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Country of birth

  • Mnemonic reference

    COB

  • Applicability

    Person

  • Type

    Primary variable

Definition

Country of birth is the country in which a person was born. The grouping of countries within the classification is broadly regional, but takes into account the grouping of European Union (EU) countries. Countries in the EU are grouped into those that were EU members in March 2001, and those that became members (accession countries) between April 2001 and March 2011 as part of the EU enlargement process.

Classification

Total number of categories 275

The categories in these classifications may have been combined within the tables based on the country of birth hierarchy.

Code Name
000 Elsewhere
004 Afghanistan
008 Albania
010 Antarctica
012 Algeria
016 American Samoa
020 Andorra
024 Angola
028 Antigua and Barbados
031 Azerbaijan
032 Argentina
036 Australia
040 Austria
044 Bahamas, The
048 Bahrain
050 Bangladesh
051 Armenia
052 Barbados
056 Belgium
060 Bermuda
064 Bhutan
068 Bolivia
070 Bosnia and Herzegovina
072 Botswana
074 Bouvet Island
076 Brazil
084 Belize
086 British Indian Ocean Territory
090 Solomon Islands
092 British Virgin Islands
096 Brunei
100 Bulgaria
104 Burma
108 Burundi
112 Belarus
116 Cambodia
120 Cameroon
124 Canada
132 Cape Verde
136 Cayman Islands
140 Central African Republic
144 Sri Lanka
148 Chad
152 Chile
156 China
158 Taiwan
162 Christmas Island
166 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
170 Colombia
174 Comoros
175 Mayotte
178 Congo
180 Congo (Democratic Republic)
184 Cook Islands
188 Costa Rica
191 Croatia
192 Cuba
203 Czech Republic
204 Benin
208 Denmark
212 Dominica
214 Dominican Republic
218 Ecuador
222 El Salvador
226 Equatorial Guinea
231 Ethiopia
232 Eritrea
233 Estonia
234 Faroe Islands
238 Falkland Islands
239 South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
242 Fiji
246 Finland
248 Aland Islands
250 France
254 French Guiana
258 French Polynesia
260 French Southern Territories
262 Djibouti
266 Gabon
268 Georgia
270 Gambia, The
275 Occupied Palestinian Territories
276 Germany
288 Ghana
292 Gibraltar
296 Kiribati
300 Greece
304 Greenland
308 Grenada
312 Guadeloupe
316 Guam
320 Guatemala
324 Guinea
328 Guyana
332 Haiti
334 Heard Island and McDonald Islands
336 Vatican City
340 Honduras
344 Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China)
348 Hungary
352 Iceland
356 India
360 Indonesia
364 Iran
368 Iraq
372 Republic of Ireland
373 Island of Ireland (not otherwise specified)
376 Israel
380 Italy
384 Ivory Coast
388 Jamaica
392 Japan
398 Kazakhstan
400 Jordan
404 Kenya
408 Korea (North)
410 Korea (South)
414 Kuwait
417 Kyrgyzstan
418 Laos
422 Lebanon
426 Lesotho
428 Latvia
430 Liberia
434 Libya
438 Liechtenstein
440 Lithuania
442 Luxembourg
446 Macao (Special Administrative Region of China)
450 Madagascar
454 Malawi
458 Malaysia
462 Maldives
466 Mali
470 Malta
474 Martinique
478 Mauritania
480 Mauritius
484 Mexico
492 Monaco
496 Mongolia
498 Moldova
499 Montenegro
500 Montserrat
504 Morocco
508 Mozambique
512 Oman
516 Namibia
520 Nauru
524 Nepal
528 Netherlands
530 Netherlands Antilles
533 Aruba
540 New Caledonia
548 Vanuatu
554 New Zealand
558 Nicaragua
562 Niger
566 Nigeria
570 Niue
574 Norfolk Island
578 Norway
580 Northern Mariana Islands
581 United States Minor Outlying Islands
583 Micronesia
584 Marshall Islands
585 Palau
586 Pakistan
591 Panama
598 Papua New Guinea
600 Paraguay
604 Peru
608 Philippines
612 Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
616 Poland
620 Portugal
624 Guinea-Bissau
626 East Timor
630 Puerto Rico
634 Qatar
638 Reunion
642 Romania
643 Russia
646 Rwanda
652 St Barthelemy
654 St Helena
659 St Kitts and Nevis
660 Anguilla
662 St Lucia
663 St Martin (French part)
666 St Pierre and Miquelon
670 St Vincent and the Grenadines
674 San Marino
678 Sao Tome and Principe
682 Saudi Arabia
686 Senegal
688 Serbia
690 Seychelles
694 Sierra Leone
702 Singapore
703 Slovakia
704 Vietnam
705 Slovenia
706 Somalia
710 South Africa
716 Zimbabwe
732 Western Sahara
736 Sudan
740 Surinam
744 Svalbard and Jan Mayen
748 Swaziland
752 Sweden
756 Switzerland
760 Syria
762 Tajikistan
764 Thailand
768 Togo
772 Tokelau
776 Tonga
780 Trinidad and Tobago
784 United Arab Emirates
788 Tunisia
792 Turkey
795 Turkmenistan
796 Turks and Caicos Islands
798 Tuvalu
800 Uganda
804 Ukraine
807 Macedonia
818 Egypt
831 Guernsey
832 Jersey
833 Isle of Man
834 Tanzania
840 United States of America
850 Unites States Virgin Islands
854 Burkina
858 Uruguay
860 Uzbekistan
862 Venezuela
876 Wallis and Fatuna
882 Samoa
887 Yemen
894 Zambia
901 Cyprus (European Union)
902 Cyprus (Non-European Union)
903 Cyprus (not otherwise specified)
911 Spain (except Canary Islands)
912 Canary Islands
913 Spain (not otherwise specified)
921 England
922 Northern Ireland
923 Scotland
924 Wales
925 Great Britain (not otherwise specified)
926 United Kingdom (not otherwise specified)
931 Channel Islands (not otherwise specified)
951 Kosovo
971 Czechoslovalia (not otherwise specified)
972 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (not otherwise specified)
973 Yugoslavia (not otherwise specified)
974 Serbia and Montenegro (not otherwise specified)
981 Europe (not otherwise specified)
982 Africa (not otherwise specified)
983 Middle East (not otherwise specified)
984 Asia (Except Middle East)(not otherwise specified)
985 North America (not otherwise specified)
986 Central America (not otherwise specified)
987 South America (not otherwise specified)
988 Caribbean (not otherwise specified)
989 Antartica and Oceania (not otherwise specified)
991 At Sea
992 In the air
XXX No code required

Source question or variables

7: What is your country of birth?

  • Scotland
  • England
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland
  • Republic of Ireland
  • Elsewhere, please write in the current name of the country

Reason for asking

Information from the traditional question on country of birth will provide further information on migrants and their characteristics. This information will provide estimates of the numbers and circumstances of (sometimes small) communities of people from various countries and, in particular, refugees and asylum seekers who may have particular needs.

This information identifies all long-term international migrants not identified by their response to question 10 (your address one year ago). Combined with other statistics, this information is used to produce international and national migration statistics, which are then used to produce population projections.

These statistics are used to allocate resources and to develop and monitor policy, to assess the needs of particular groups in the population, for example those migrating from outside the EU; to analyse trends in migration patterns and for the planning and provision of facilities and services.

Also, when used in combination with information on ethnic group and religion, these statistics give a more detailed level of information about the cultural background of people at a local level. Additionally, answers to this question can help to identify groups not identified by the question on ethnic group.

This information is also used in population estimates to make adjustments for fertility rates according to country of birth.

England & Wales (2011) and Scotland (2001) comparison

This question is the same as it was in 2001 and ONS use the same format for the question. The data is fully comparable with England and Wales (2011) and Scotland (2001) data.

  • Mnemonic reference

    COBPUK

  • Applicability

    All people, UK

Definition

This question records each person's country of birth. A different order is used for the tick box responses for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Where there is no applicable tick-box, the respondent is asked to write-in the present name of their country of birth. The variable is coded using the ONS Geography Classification of Countries (OGCC) (a coding system used in some other ONS outputs).

Classification

Total number of categories 237

Code Name
179 United Kingdom: Scotland
​064 United Kingdom: England
​152 United Kingdom: Northern Ireland
​220 ​United Kingdom: Wales
​078, 213 United Kingdom: UK part not specified
​097 Republic of Ireland
​930 Ireland part not specified
003, 044, 083, 083A, 083B, 083C, 103, 177, 128 Channel Islands and Isle of Man
012 Austria
019 Belgium
057 Denmark
​070 Finland
071 France
075 Germany
079, 079A, 079B, 079C Greece
099, 099A Italy
120 Luxembourg
144 Netherlands
164, 164A Portugal
190, 190C Spain
195 Sweden
005 Andorra
077 Gibraltar
092 Iceland
118 Liechtenstein
127 Malta and Gozo
135 Monaco
153 Norway
175 San Marino
196 Switzerland
927 Europe (nos)
002 Albania
​018 Belarus
025, 088 Bosnia and Herzegovina
032 Bulgaria
048 Commonwealth of (Russian) Independent States (nos)
053 Croatia
056, 227 Czech Republic
066 Estonia
091 Hungary
113 Latvia
​119 Lithuania
121 Macedonia
​138 Montenegro
134 Moldova
163 Poland
168 Romania
169 Russia
181,181A Serbia
185 Slovakia
186 Slovenia
206 Turkey
231 Ukraine
228 Union of Soviet Socialist States (nos)
223 Yugoslavia (nos)
004
Algeria 190A, 190B, 190D
Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla 039
Cape Verde 062
Egypt 117
Libya 130
Mauritania 139
Morocco 192
Sudan 205
Tunisia 921
North Africa (nos) 021
Benin ​033
Burkina Faso 037
Cameroon ​042
Central African Republic 043
Chad 050
Congo 065
Equatorial Guinea 072
Gabon 073
Gambia 076
​Ghana 084
Guinea 085
Guinea – Bissau 100
Ivory Coast 116
Liberia 126
Mali 149
Niger 150
Nigeria 176
Sao Tome and Principe 180
Senegal 183
Sierra Leone 202
Togo 224, 006A
Democratic Republic of Congo 922, 939
West Africa (nos) and Africa (nos) 006
Angola 026
Botswana 035
Burundi ​049
Comoros 058
Djibouti 067
Ethiopia 106
Kenya 115
Lesotho 122
Madagascar 123
Malawi 131
Mauritius 140
Mozambique 141, 189E
Namibia 167
Reunion 170
Rwanda 172, 172A-G
St. Helena and Dependencies 182
Seychelles 188
Somalia 189, 189A, 189B, 189C
South Africa 194
Swaziland 200
Tanzania 210
Uganda 225
Zambia 226
Zimbabwe 229
Eritrea 920
East Africa (nos) 015
Bahrain 055
Cyprus 095
Iran 096
Iraq 098
Israel 104
Jordan 110
Kuwait 114
Lebanon 098A, 156
Occupied Territories (Gaza and West Bank) 154
Oman 166
Qatar 178
Saudi Arabia 197
Syrian Arab Republic 212, 212A-G
United Arab Emirates 222, 222A
Yemen 931
Middle East (nos) 031
Brunei 034
Myanmar 036
Cambodia 046, 046A, 164B
China 046B
Hong Kong 011C, 094, 094B
Indonesia 102
Japan 108
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 109
Korea, Republic of 112
Laos 124
Malaysia 136
Mongolia 161
Philippines 184
Singapore 198
Taiwan 201
Thailand 219
Vietnam 230
Armenia 013
Azerbaijan 074
Georgia 105
Kazakhstan 111
Kyrgyzstan 199
Tajikistan 207
Turkmenistan 216
Uzbekistan 001
Afghanistan 016
Bangladesh 029
British Indian Ocean Territory 023
Bhutan 093, 093A
India 125
Maldives 143
Nepal 155
Pakistan 191
Sri Lanka 924
Asia (nos) 038, 071G
Canada 214
USA 007
Anguilla 008, 008A, 008B
Antigua and Barbuda 014
Bahamas 017
Barbados 022
Bermuda 030
British Virgin Islands 041
Cayman Islands 059
Dominica 081
Grenada 071D
Guadeloupe 101
Jamaica 071E
Martinique 137
Montserrat 145, 145B, 145C
Netherland Antilles 171
St Christopher (St Kitts) – Nevis 173
St Lucia 174
St Vincent and the Grenadines 204
Trinidad and Tobago 208
Turks and Caicos Islands 214H
US Virgin Islands 937
West Indies (nos) 054
Cuba 060
Dominican Republic 087
Haiti 165
Puerto Rico 020
Belize 052
Costa Rica 063
El Salvador 080
Greenland 082
Guatemala 089
Honduras 132
Mexico 148
Nicaragua 157, 157A
Panama 09
Argentina 024
Bolivia 027
Brazil 045
Chile 047
Columbia 061
Ecuador 068, 068A, 068B
Falkland Islands 071A
French Guiana 086
Guyana 159
Paraguay 160
Peru 193
Suriname 215
Uruguay 218
Venezuela 934
South America (nos) 011
Australia 040
Caroline Islands 051
Cook Islands 069
Fiji 107
Kiribati 129
Marshall Islands 133
Micronesia (The Federated States of) 142
Nauru 147
New Zealand 151
Niue 158
Papua New Guinea 162
Pitcairn Islands Group 187
Solomon Islands 203
Tonga 209
Tuvalu 217
Vanuatu 221
Western Samoa 009A, 011A, 011B, 011D-F, 028, 045A, 071B, 071C, 071F, 071H, 074F, 147A, 147B, 153A-C, 214A-G, 214J Other Oceania
900 At sea
903 In the air
299 Elsewhere not stated