Equalities

Oxfordshire contains a diverse and varied population.

This page provides data and resources about Oxfordshire’s residents and communities based on the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.

For general information about Oxfordshire's population see the population theme page.

Click here to download the JSNA 2019 chapter on population groups and protected characteristics.

note: with the release of Census 2021, many of these characteristics are being update currently. Please check back soon for updated information

The Equality Act

The Equality Act 2010 sets out nine protected characteristics which, taken together, include everybody in the country. We all share some or all of these characteristics and it is an offence to use any of them as an excuse to treat people unfairly. The council and other public bodies must take these into account when taking decisions, and under the Act has a responsibility to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

The protected characteristics are:

Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity
Race, including ethnic or national origins, colour, or nationality
Religion or belief , including the lack thereof.
Sex
Sexual orientation

Age

See: 'Population'

By broad age Oxfordshire’s population (2020) was: 132,549 aged 0 to 15, 434,142 aged 16 to 64 and 130,189 aged 65+

Explore Oxfordshire age data using our interactive dashboard

Ethnicity

23.2% of Oxfordshire's residents come from non-"white British" backgrounds. This is up from 16.4% at the taking of the last Census in 2011.

Click here to open our interactive dashboard on the ethnic makeup of Oxfordshire and its districts, including the facility to breakdown this information by age and sex.

See how Oxfordshire changed between 2001 and 2011 in our interactive presentation of ethnicity data.

Explore trends in the countries of origin of Oxfordshire's mothers from 2001 to 2012 with our interactive dashboard.

Discover which EU countries migrants to Oxfordshire came from on our interactive dashboard.

Religion

60.2% of Oxfordshire's residents are Christian; 27.9% have no religion; 2.4% are Muslim; 0.6% Hindu; 0.5% Buddhist; and 0.9% follow other religions.

Data on religion in Oxfordshire and its districts is available here.

Gender identity

558,864 (93.2%) indicated that their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth
3,477 (0.6%) indicated that their gender identity was not the same as their sex registered at birth

VIEW the census page on Oxfordshire gender identity..

Marriage and civil partnership

See: 'Households'

Census 2021 shows that we have 288,000 residential households in Oxfordshire. On average there are 2.4 people per household.

VIEW the 'Households' page for further information and resources.

Pregnancy and Maternity

see: 'JSNA'

Between 2019 and 2021, the number of births in Oxfordshire overall increased by 1% to a total of 7,380

VIEW the JSNA 'Population groups and protected characteristics' section for more information.

Disability

According to Census 2021 there was a total of 105,482 (14.5%) resdients in Oxfordshire who reported that they are disabiled under the Equality Act

VIEW the JSNA 'Population groups and protected characteristics' section for more information.

Sex

see: 'JSNA'

As of mid-2020 there were 347,569 (49.9%) males and 349,311 (50.1%) females living in Oxfordshire.

VIEW the JSNA 'Population groups and protected characteristics' section for more information.

Sexual orientation

88.4% of the county identify as straight or heterosexual (526,306)
3.4% of the county did not identify as straight or heterosexual (21,428)

note: The remainder of the county 7.9% did not answer the question.

VIEW the JSNA 'Population groups and protected characteristics' section for more information.

Ethnicity

Ethnic groups in Oxfordshire
Religion

Data on religion in Oxfordshire from the 2011 Census