The vast majority of Bradford’s Muslims feel British in some way, new census data reveals.

The figures also suggest that many Muslims call themselves ‘British’, while Christians and atheists prefer to use the term ‘English’.

In the 2011 census, people were asked not just to record their country of birth and their nationality, but also their ‘national identity’ for the first time.

It shows that while one in five people in the district were born outside the UK, only eight per cent don’t feel in some way British.

Across Bradford, 90 per cent of people said they felt British, English, or both.

Eight per cent recorded a non-UK identity. The rest recorded other UK identities, such as Scottish, or more than one identity. In religious terms, Christians make up nearly half of Bradford’s population, followed by Muslims at a quarter. One in five say they are not religious.

Of 239,843 Christians, more than two-thirds described their identity as English. Thirteen per cent said they identified as British, and seven per cent gave a non-UK identity.

Of 129,041 Muslims, only 13 per cent gave solely a non-UK identity. Two-thirds described their national identity as British, while 16 per cent described their identity as English.

And of 108,027 atheists, 71 per cent said they identified as English and 14 per cent as British.

Councillor Imran Hussain, Bradford Council’s executive member for safer and stronger communities, said he did not see any significance behind people identifying as British rather than, say, English.

He said: “I don’t feel there’s a great difference between the two. I think British is a term that’s more widely used on other forms.

“Clearly there will be people who have moved here from outside and may not feel British. But the majority of those born here and raised here will feel British.” Coun Hussain said Bradford often got accused of having communities in which people didn’t feel British, but that the census data proved this idea wrong.

He said: “We get a lot of negative press from outside the district sometimes. That’s unfortunate.

“But the recent results of the census don’t surprise me whatsoever.

“A great deal of Muslims are very proud to be British and very proud to be Bradfordian.”

The census also gives a picture of immigration across the district.

One in five people living in Bradford was born outside of the UK.

Of these, two thirds are from the Middle East or Asia, 12 per cent are from new EU member countries such as Poland, and eight per cent are from Africa.