1. Majority is Minority
London, Birmingham and Manchester (three of the biggest cities in the UK) all now have minority ‘white British population’ with people from ethnic backgrounds forming the majority population. London is now 37% white British, while Birmingham is now 43% white British and Manchester is 48.7%. The trend is no different in Leicester (59% population from ethnic backgrounds) and Luton and many boroughs of London are overwhelmingly multicultural such as Newham, Slough, Harrow, Brent and Redbridge. About 4 in 10 people in Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Peterborough are non-white. Urban England is becoming more Multicultural.
Asians (9.3%) are the largest ethnic group in England and Wales, followed by Black British, Caribbean or African(4%), mixed or multiple ethnic groups(2.9%) and other ethnic groups (2.1%).
2. It is a Multi Faith and also a ‘No Religion’ Society
As a leading daily claimed that fewer than half of us now call ourselves Christian, 46.2% to be precise but there are now 37.2% calling themselves people of no faith or ‘No religion’. This clearly indicates that we are increasingly a more secular country than ever before.
In terms of ethnic faiths, Muslims have the highest growth from 4.9% to 6.5% and Hindu/Sikhs have grown from 2.3% to 2.6%. The other significant religions are Jewish (0.5) and Buddhist (0.5%).
The UK while celebrates different faiths and different occasions such as Xmas, Diwali, Eid, Baisakhi, Navratri, Durga Puja, Hanukkah and several other multicultural occasions as the list keeps on growing with more diverse population; at its core it remains a ‘secular society’ with an appetite to savour and celebrate all flavours
3. There is other ‘Whites’ and not just ‘British White’
There are approximately 743,000 Polish residents and 472,000 Romanian residents in the UK who form the ‘other whites’ ethnically different population of the UK. Italy, Germany and Ireland are the significant ‘other white’ residents across the UK. There are parts of London such as Camden, Hammersmith and Kensington where ‘French’ remains the second most spoken language after English.
Hence for marketers it is important to understand that the White in England can be a different white with hugely different cultural moorings as in the case of Polish and Romanians.
4. A multilingual Society with very different first language and cultural moorings
Polish, Romanian, Punjabi and Urdu remain the four most popular languages spoken as a main language other than English with Romanian entering the top 10 for the first time. However, the popularity of music and movies from the subcontinent clearly highlights the popularity of Hindi and the other subcontinent languages such as Gujarati, Bengali among the most commonly heard in urban England.
A recent ad in Hindi on ‘SKY’ during world cup telecast had more impact than others being in a language.
5. British Asians of which half are Indians make up 9.3% of the population in England and Wales
British Asians comprising of Indians (almost half the British Asian population) but also including Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepalese and others such as Sri Lankans are one tenth of the population and are a major community in all of urban England and growing with significant purchasing power and in many cases very different shopping patterns which all brands should imbibe and understand
6. Indian population is on a record growth post Census
Indians were allotted the highest no of work permits (80,421) last year as well as the highest number of student visas close to 120,000 and also incidentally highest no of tourist visas – simply making UK a favourite place to work, study and visit and that will reflect in the numbers in the years to come and
As marketers we need to take cognizance of this. The second group closest to this was Nigerian which had 12,862 work permits allotted and similarly a high number of student visas also with a very high number of dependent visas. Both India and Nigeria happen to be populous countries and there definitely seems that this will be reflected in UK demographics and business relations with the two countries in times to come
7. Chinese and Hong Kong British Nationals Migrating to UK
While Chinese nationals have grown from 104,000 to 124,000 the overall percentage of Chinese origin population is not so significant though there is a significant population in Liverpool, Manchester and London too. The other key development is visas – 150,000 + given to BN(O) – British Nationals from Hongkong last year and this is definitely a strand of migration supported by public at large also ensuring further diversity in Urban England
8. Almost 10.1% of households (2.5 million) included people from at least two different ethnic groups, up from 8.7% ( 2 million) in 2011
This conclusively proves that there is a level of cultural intermingling that is on the rise and will make UK a very unique country in the times to come given its ethnic mix and urban density where populations are no more isolated but live in close proximity irrespective of faith and colour
9. Why only England and Wales – what about Scottish Census findings?
Due to Covid, the Census for Scotland was deferred to 2022 and now the results are expected next year
10. What is the one line conclusion of Census 2021 for England and Wales
This is a ‘Multicultural Society’ which is continuously evolving in all aspects of culture reflecting its changing demographics and influences of migration.
London, Birmingham and Manchester (three of the biggest cities in the UK) all now have minority ‘white British population’ with people from ethnic backgrounds forming the majority population. London is now 37% white British, while Birmingham is now 43% white British and Manchester is 48.7%. The trend is no different in Leicester (59% population from ethnic backgrounds) and Luton and many boroughs of London are overwhelmingly multicultural such as Newham, Slough, Harrow, Brent and Redbridge. About 4 in 10 people in Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Peterborough are non-white. Urban England is becoming more Multicultural.
Asians (9.3%) are the largest ethnic group in England and Wales, followed by Black British, Caribbean or African(4%), mixed or multiple ethnic groups(2.9%) and other ethnic groups (2.1%).
2. It is a Multi Faith and also a ‘No Religion’ Society
As a leading daily claimed that fewer than half of us now call ourselves Christian, 46.2% to be precise but there are now 37.2% calling themselves people of no faith or ‘No religion’. This clearly indicates that we are increasingly a more secular country than ever before.
In terms of ethnic faiths, Muslims have the highest growth from 4.9% to 6.5% and Hindu/Sikhs have grown from 2.3% to 2.6%. The other significant religions are Jewish (0.5) and Buddhist (0.5%).
The UK while celebrates different faiths and different occasions such as Xmas, Diwali, Eid, Baisakhi, Navratri, Durga Puja, Hanukkah and several other multicultural occasions as the list keeps on growing with more diverse population; at its core it remains a ‘secular society’ with an appetite to savour and celebrate all flavours
3. There is other ‘Whites’ and not just ‘British White’
There are approximately 743,000 Polish residents and 472,000 Romanian residents in the UK who form the ‘other whites’ ethnically different population of the UK. Italy, Germany and Ireland are the significant ‘other white’ residents across the UK. There are parts of London such as Camden, Hammersmith and Kensington where ‘French’ remains the second most spoken language after English.
Hence for marketers it is important to understand that the White in England can be a different white with hugely different cultural moorings as in the case of Polish and Romanians.
4. A multilingual Society with very different first language and cultural moorings
Polish, Romanian, Punjabi and Urdu remain the four most popular languages spoken as a main language other than English with Romanian entering the top 10 for the first time. However, the popularity of music and movies from the subcontinent clearly highlights the popularity of Hindi and the other subcontinent languages such as Gujarati, Bengali among the most commonly heard in urban England.
A recent ad in Hindi on ‘SKY’ during world cup telecast had more impact than others being in a language.
5. British Asians of which half are Indians make up 9.3% of the population in England and Wales
British Asians comprising of Indians (almost half the British Asian population) but also including Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepalese and others such as Sri Lankans are one tenth of the population and are a major community in all of urban England and growing with significant purchasing power and in many cases very different shopping patterns which all brands should imbibe and understand
6. Indian population is on a record growth post Census
Indians were allotted the highest no of work permits (80,421) last year as well as the highest number of student visas close to 120,000 and also incidentally highest no of tourist visas – simply making UK a favourite place to work, study and visit and that will reflect in the numbers in the years to come and
As marketers we need to take cognizance of this. The second group closest to this was Nigerian which had 12,862 work permits allotted and similarly a high number of student visas also with a very high number of dependent visas. Both India and Nigeria happen to be populous countries and there definitely seems that this will be reflected in UK demographics and business relations with the two countries in times to come
7. Chinese and Hong Kong British Nationals Migrating to UK
While Chinese nationals have grown from 104,000 to 124,000 the overall percentage of Chinese origin population is not so significant though there is a significant population in Liverpool, Manchester and London too. The other key development is visas – 150,000 + given to BN(O) – British Nationals from Hongkong last year and this is definitely a strand of migration supported by public at large also ensuring further diversity in Urban England
8. Almost 10.1% of households (2.5 million) included people from at least two different ethnic groups, up from 8.7% ( 2 million) in 2011
This conclusively proves that there is a level of cultural intermingling that is on the rise and will make UK a very unique country in the times to come given its ethnic mix and urban density where populations are no more isolated but live in close proximity irrespective of faith and colour
9. Why only England and Wales – what about Scottish Census findings?
Due to Covid, the Census for Scotland was deferred to 2022 and now the results are expected next year
10. What is the one line conclusion of Census 2021 for England and Wales
This is a ‘Multicultural Society’ which is continuously evolving in all aspects of culture reflecting its changing demographics and influences of migration.
