Ethnic groups in London

London is one of the most ethnically diverse cities on earth. In 2007 there were over 300 languages spoken in it and more than 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000.^[1]

At the 2011 census London had a population of 8,173,941. Of this number, 44.9% were White British. 37% of the population were born outside the UK, including 24.5% born outside of Europe.^[2]

Ethnic breakdown

2011 Census

	Number	Percentage of total population[3]
White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British	3,669,284	44.9
White: Irish	175,974	2.2
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller	8,196	0.1
White: Other White	1,033,981	12.6
White: Total	4,887,435	59.8
Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Black Caribbean	119,425	1.5
Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Black African	65,479	0.8
Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Asian	101,500	1.2
Mixed/multiple ethnic group: Other Mixed	118,875	1.5
Mixed/multiple ethnic group: Total	405,279	5.0
Asian/Asian British: Indian	542,857	6.6
Asian/Asian British: Pakistani	223,797	2.7
Asian/Asian British: Bangladeshi	222,127	2.7
Asian/Asian British: Chinese	124,250	1.5
Asian/Asian British: Other Asian	398,515	4.9
Asian/Asian British: Total	1,511,546	18.4
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: African	573,931	7.0
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Caribbean	344,597	4.2
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Other Black	170,112	2.1
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Total	1,088,640	13.3
Other ethnic group: Arab	106,020	1.3
Other ethnic group: Any other ethnic group	175,021	2.1
Other ethnic group: Total	281,041	3.4
Total	8,173,941	100

Distribution of ethnic groups in Greater London according to the 2011 census.
White  Asian  Black  White-British (English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British)  White-Irish  White-Other  Asian-Indian  Asian-Pakistani  Asian-Bangladeshi  Asian-Chinese  Black-African  Black-Caribbean  Other-Arab

Black Population of London

At the 2011 census, the total Black population of London stood at 1,088,640.^[4] This is a rise of 39% from the 2001 census, when the population stood at 781,751.

Inner London and Outer London have a near-equal black population. The 2011 census is the first time that the black population in Outer London has overtaken that of Inner London:

	Black African Population	Black Caribbean Population	Other Black Population	Total Black Population
Inner London	276,513	173,959	89,709	540,181
Outer London	297,418	170,638	80,403	548,459
London	573,931	344,597	170,112	1,088,640

The black population of London is mainly concentrated in the South London area. Southwark has the highest Black African population, Croydon has the highest Black Caribbean population and Lambeth has the highest total black population in London. The twenty London boroughs with the highest total Black population (Black African, Black Caribbean and Other Black) are listed below:

Rank	London Borough	Black African Population	Black Caribbean Population	Other Black Population	Total Black Population
1	Lambeth	35,187	28,886	14,469	78,542
2	Southwark	47,413	17,974	12,124	77,511
3	Lewisham	32,025	30,854	12,063	74,942
4	Croydon	28,981	31,320	12,955	73,256
5	Newham	37,811	15,050	7,395	60,256
6	Brent	24,391	23,723	10,518	58,632
7	Hackney	27,976	19,168	9,714	56,858
8	Enfield	28,222	17,334	8,131	53,687
9	Greenwich	35,164	8,051	5,440	48,655
10	Haringey	23,037	18,087	6,706	47,830
11	Waltham Forest	18,815	18,841	7,135	44,791
12	Barking and Dagenham	28,685	5,227	3,228	37,140
13	Ealing	17,299	13,192	6,369	36,860
14	Barnet	19,392	4,468	3,571	27,431
15	Islington	12,622	7,943	5,729	26,294
16	Redbridge	12,357	9,064	3,424	24,845
17	Hammersmith and Fulham	10,552	7,111	3,842	21,505
18	Merton	10,442	8,126	2,243	20,811
19	Hillingdon	11,275	4,615	4,192	20,082
20	Harrow	8,526	6,812	4,370	19,708

Asian Population of London

At the 2011 census, the total Asian population of London stood at 1,511,546.^[4] This is a rise of 60% from the 2001 census, when the population stood at 947,425.

Outer London has a greater Asian population than Inner London:

	Indian Population	Pakistani Population	Bangladeshi Population	Chinese Population	Other Asian Population	Total Asian Population
Inner London	109,933	59,890	163,838	65,983	115,549	515,193
Outer London	432,924	163,907	58,289	58,267	282,966	996,353
London	542,857	223,797	222,127	124,250	398,515	1,511,546

The Asian population of London is concentrated across the city. Harrow has the highest Indian population, Redbridge has the highest Pakistani population and Tower Hamlets has the highest Bangladeshi and Chinese population. Newham has the highest total Asian population in London. The twenty London boroughs with the highest total Asian population (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Other Asian) are listed below.

Rank	London Borough	Indian Population	Pakistani Population	Bangladeshi Population	Chinese Population	Other Asian Population	Total Asian Population
1	Newham	42,484	30,307	37,262	3,930	19,912	133,895
2	Redbridge	45,660	31,051	16,011	3,000	20,781	116,503
3	Brent	58,017	14,381	1,749	3,250	28,589	105,986
4	Tower Hamlets	6,787	2,442	81,377	8,109	5,786	104,501
5	Harrow	63,051	7,797	1,378	2,629	26,953	101,808
6	Ealing	48,240	14,711	1,786	4,132	31,570	100,439
7	Hounslow	48,161	13,676	2,189	2,405	20,826	87,257
8	Hillingdon	36,795	9,200	2,639	2,889	17,730	69,253
9	Haringey	36,795	9,200	2,639	2,889	17,730	69,253
10	Barnet	27,920	5,344	2,215	8,259	22,180	65,918
11	Croydon	24,660	10,865	2,570	3,925	17,607	59,627
12	Waltham Forest	9,134	26,347	4,632	2,579	11,697	54,389
13	Merton	8,106	7,337	2,216	2,618	15,866	36,143
14	Camden	6,083	1,489	12,503	6,493	8,878	35,446
15	Enfield	11,648	2,594	5,599	2,588	12,464	34,893
16	Wandsworth	8,642	9,718	1,493	3,715	9,770	33,338
17	Westminster	7,213	2,328	6,299	5,917	10,105	31,862
18	Greenwich	7,836	2,594	1,645	5,061	12,758	29,894
19	Barking and Dagenham	7,436	8,007	7,701	1,315	5,135	29,594
20	Southwark	5,819	1,623	3,912	8,074	7,764	27,192

Foreign Born Population

At the 2011 census, 36.7% of London's population was foreign born (including 24.5% born outside of Europe).^[5] With 2,998,264 residents born abroad, London has the second highest foreign-born population of any city in the world.

	Population born in the UK	Population Foreign-Born
Inner London	1,867,723	1,364,178
Outer London	3,307,954	1,634,086
London	5,175,677	2,998,264

	% born in the UK	% Foreign-Born
Inner London	57.8	42.2
Outer London	66.9	33.1
London	63.3	36.7

Significant ethnic minority communities

Bangladeshis

A major wave of immigration began in the 1970s, as people from the Sylhet Division arrived in London, fleeing poverty and the Bangladesh Liberation War. Many settled around Brick Lane, where they entered the textile trade. This trade has declined causing unemployment, but the community has moved into other businesses, including restaurants and banking. The level of immigration peaked in 1986 and has since entered a decline with the introduction of harsher immigration laws.

The community remains concentrated around Bethnal Green and Whitechapel and has spread into other east London boroughs. London as a city is home to the single largest number of people of Bangladeshi origin outside of Bangladesh, with close to 200,000 individuals being of full Bangladeshi origin in 2007.

Chinese

Chinese people constitute the fourth largest Asian group in London (behind the Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis respectively); numbering 114,800 in 2007, they are spread more or less across the entire city and have become successful in British life, especially when it comes to cuisine. The history of the Chinese in London is long and complex, with the first Chinese people arriving in the city in the 19th century as sailors.

Ghanaians

Besides Nigerians, Ghanaians are one of the largest Black African groups in London, with the majority living in the boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth, Newham, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Merton, Croydon, Enfield and Brent.^[6]

Greeks

According to the "History of London's Greek community" by Jonathan Harris,^[7] the Greek population of London numbered several thousand by 1870 AD whereas in 1850 AD it was just a few hundred. The 2001 Census recorded 12,360 Greek-born people living in London, with particular concentrations in the Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Chelsea and Kensington Census tracts.^[8]

The Census tracts with the highest number of Cypriot-born people in 2001 were Palmers Green, Upper Edmonton, Cockfosters, Lower Edmonton, Tottenham North and Tottenham South.^[9] Many Greek-Cypriots reside in Wood Green, Harringay and Palmers Green, the latter harbouring the largest community of Greek-Cypriots outside Cyprus, resulting in these areas bearing local nicknames whereby the Green is replaced by Greek – as in Greek Lanes and Palmers Greek.^[10][11][12]

According to a City of London Corporation sponsored report,^[13] there are between 280,600 and 310,000 Greek speakers in Greater London.

Indians

British Indians have long been one of London's largest ethnic minority groups and in 2007 over 500,000 Indians were residing in London (this excludes people of half or less Indian origin). Around 7% of London's population is of Indian origin. Indians have been in the British capital for generations and come from all walks of life.

Irish

Irish migration to Great Britain has a lengthy history due to the close proximity of, and complex relationship between, the islands of Ireland and Great Britain and the various political entities that have ruled them. Today, millions of residents of Great Britain are either from the island of Ireland or have Irish ancestry. Around six million Britons have an Irish grandfather or grandmother (approximately 10% of the UK population).^[14] 900,000 ethnic Irish people live in the capital (12% of the city's population); despite this, some sources put the population of people of Irish descent in London at 77% (some five and a half million people), although the White British and White Irish populations combined are less than this.^[15][16]

Although such claims are often exaggerated and the Irish coming to Britain were not all purely Gaelic in heritage many had mixed Irish and British or purely British origins. There is also the case historically of many Brits moving to Ireland and moving back to Britain; but as their families had lived in Ireland for many generations saw themselves as Irish and called themselves as such. Many Protestant Irish had also moved to Britain. It also doesn't take into account of millions of English leaving London for Ireland and other countries. Yet only 2.2% claim white Irish ethnicity so it seems many choose a white British ethnicity

Jamaicans

There are records that show Black people, predominantly from Jamaica, living in London during the 17th and 18th centuries; but it was not until the arrival of the Empire Windrush, on 22 June 1948, that significant numbers of Caribbeans, in particular Jamaicans, arrived in the capital. This has since become an important landmark in the history of modern multicultural Britain. During the post World War II era, the presence of these immigrants was requested to help reconstruct the British economy. Employers such as British Rail, the NHS and London transport recruited almost exclusively from Jamaica. Some 250,000 Londoners are of Jamaican origin.^[17]

Japanese

Junko Sakai, author of Japanese Bankers in the City of London: Language, Culture and Identity in the Japanese Diaspora, stated that there is no particular location for the Japanese community in London, but that the families of Japanese "company men" have a tendency of living in North London and West London. Japanese restaurants and shops are located around these groups of Japanese people.^[18]

Nigerians

London (in particular the southern boroughs) is home to the largest Nigerian community in the UK, and possibly the largest overseas Nigerian community in the world. The first Nigerians in London were those caught up in the slave trade over 200 years ago.

In the mid-20th century a wave of Nigerian immigrants came to London after hearing of the need for more skilled workers. Civil and political unrest in the country contributed to numerous refugees arriving in England.^[19] The vast majority of famous and notable British people of Nigerian origin were either born in or now live in London.

Peckham (also known as Little Lagos and Yorubatown) is home to one of the largest overseas Nigerian communities in the world; many of the local establishments are Yoruba-owned. Nigerian churches and mosques can be found in the area. As immigrants become assimilated, English is becoming the predominant language of the local Nigerian British population. The Yoruba language is declining in use in the Peckham area despite the increasing Nigerian population.^[20] In 2001, about 7% of Peckham's population was born in Nigeria.^[21] A much larger proportion of the ward's 60% Black population is of Nigerian descent, as 40% are of other African descent.^[22]

Pakistanis

Pakistanis in London form the largest concentrated community of British Pakistanis; immigration from regions which now form Pakistan predate Pakistan's independence.^[23] The main concentrations of Pakistani settlement in London are found in Outer London with the boroughs of Redbridge, Newham and Waltham Forest accounting for nearly a third of Londoners of Pakistani Descent.

Turkish

Gallery

• 

  London's Irish community celebrating Saint Patrick's Day.

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  Chinatown, London during Chinese new year.

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  London Turks protesting.

• 

  London Bangladeshis at Baishakhi Mela.

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  Kittitian and Nevisian street dancers at the Notting Hill Carnival.

• 

  London Iraqis celebrating 2007 AFC Asian Cup victory for Iraq.

• 

  Large numbers of Colombians live in London.

References

Further reading

• Cherti, Miriam. Paradoxes of Social Capital: A Multi-generational Study of Moroccans in London (IMISCOE dissertations Sussex theses ; S 6271). Amsterdam University Press, 2008. ISBN 9053560327, 9789053560327.

External links

• Ethnicity Profiles: London by the Commission for Racial Equality