The 2021 census in England and Wales included a question on veterans for the first time.

People aged 16 and over were asked whether they had previously served in the regular or reserve UK armed forces, or both. Anyone who has served in the armed forces for at least one day is classed as a veteran.

The dashboard on this page shows the number and proportion of UK armed forces veterans in constituencies in England and Wales. The data reflects the population on Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Across England and Wales, 1.85 million people reported that they had previously served in the UK armed forces (76% in the regular forces, 19% in the reserve forces and 4% in both). This represents 3.8% (almost 1 in 25) of the total population aged 16 or over.

Overall, 7.0% of households in England and Wales included one or more veterans. Go to section:

Explore constituency data

Use the dropdown menu below to select the constituency you’re interested in and view statistics on the veteran population.

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If you would like to access this information in an alternative format please email papers@parliament.uk and we will review your request.

Top 20 constituencies by proportion of veterans

The table below shows the top 20 constituencies with the highest proportions of UK armed forces veterans.

Gosport had the highest proportion of veterans (12.7%), followed by Sleaford and North Hykeham (9.9%) and South West Devon (9.4%).

The constituencies with largest veteran populations tend to be near existing armed forces bases.

Open a printable version
Download all data in Excel (1.4 MB)

If you would like to access this information in an alternative format please email papers@parliament.uk and we will review your request.

Sources

ONS, 2021 Census custom dataset, UK armed forces veteran variable

Data updates

This dashboard uses 2021 Census data. The 2021 Census is currently the only source of constituency-level data on this topic, which means that there aren’t any updates planned for the near future.

2021 census results and analysis

Constituency data and analysis on the 2021 census results from the Commons Library.

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