From being able to register to vote to being able to apply for a British passport and benefits, British citizenship opens the door to a number of different opportunities for newly naturalised citizens.
Registration services play a huge role in fulfilling the final stages of the citizenship process, conducting both group and private citizenship ceremonies before passing over applicant details to electoral services.
Read on for current citizenship ceremony statistics and how different regions and authorities compare.
Citizenship Ceremony Statistics
Using data from 2004 to 2019 (ignoring 2020 due to COVID irregularities), we can pick up a number of interesting statistics:
- 2019 saw 113,301 citizenship ceremonies conducted
- 2009 through to 2013 received the highest number of citizenship ceremonies, the highest grand totals appearing in 2013 (157,450) and 2009 (156,134) respectively
- Levels reduced from 2014 onwards, averaging at 102,212
Citizenship Ceremonies By Region
- London boroughs far and away holds the most ceremonies, holding 858,014 since 2004 (to 2020), followed closely by South East (235,796) and the West Midlands (8,750).
- In 2019 figures, London topped the list with 50,369, with the South East (15,101) and East of England (139,185). The full list is here:
- London: 50,369
- South East: 15,101
- East of England: 8,750
- North West: 7,073
- West Midlands: 6,900
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 4,978
- South West: 4,531
- Scotland: 4,460
- East Midlands: 4,341
- Consulates: 3,222
- Wales: 1,467
- North East: 1,435
- Northern Ireland: 538
- Islands: 136
Citizenship Ceremonies By Local Authority
Top Authorities in England:
- Birmingham: 2,699
- Westminster: 2,519
- Surrey: 2,505
- Hertfordshire: 2,420
- Ealing: 2,367
Authorities in Wales:
- Cardiff: 496
- Newport: 184
- Swansea: 154
- Flintshire: 68
- Wrexham: 56
Authorities in Scotland:
- Edinburgh: 1,102
- Glasgow: 1,037
- Aberdeen: 557
- Aberdeenshire: 200
- Fife: 169
Citizenship Ceremonies By Local Authority and Region:
Top Authorities in London:
- Westminster: 2,519
- Ealing: 2,367
- Tower Hamlets: 2,302
- Barnet: 2,283
- Newham: 2,282
- Brent: 2,277
- Wandsworth: 2,057
- Southwark: 1,970
- Hounslow: 1,863
- RBKC: 1,751
Top Authorities in the South East:
- Surrey: 2,505
- Kent: 1,791
- Oxfordshire: 1,573
- Hampshire: 1,439
- West Sussex: 997
- Buckinghamshire: 876
- Milton Keynes: 812
- Reading: 781
- Slough: 766
- Brighton and Hove: 630
Top Authorities in the West Midlands:
- Birmingham: 2,699
- Coventry: 766
- Sandwell: 586
- Warwickshire: 552
- Wolverhampton: 408
- Staffordshire: 353
- Walsall: 295
- Worcestershire: 261
- Stoke-on-Trent: 255
- Solihull: 204
Top Authorities in the East Midlands:
- Northamptonshire: 910
- Leicester: 848
- Nottingham: 650
- Leicestershire: 509
- Nottinghamshire: 419
- Derby: 378
- Lincolnshire: 327
- Derbyshire: 280
- Rutland: 20
Top Authorities in the North East:
- Newcastle: 544
- Middlesbrough: 150
- Durham: 146
- North Tyneside: 104
- Sunderland: 100
- Stockton-on-Tees: 88
- Gateshead: 87
- Darlington: 68
- Northumberland: 64
- South Tyneside: 50
Top Authorities in the South West:
- Bristol: 1,035
- Gloucestershire: 549
- Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch: 427
- Wiltshire: 376
- Swindon: 371
- Devon: 334
- Somerset: 258
- South Gloucestershire: 216
- Plymouth: 195
- Dorset: 165
Top Authorities in the East Anglia:
- Hertfordshire: 2,420
- Essex: 1,517
- Cambridgeshire: 1,403
- Luton: 765
- Norfolk: 517
- Thurrock: 513
- Suffolk: 494
- Bedfordshire: 418
- Peterborough: 348
- Southend-on-Sea: 187
Top Authorities in the Yorkshire and The Humber:
- Leeds: 1,348
- Sheffield: 835
- Bradford: 764
- Kirklees: 430
- North Yorkshire: 232
- Hull: 214
- Wakefield: 198
- York: 190
- Doncaster: 176
- Rotherham: 147
Top Authorities in the North West:
- Manchester: 1,981
- Liverpool: 641
- Lancashire: 583
- Salford: 502
- Bolton: 484
- Trafford: 363
- Stockport: 277
- Rochdale: 268
- Oldham: 249
- East Cheshire: 199
Data sources used for this post:
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