The number of St Albans residents who identify as English has fallen to just 28 per cent, while those who identify as British has risen above the national average.

With today (Tuesday, April 23) being St George's Day, residents across England will be celebrating the country's patron saint and the history of the nation.

However, the latest population survey from the Office for National Statistics, covering 2023, has showed that just 28 per cent of St Albans residents now identify as English.

This has fallen from 40 per cent in the year to June 2016, prior to the Brexit referendum. In 2004, 58 per cent of St Albans residents identified as English.

A total of 72 per cent of the city's respondents to the survey said they identified as British – above the national average of 57 per cent.

Herts Advertiser: An annual St George's Day lunch is hosted by the St Albans Chamber Of Commerce.An annual St George's Day lunch is hosted by the St Albans Chamber Of Commerce. (Image: St Albans Chamber of Commerce)

Across England, the number of people identifying as English has broadly fallen over the last decade.

Just 43 per cent of people across the nation said they identified as English, down from 59 per cent in 2004.

Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future think tank, said: "People’s sense of Englishness ebbs and flows.

"You'll see a lot of England flags in June when the Three Lions are competing in the Euros, and then they'll disappear again.

"We could do a lot more to celebrate English identity outside of major sporting moments, in an inclusive way – flying the flag with pride and making sure everyone feels invited to the party on St George’s Day.

"Getting behind a shared English identity could help bring people together."

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However, the Centre for English Identity and Politics at the University of Southampton, said the findings should be approached with caution.

Its director, Professor John Denham, said many people only select one response, despite having "multiple identities".

He added the British social attitudes survey suggests there has been an increase in the numbers saying they are equally English and British, but a smaller rise in the numbers saying they are British rather than English.