This page includes a dashboard summary about the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) communities in Surrey. This includes the 2021 Census, the Traveller caravan count*, and School Census.
*The July 2020 count was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The below dashboard is also available on Tableau Public.
Highlights:
Please note that the way GRT communities are named and grouped differ between data sources.
2021 Census
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At the time of the 2021 Census, there were 2,680 self-reported Gypsy or Irish Travellers and 1,675 self-reported Roma individuals in Surrey. The Census found a higher rate of Gypsy or Irish Travellers per 1,000 residents in Surrey at 2.2 compared to England (1.2). Conversely, Surrey had a lower rate of Roma residents than England at 1.4 per 1,000 people compared to 1.8 in England.
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Runnymede had the highest rate of Gypsy or Irish Travellers at the time of the 2021 Census at 4.4 per 1,000 population, followed by Tandridge (3.9) and Guildford (3.3).
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While just under half (45.3%) of the Roma population in Surrey reported level 4 or above qualifications, just a quarter (24.0%) of Gypsy or Irish Traveller residents had level 4 or above qualifications and 65.0 per cent had no qualifications.
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The Gypsy or Irish Traveller population and the Roma population in Surrey both had the highest proportions of residents in skilled trade occupations (23.8% and 18.4% respectively) and elementary occupations (19.7% and 22.1% respectively).
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A higher proportion of Roma individuals in Surrey were in the caring, leisure and other service occupations (18.4%) than the Gypsy or Irish Traveller individuals (6.6%).
Pupil Characteristics (Annual School Census) - 2024/25
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Gypsy/Roma pupils represent 0.5 per cent (853) pupils in state-funded Surrey schools in 2024/25, compared to Traveller of Irish heritage pupils who represent 0.2 per cent of all (287) pupils.
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A higher proportion of pupils from the GRT community are known to be eligible for free school meals (63.7% of Gypsy/Roma pupils and 57.5% of Traveller of Irish heritage pupils) compared to White British pupils in Surrey schools (14.7%).
Traveller Caravan Count - January 2025
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As of January 2025, there were 1,666 known traveller caravans across Surrey.
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A higher percentage of traveller caravans are on socially rented/public sites in England (23.1%) than in Surrey (20.2%).
Sources:
2021 Census (Roma) - Roma populations, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics
2021 Census (Gypsy or Irish Traveller) - Gypsy or Irish Traveller populations, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics
Traveller caravan counts every January and July - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/traveller-caravan-count
Annual School Census / Pupil Characteristics - Schools, pupils and their characteristics, Academic year – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)
