Chapter 2 - Personnel
                     
Table 2.20 Intake to untrained strength of UK Regular Forces by Service and ethnic origin
  2003/04   2004/05   2005/06   2006/07   2007/08  
All Services 23 040   17 200   17 810   19 260 p 20 910 p
                     
   Officers 1 950   1 510   1 600   1 640 p 1 910 p
      White 1 580   1 375   1 490   ..   ..  
      Ethnic minorities 35   35   35   ..   ..  
      Unknown1 335   95   75   ..   ..  
                     
   Other ranks 21 090   15 700   16 210   17 630 p 19 000 p
      White 18 675   13 940   14 650   .. r ..  
      Ethnic minorities 1 870   1 290   1 015   .. r ..  
         of which: Commonwealth 'Block recruits'2 315   225   110   .. r ..  
      Unknown1 545   465   545   .. r ..  
                     
Naval Service 4 050   3 660   3 870   3 780 p 4 000 p
                     
   Officers 420   470   440   400 p 420 p
      White 360   380   385   ..   330  
      Ethnic minorities ~   5   10   ..   10  
      Unknown1 60   80   50   ..   80  
                     
   Other ranks 3 630   3 190   3 430   3 380 p 3 580 p
      White 3 000   2 670   2 810   .. r ..  
      Ethnic minorities 115   100   115   .. r ..  
         of which: Commonwealth 'Block recruits' -   -   -   .. r ..  
      Unknown1 515   420   505   .. r ..  
                     
Army 14 700   11 300   12 360   13 700 p 13 840 p
                     
   Officers 880   680   730   810 p 990 p
      White 850   650   710   770 p ..  
      Ethnic minorities 30   20   20   30 p ..  
      Unknown1 ~   5   ~   10 p ..  
                     
   Other ranks 13 820   10 620   11 620   12 890 p 12 840 p
      White 12 115   9 470   10 740   11 590 p 9 415 p
      Ethnic minorities 1 695   1 150   880   1 040 p 1 160 p
         of which: Commonwealth 'Block recruits'2 315   225   110   - p ..  
      Unknown1 10   ~   10   260 p 2 265 p
                     
Royal Air Force 4 290   2 240   1 580   1 790   3 070 p
                     
   Officers 650   360   430   430   500 p
      White 370   345   395   .. 445  
      Ethnic minorities 10   10   5   .. 5  
      Unknown1 270   10   25   .. 40  
                     
   Other ranks 3 640   1 880   1 150   1 360   2 580 p
      White 3 560   1 800   1 100   1 155   2 195 p
      Ethnic minorities 55   45   20   20   45 p
      Unknown1 25   40   30   185   340 p
 
Ethnic minorities as a percentage4 of total (exc. unknown)
All personnel4 7.3   6.7   5.5   ..   ..  
           
   Officers 2.3   2.6   2.4   ..   ..  
      Naval Service 0.3   1.6   2.0   ..   2.4 p
      Army 3.2   3.1   2.9   3.6 p ..  
      Royal Air Force 2.1   2.8   1.7   ..   1.5 p
           
   Other ranks4 7.7   7.1   5.8   .. r ..  
      Naval Service 3.8   3.5   3.9   .. r ..  
      Army4 10.2   8.9   6.7   8.2 p 11.0 p
      Royal Air Force 1.6   2.3   1.8   1.5   1.9 p
Source: DASA(Quad-Service)
UK Regular Forces excludes Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve personnel, and mobilised reservists. Officer figures include intake from the ranks and re-entrants.
Fluctuations in intake reflect changes in recruiting targets as well as the degree of success in meeting them.
Ethnicity figures are based on those with a known ethnic origin. Where more than 40% of ethnicity data are unknown, figures are suppressed to reduce the possibility of presenting misleading information. All service totals are also surpressed when comprised of single service figures of varying coverage to prevent bias towards services with higher coverage.
1.  Includes those with an unrecorded ethnic origin and those who choose not to declare.
2.  Ethnic minorities recruited en bloc include Fijians, Vincencians and St Lucians for 2003/04. From April 2004, only Fijians are included. From April 2006
     there are no block recruits.
3.  Percentages are calculated from unrounded data.
4.  Excludes Fijians, Vincencians and St Lucians recruited en bloc.
Due to ongoing validation of data from the Joint Personnel Administration System, all Naval Service and Army flow statistics for financial year 06/07 and 07/08 and all RAF flow statistics for financial year 07/08 are provisional and subject to review.