A landmark report released today from the Evangelical Alliance is providing the clearest picture yet of who evangelicals are in the UK.
The evangelical church in the UK is younger, more ethnically diverse and significantly larger than many people assume, according to the new research, which may surprise some.
The report, Understanding UK Evangelicals: who are they?, is the most comprehensive attempt in decades to define and measure evangelical Christianity across the United Kingdom. It estimates that around 5.5 million people in the UK are evangelical Christians, meaning they both identify as an evangelical and share evangelical beliefs. This is just under 8% of the population.
These evangelicals make up around two-thirds of practising Christians in the UK. If you consider all of those who are either belief evangelicals or identify as evangelical, as well as those who do both, this group grows to 17.6% of UK adults who could be described as "somewhat evangelical".
Key findings
- There are approximately 5.5 million evangelical Christians in the UK.
- Two-thirds of practising Christians in the UK are evangelical.
- Young adults are the most likely age group to be evangelical – more than 40% are under 35.
- 30% of evangelicals are from ethnic minority backgrounds.
- 17.6% of UK adults either identify as evangelical or hold evangelical beliefs.
Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance, says:
"The evangelical church in the UK is thriving: it’s young, diverse, and growing. This research shows that evangelicals make up almost two-thirds of practising Christians in the UK and remain at the heart of church life every Sunday. It gives us real confidence that evangelicals will continue to shape the future of the church, and that the Evangelical Alliance will keep standing strong and speaking up on behalf of this vibrant movement."
This report maps out the evangelical landscape using two key measures - identity and belief. Source: ea.org.uk
Danny Webster, director of advocacy and research at the Evangelical Alliance, said:
"For years, the word 'evangelical' has often been misunderstood or reduced to political stereotypes imported from the United States. This research tells a very different story. This landmark research provides an accurate understanding of who evangelicals in the UK are. We have measured how many Christians identify as evangelicals, and how many share the common beliefs of evangelicals, and the result is a vivid picture of a young, diverse group, spanning every denomination.
"It’s a movement united not by politics, but by a shared commitment to Jesus Christ and making Him known."
The report is published as the Evangelical Alliance marks its 180th anniversary, and the organisation hopes it will help churches, journalists, researchers and policymakers better understand the UK's largest and most diverse Christian community.
Background
The research was carried out by Whitestone Insight as an online survey on behalf of the Evangelical Alliance using a nationally representative sample of 8,407 adults. The fieldwork took place between 25 February and 8 March 2026.
The survey was conducted of UK adults, and percentages reported all relate to this group. Where percentages are extrapolated to a population estimate we have used the whole UK population of 70 million people (adults and children) as the base to provide a clear picture of the incidence of evangelical Christians in the UK.
The data provided has a margin of error of 2%, meaning that all percentages can realistically be 2% higher or lower than presented in this report. Within this sample, 3,804 people who categorised themselves as Christian were identified and asked further questions about their Christian practices, evangelical identity and beliefs. The demographic profile of this group was used to apply appropriate weightings to future representative research of evangelicals.
