Format/length:	an2
HES item:
National Codes:	Press Definition button for the National Codes
Default Codes:	9 - Not given

Notes:
ETHNIC GROUPS is a type of CHARACTERISTIC.

New ethnic categories defined in the 2001 census will however, become the national mandatory standard for the collection of ethnicity. These new ethnic categories will eventually totally replace the existing categories of ethnic data as classified by ETHNIC GROUPS but there will be a period where both may need to co-exist at the same time.

The new ethnic categories are given in ETHNIC CATEGORY.

When recording Ethnic Group in a 2-digit field, the national code should be entered as the left digit. In order to avoid coding errors, providers collecting ethnic group to the national standard with no further detail are advised to add 0 (zero) after the national code.

Code 8 does not carry the standard default meaning of Not applicable. 

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	ETHNIC GROUPS