COVID-19 deaths by ethnicity and occupation

Release date:
29 June 2020

You asked

​Please provide the following data:

  1. Total number of UK BAME deaths from COVID-19.
  2. Total number of UK White deaths from COVID-19.
  3. Amongst the deceased BAME individuals, please provide the percentage of those who work in the following occupations: NHS/Care/Social work, Transportation/Driving and Constructions.

We said

Thank you for your request.

We have recently updated our COVID-19 figures, which can be found via the following link: 'Coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by ethnic group, England and Wales' . Table 2 from this release is provided below, showing COVID-19 related deaths by ethnic group.

Table 1: Number and percentage of deaths involving COVID-19 by ethnic group, England and Wales, deaths occurring between 2 March and 15 May 2020
Ethnic group​COVID-19 deathsPercentage of COVID-19 deaths
White​33,63088.6
​English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British32,16084.7
​Irish6661.8
​Gypsy or Irish Traveller160
​Other White7882.1
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups​2520.7
​White and Black Caribbean860.2
​White and Black African310.1
​White and Asian530.1
​Other Mixed820.2
Asian /Asian British​2,3556.2
​Indian1,0112.7
​Pakistani5511.5
​Bangladeshi2220.6
​Chinese1370.4
​Other Asian4341.1
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British​1,5134
​African4811.3
​Caribbean9112.4
​Other Black1210.3
Other ethnic group​2060.5
​Arab630.2
​Other Ethnic Group1430.4
Total​37,956100

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes

  1. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures based on death registrations up to 29 May 2020 that occurred between 2 March and 15 May 2020 that could be linked to the 2011 Census for the coronavirus (COVID-19) rate of death.
  2. The total number of deaths occurring in this period will differ to other publications for the same period because we have only included deaths that could link to the 2011 Census among the usually resident population.
  3. Deaths were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Deaths involving COVID-19 include those with an underlying cause, or any mention, of ICD-10 codes U07.1 (COVID-19, virus identified) or U07.2 (COVID-19, virus not identified).

Download this table Table 1: Number and percentage of deaths involving COVID-19 by ethnic group, England and Wales, deaths occurring between 2 March and 15 May 2020

.xls .csv

Unfortunately, we would be unable to provide you with percentages of BAME deaths with the specific occupations you have requested. In order to fulfil this request, we would need use a high level of statistical skill and judgement in order to extract the data and create a bespoke analysis for you. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Public Authorities are not obligated to create information in order to respond to requests. We therefore consider this to be information not held.

However, please see the following publication: Coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by occupation, England and Wales: deaths registered between 9 March and 25 May 2020. Figures 12 and 13 in this publication provide an indication of deaths occurring by broad ethnic group and occupation. This publication also provides details of our methodology, which may be of interest.

The following dataset was produced to accompany the above publication: COVID-19 deaths by occupation, England and Wales. Please find tables 10, 11, and 12, which provide data by ethnicity, sex, and frequently occuring occupation.

If you would like further information or discuss the information provided in more detail, please contact Health.Data@ons.gov.uk .

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