The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released its latest data taken from the 2021 Census, showing the changes since 2011.

Some 46.2% (27.5 million) said they were Christian, down from 59.3% (33.3 million) in 2011.

ONS data - main points:

• Number of people using Romanian as their main language rose from 0.1% to 0.8% (68,000 to 472,000), which is second to Polish in a list of languages used other than English and Welsh

• 37.2% said they had "no religion", up from 25.2%, but there were increases among those identifying as Muslim (4.9% to 6.5%) and Hindu (1.5% to 1.7%)

• Polish remains the most common non-UK identity, Romanian was second (a rise from 16th), Indian remains third, while Irish dropped to fourth (from second)

• Of Londoners, the most ethnically diverse region of England, 36.8% identified as "White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British" - down from 44.9%

• 90.3% of the population selected at least one of these identities: British, English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, or Cornish, down slightly from 92%

• Increase in multi-ethnic households, from 8.7% to 10.1%

Religious reaction

Speaking about the statistics, the Archbishop of York said the country has "left behind the era when many people almost automatically identified as Christian".

The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell said the Christian church would continue its work in the face of both "revival and decline".

Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK, said: "These results confirm that the biggest demographic change in England and Wales of the last 10 years has been the dramatic growth of the non-religious."

Meanwhile, the National Secular Society's chief executive Stephen Evans said: "It's official - we are no longer a Christian country."

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Polish ranked top non-UK identity

The percentage of the population who described themselves as having a non-UK identity rose to 9.7%, compared with 8% in 2011.

Polish remained top with Romanian second - rising from 16th place in 2011 (73,000 to 477,000).

Indian was ranked third and Irish fourth.

Other noticeable increases were among Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Lithuanian identities.

Recent ONS statistics showed one in six people living in England and Wales were born outside of the UK.

Those figures also revealed that, in a decade, there was a 576% rise in the number of people who listed Romania as their country of birth.

Snapshot of ethnic make-up

The 2021 Census asked people to select their ethnic identity:

• Around 10.1% of households (2.5 million) included people from at least two different ethnic groups, up from 8.7% (2 million) in 2011

• 81.7% (48.7 million) described themselves as "white", down from 86% (48.2 million) a decade earlier

• "Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh" was the second most common ethnic group accounting for 9.3% (5.5 million), up from 7.5% (4.2 million)

• "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" rose to 2.5% (1.5 million), an increase from 1.8% (990,000)

• Also big rises recorded in "Other white" and "Other ethnic group" categories

'Increasingly multi-cultural society'

The ONS believes the changes may be linked to different patterns of ageing, fertility, mortality, and migration.

Census deputy director Jon Wroth-Smith said: "Today's data highlights the increasingly multi-cultural society we live in.

"However, the picture varies depending on where you live. London remains the most ethnically diverse region of England, where just under two-thirds identify with an ethnic minority group, whereas under one in 10 identify this way in the North East."

Changing demographics

In 14 local authorities, people who identified themselves as "white" were in the minority.

London boroughs dominated the areas where more than half selected an ethnicity that was not "white".

The census normally takes place every 10 years but was delayed in Scotland in 2021 because of the pandemic. More data will be published in stages over the next two years.