Everyone born in the UK holds British citizenship. What they call themselves is a separate question, and the answer varies enormously by nation, generation and politics.
The pattern
Census and survey data show a consistent picture:
- In Scotland and Wales, most people give the national identity first — Scottish, or Welsh — with British second or not at all.
- In England, people have historically been comfortable using English and British almost interchangeably, having rarely needed to distinguish them.
- In Northern Ireland, identity splits closely along community lines: broadly British among unionists, Irish among nationalists, with a growing group choosing “Northern Irish” as a deliberate third option.
Why the English are different
England makes up about 84% of the UK population, and for most of the union’s history the English simply did not need a separate national identity — “England” and “Britain” were used loosely for the same thing, including by the English themselves, which is a large part of why the other nations find the conflation irritating.
Devolution changed this. Once Scotland and Wales had their own parliaments and England did not, English identity became something people started to think about and assert. English rather than British self-identification has risen since 1999, and it correlates measurably with political attitudes — including with the Brexit vote.
Northern Ireland’s formal solution
The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 addressed the identity question directly, and unusually. It recognises the birthright of all people of Northern Ireland to identify as British, Irish, or both, and to hold British or Irish citizenship or both — and states that this right survives any future change in the constitutional status of Northern Ireland.
It is a rare example of a state writing into a treaty that its citizens need not choose, and it was central to making the settlement work.
Hyphenated and layered identities
British identity is increasingly held alongside others rather than instead of them. Black British, British Asian, British Muslim, Welsh Asian and dozens of similar formulations are ordinary usage, and the census allows people to record multiple identities.
Regional and civic identity is strong too, and frequently stronger than national. A great many people identify first as Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Cornish or Londoner, and would put that above anything national if asked to choose.
What to call people
The practical guidance:
- British is safe if you do not know.
- English applies only to people from England. Calling a Scot, a Welsh person or a Northern Irish person English is the single most reliable way to sour a friendly conversation in Britain.
- Use the specific national term when you know it — it will be appreciated.
- Never call someone from the Republic of Ireland British. It is a separate country, and the history behind the error is not a light one.
The Cornish
One further wrinkle. The Cornish were recognised as a national minority under the Council of Europe framework in 2014, on the same footing as the Scots, Welsh and Irish. A significant number of people in Cornwall do not consider themselves English, and say so.