Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom
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General Information
- The Montserratian British community outnumbers the actual population of Montserrat by about six to one
- The Pakistani British community is the second largest Pakistani overseas community on the planet
- The Cypriot British community is the largest overseas Cypriot community on earth, it is over half the size of the almost one million strong population of Cyprus
- There are more ethnically Irish people in the UK than there are on the island of Ireland in total
- Indian British people make up the country's single largest ethnic minority group, which is also the West's second largest Indian community
- The Nigerian British community is the largest overseas Nigerian community on the planet, and three times larger than its closest rival
- The Brazilian British community increases in size by around 22 people every day, and sits firm as the world's fourth largest overseas Brazilian community
- Many communities such as the French British, German British, Italian British and Spanish British ones have inhabited the United Kingdom for millennia, and it is impossible to tell how many people have partial ancestry, although it is thought to be in the millions for many
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Demographic transition
The period from 1948 has seen a dramatic change in the ethnic make-up of the United Kingdom. Non-Whites have grown from tens of thousands in 1951 to 4,600,000 in 2001. The total number of ethnic minorities (including whites from ethnic minority groups) in 2001 was 6,751,689.
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Multiculturalism and integration
Beginning during the postwar immigration boom, United Kingdom has gradually developed a robust policy of multiculturalism. The rapidity of ethnic transition in the United Kingdom has caused much discussion about the policies that have developed under the rubric of multiculturalism. Critics believe policies that stress integration between groups are more appropriate. They point to the differing successes and relative failures of various groups in the United Kingdom to integrate with one another and British society.[5][6][7][8]
In 2005 the Commission for Racial Equality published a report entitled Citizenship and Belonging : What is Britishness?, to examine the way in which British people of different ethnic backgrounds thought about Britishness. The Commission reported that:
“As White people involved in the study were asked to talk about Britishness, many immediately and spontaneously changed the topic of discussion slightly talking instead about a perceived decline in Britishness. This happened in all focus groups with White people. They attributed the decline to four main causes: the arrival of large numbers of migrants; the ‘unfair’ claims made by people from ethnic minorities on the welfare state; the rise in moral pluralism; and the failure to manage ethnic minority groups properly, due to what participants called political correctness.”
And that: “Most White participants were distressed by this perceived decline in Britishness. They felt victimised and frustrated and many anticipated that social unrest would become inevitable.”[9]
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Race riots
Since the beginning of mass immigration there have been a number of race riots, the most prominent being:
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- 1958 - London - Notting Hill race riots
- 1981 - London - Brixton riot (1981)
- 1981 & 1987 - Leeds - Chapeltown Riots
- 1981 - Liverpool - Toxteth Riots
- 1981 & 1985 - Birmingham - Handsworth Riots
- 1981 - Manchester - Moss Side
- 1985 -London - Brixton riot (1985)
- 1985 -London - Broadwater Farm riot
- 1995 - Bradford - Manningham Riot
- 1995 - London - Brixton riot (1995)
- 2001 - Bradford - Bradford Riot
- 2001 - Burnley - Burnley Riots
- 2001 - Oldham - Oldham Riots
- 2004 - Peterborough - Peterborough Riots
- 2005 - Birmingham - 2005 Birmingham Riot
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2001 Census
According to the 2001 Census, the ethnic composition of the United Kingdom was:
| Ethnic group | Population | % of total* |
|---|---|---|
| White British | 50,366,497 | 85.7% |
| White Irish | 691,232 | 1.2% |
| White (other) | 3,096,169 | 5.3% |
| Mixed race | 677,117 | 1.2% |
| Indian | 1,053,411 | 1.8% |
| Pakistani | 747,285 | 1.3% |
| Bangladeshi | 283,063 | 0.5% |
| Other Asian (non-Chinese) | 247,644 | 0.4% |
| Black Caribbean | 565,876 | 1.0% |
| Black African | 485,277 | 0.8% |
| Black (others) | 97,585 | 0.2% |
| Chinese | 247,403 | 0.4% |
| Other | 230,615 | 0.4% |
| * Percentage of total UK population | ||
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Census forms
There have been recent calls for the 2011 national census to include extra tickboxes in Category "A" (in addition to the current tick boxes for "British", "Irish", or "Any other White background"), as there have been claims of racial discrimination by some Welsh, English, and Cornish people. [10] [11] There was some confusion due to the fact that one first had to deny being British, by crossing out the British option, and then writing "Welsh", "English", or "Cornish" in the "Any other" category. The Office for National Statistics recognises that many people want to distinguish themselves as Welsh, English or Cornish and not just "British" in the 2011 census and is considering adding extra tickboxes for this purpose.[12] [13]
There has also been some concern that a large number of second generation Irish people did not read the instruction to 'indicate your cultural background' and believed that they must answer 'British' (or 'Scottish' in Scotland) rather than 'Irish' because of their birthplace."
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References
- ^ BBC[1]
- ^ BBC [2]
- ^ Guardian [3]
- ^ Norman Davies, The Isles A History 1999 ISBN 0-333-69283-7 'The first major modern influx of foreign immigrants (into the British Isles) was that of the East European Jews in the period 1885-1905. Fleeing the poverty of the pale of Jewish Settlement in the Russian Empire, as well as fear of persecution, Yiddish speaking Jewish immigrants arrived in a sudden uncontrolled flood, quickly transforming the East End of London and similar districts in other major cities into predominantly Jewish districts.....Their numbers - perhaps a hundred thousand - caused the British Government to pass the Aliens Act 1906'. (page 822)
- ^ BBC[4]
- ^ The Times [5]
- ^ BBC [6]
- ^ BBC [7]
- ^ The decline of Britishness: a research study
- ^ Cornish demand 2011 Census tick box
- ^ Mebyon Kernow Support the campaign for a Cornish tick-box
- ^ Cornwall Council data on Cornish identity
- ^ 2011 Census tick-box for "English" and "Welsh" national identity
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See also
- Demographics of the United Kingdom
- Languages of the United Kingdom
- Census 2001 Ethnic Codes
- British people
- Briton
- English people
- Irish people
- Scottish people
- Welsh people
- Cornish people
- Desi
- Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
- Prehistoric settlement of Great Britain and Ireland
- Historical immigration to Great Britain
- Immigration to the United Kingdom (1922-present day)
- White Other (United Kingdom Census)
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External links
- The Office for National Statistics on ethnic group statistics (pdf)
- Commission for Racial Equality
- 2011 Census tick-box for "English" and "Cornish" national identities
- Census chiefs set to record Welsh identity tick box
- Census to gauge national identity
- Born Abroad Census
- BBC United Colours
- Notting Hill Carnival
- Carnaval Del Pueblo, Europe's biggest Latin American festival held in London
- Oktoberfest, the UK's major German cultural festival held in Richmond-upon-Thames, London
- 418,000 write in 'Welsh' on 2001 Census form
- UK's different racial groups
- The United Colours of Britain
- Reassessing what we collect website History of ethnic minority communities in London with objects and images
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