Christianity is the religion with the largest following in the area, with 79.67% residents so identifying in the 2001 census. These census figures show no other single religion returned affiliation, as a percentage of population, above the national average for England. At the time of the 2001 UK census the population of the East Riding was 314,113 and its ethnic composition was 96.80% white, compared with the English average of 90.92%. The area has a slightly higher elderly population, of 24.0% in 2008, than the national average.