and White
- Mixed Other
Respondents reported that the term “Mixed” shown by itself can be unclear. Including these three Mixed options at Question 1 enables respondents to choose an option that they feel more accurately reflects their overall Mixed ethnicity before providing more detail at Question 2. Data collectors can aggregate these options back to a single “Mixed” category as required, supporting continuity of data reporting where this is relevant.
We have also combined “White and Black Caribbean” and “White and Black African” into a single Question 1 option: “Mixed Black and White”. With the developing approach, respondents can now multi-select ethnic groups at Question 2 to reflect detail relating to mixed identity, with this design supporting greater flexibility and nuance. For example, African, Caribbean or both, which was not possible with the previous question design.
In our review of the current harmonised standard, we identified a need to reduce the use of the “Other ethnic group” category in Question 1 to improve inclusivity and better reflect the UK’s diverse population. Therefore, we have also proposed another high-level response option at Question 1 in the developing design, for the Mixed category called “Mixed Other”. Our research has shown that some respondents did not feel the existing Mixed response options reflected their ethnicity. For example, for someone who describes their ethnicity as equally Arab and African there is currently no option to select both these ethnic groups. The introduction of a “Mixed Other” category allows respondents to select any combination of ethnic groups in Question 2 that best reflects their mixed ethnic background. This supports more accurate identification and reduces reliance on the “Other” response category.
Finding 5: Alphabetical ordering
The presentation of response options in the existing harmonised standard uses frequency-based ordering, with the largest response category at the top of the list. In the Discovery phase of our research, respondents raised concerns that the previous ordering of options appeared to favour particular groups. To address these concerns, we trialled alphabetical ordering of response options, presented in the developing design, at Question 1 and Question 2. This approach was consistently well-received during Alpha testing involving approximately 10,000 members of the public from across the four UK nations and a broad range of ethnic groups. Respondents reported that alphabetical ordering made it easier to find their ethnic group option. We identified no negative impact on the overall respondent experience, including among participants whose ethnic group options had moved to the end of the list.
Finding 6: UK nations
In the current harmonised standard for England (and similarly for Wales, though ordered differently), Question 2 includes a single combined response option: “English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British”. Our research found that being able to specifically express “British” or one of the UK nations as part of their ethnicity was important to some respondents, which the combined response option did not allow. In the developing Question 2 design, we have therefore separated the UK nations and enabled respondents to select more than one option, allowing them to describe their ethnicity in a more nuanced way. This also helps to reduce the use of “Other” by respondents who had previously wished to specify just one of those options.
Next steps
Remaining Alpha Phase work up to Spring 2027
The research presented in this update highlights our progress on question design to date towards a harmonised standard for the collection of ethnicity data. In October 2026, we published the “We Asked You Said We Did” update for the public consultation which asked respondents for their views on whether additional tick-box response options are required in a future ethnicity harmonised standard. The report outlined the groups that scored sufficiently against the evaluation criteria to progress to step 3.
The priority activities for the remaining Alpha phase work include:
- continuing development of Alpha stage question design and testing for the new ethnicity harmonised standard
- completing the consultation evaluation of requested additional ethnic groups (Steps 3 and 4 to form the candidate list and work to form the final recommendation, described in the evaluation criteria publication)
- using consultation and write-in review findings to inform new tick-box response options
We will then publish the emerging standard with any confirmed new response options in Spring 2027, marking the end of the Alpha phase. This will be published as a standard-in-development and then move into the Beta phase for further testing of the proposed design including other data collection modes, before the standard is finalised.
Beta Phase from Spring 2027
The developing question design presented in this interim update will feed into the 2027 Census Test to assess the operational implications of the question only, and will not include any of the potential new response options. This question design is still being tested and is subject to further change following quantitative and operational testing in the Beta phase work from Spring 2027. As we move to a different standard it’s likely that changes to the question design, response options, and ordering will have an impact on comparability over time, particularly for more detailed ethnic outputs. Therefore, a major part of our Beta work is to assess the impact on processing and outputs of the changes outlined in this publication, to help inform producers and users of ethnicity data.