Census 2011: Britain more diverse than ever before.

Portrait of business colleagues holding each other and laughingEngland and Wales has become more ethnically diverse with rising numbers of people identifying with minority ethnic groups in 2011, according to the latest Census results released by the Office of National Statistics on 11th December 2012. White was the majority ethnic group at 48.2 million in 2011 (86%), a decrease from 91.3% in 2001 and 94.1% in 1991. Indian was the next largest ethnic group with 1.4 million people (2.5%) followed by Pakistani (2.0%). This is consistent with census findings on international migration, which found that South Asian countries (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) continued to rank highly within the most common non-UK countries of birth. The remaining ethnic groups each accounted for up to 2.0% of the population in 2011.

Across the English regions and Wales, London was the most ethnically diverse area, with the highest proportion of minority ethnic groups and the lowest proportion of the White ethnic group at 59.8 %, in 2011. There were 8.2 million residents in London. This was an increase of some 851,000 (12%) since 2001, and represents 15% of the population of England and Wales. While White British was the majority ethnic group in London, it had the lowest percentage of White British across England and Wales at 44.9%. London had above average proportions for most minority ethnic groups including African (7.0%), Indian (6.6%), and Caribbean (4.2%). It also had the highest incidence of Any Other White at 12.6%.

The West Midlands was the second most diverse with White ethnic group at 79.2%. The West Midlands had a higher than average percentage of minority ethnic groups: Pakistani at 4.1%, Indian at 3.9% and Caribbean at 1.5%. It also had a lower than average White ethnic group at 82.7% and White British at 79.2%. Across the English regions and Wales, Wales was the least diverse area, followed by the South West and North East. Over 95% of the population identified as White in these areas.

Census 2011 Results for England & Wales
Census 2011 - London
Census 2011 - Ethnicity

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