The percentage of people in England who said they were Christian dropped by 12.3% (from 71.7 percent to 59.4 percent) between the United Kingdom’s 2001 and 2011 censuses, U.K.’s Office for National Statistics reports.
At the same time, the percentage of people who said they were Muslim increased from 3.1 percent to 5.0 percent.
In Greater Manchester, the Christian population held relatively steady, going from 74.1 percent in 2001 to 73.1 percent in 2011. At the same time, however, the Muslim population of Manchester grew from 5.0 percent in 2001 to 8.7 percent in 2011.
In 2001, there 49,138,831 people in England (which does not include Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland). Of those 49,138,831 people, 35,251,244 (or 71.7 percent) were Christian; 1,524,887 (or 3.1 percent) were Muslim. 7,709,267 (or 14.6 percent) said they had no religion; and 3,776,515 (or 7.7 percent) did not volunteer to state their religion.
By 2011, according to the Office of National Statistics, there were 53,012,456 people in England. Of these 31,479,876 (or 59.4 percent) were Christian; 2,660,116 (or 5.0 percent) were Muslim. 13,114,232 (or 24.7 percent) said they had no religion; and 3,804,104 (or 7.2 percent) did not state their religion.
Between 2001 and 2011, the number of Christians in England declined by 3,771,368 (from 35,251,244 to 31,479,876). The number of Muslims increased by 1,135,229 (from 1,524,887 to 2,660,116).
Between 2001 and 2011, in Greater Manchester, the Muslim population increased by 107,508 (from 125,219 to 232,787).
