Without Prejudice? Exploring ethnic differences in London

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Key findings

London is a city of great ethnic diversity. More than one in three of London's residents belong to an ethnic minority group. This report explores the differences between ethnic groups in London. It looks at a range of characteristics from country of birth to housing, from health to employment, from age to migration. This is done through the wealth of data from the 1991 Census, including data unique to London's local authorities, providing a snapshot of the capita's ethnic diversity at the end of the 20th century. It also looks to the future and the likely changes in the make up of London's population.

• Nearly a quarter of the 6.7 million people resident in London recorded in the 1991 Census, were born outside the UK (see Table 1).
• Around one in nine of those born in the UK were from ethnic minority groups.
• Nearly half of those born outside the UK were White, with one in three of these born in the Irish Republic and a further one in three born in other parts of Europe.
• The Cypriot community in London is estimated at around 100,000. Just half of these were born in Cyprus and described themselves as White.
• Nearly quarter of a million Londoners were born in Africa. Just 40 per cent of these were Black, one third were Indian, and 17 per cent were White.
• One in three Black Africans and Bangladeshis were born within the UK.
• Just over a quarter of Chinese residents were born in the UK, with a further quarter born in Hong Kong. There were also Chinese residents from many other countries, particularly from South East Asia, such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.
• There were far fewer people in both the youngest and oldest age bands among those born abroad than among those born in the UK.

Migration

Table 1 Residents born inside and outside the UK by ethnic group

Ethnic group	% born in UK	% born outside UK
White	87.2	12.8
Black Caribbean	53.2	46.8
Black African	35.7	64.3
Black Other	84.1	15.9
Indian	36.4	63.6
Pakistani	45.1	54.9
Bangladeshi	35.0	65.0
Chinese	25.5	74.4
Other Asian	20.7	79.3
Other	53.3	46.7
All ethnic groups	78.3	21.7
Total number	5,230,000	1,450,000

Source: 1991 Census, LRC Commissioned Table LRCT14

• Black Africans were the most mobile in 1990/1991 - a quarter of those resident in London had moved home in the year before the Census.
• London's two largest minority groups, the Indian and Black Caribbean groups, were the least mobile with less than ten per cent of them moving over that time.
• In 1990/91 53,000 more White people moved out of London than moved in, whereas 19,000 more people from ethnic minority groups moved into London than out.
• Only eight per cent of Black Caribbean migrants in 1990/91 had moved from overseas,compared to 43 per cent of migrants from the Other Asian group.
• Almost two thirds of the international in-migrants were in the White group; a further 11 per cent were Black Africans.
• Just over one in five international in-migrants were people born in the UK. Nearly 40,000 were born in other European Community countries and over 6,300 international migrants were from the Irish Republic alone.
• In 1997,a quarter of migrants into the UK were British and a quarter were other EU citizens

Households

• There were more White one- or two-person households than there were in any other ethnic group.
• Nearly 30 per cent of Bangladeshi households had seven or more residents.
• Around three in four of all South Asian households had at least three residents, compared with one in three White households.
• Almost half of all White one person households were pensioners living alone, compared with just 14 per cent of ethnic minority one person households.

• Married couple families were most common among the three South Asian groups and least common among the Black groups.
• Nearly 90 per cent of Bangladeshi married couple families included dependent children, compared with around 40 per cent of White and Black Caribbean married couple families.
• In the Black community, the percentage of families consisting of a lone parent with dependent children was nearly four times higher than that in the White community.
• A quarter of Black Caribbean married couples lived with non-dependent children.
• Almost half of Black African and Black Caribbean cohabiting couples lived with dependent children, as did a quarter of White cohabiting couples.

• Nearly 80 per cent of Indian and 70 per cent of Pakistani households were owner occupiers.
• Bangladeshi households were more than two and a half times as likely as White households to be in local authority accommodation.
• Chinese and Black Africans were among those most likely to be in privately rented accommodation.
• Nearly one in five Black African households renting privately lacked or shared basic amenities.
• White households were least likely to have central heating, particularly those renting privately.
• The level of overcrowding in London was double that nationally and higher for households in all ethnic minority groups than for White households.
• More than half of all Bangladeshi households in London were overcrowded, rising to two thirds of those renting from the local authority.
• More Black, Bangladeshi and Chinese households lived in flats than in houses, whereas most Indians and Pakistanis lived in houses.

• Because of their older age profile, White Londoners had the highest proportion with a limiting long-term illness overall.
• Chinese residents of all ages were least likely to have a limiting long-term illness.
• Black children and young adults had higher proportions with a limiting long-term illness than other ethnic groups, but the proportions were still very small.
• Pakistanis and Bangladeshis had the highest rates of limiting long-term illness in the 30-64 age range, rising to nearly half of men aged 60-64.
• Black African Londoners had higher rates of limiting long-term illness than Black Africans living elsewhere in Great Britain.

Employment

Figure 1 Percentage of qualified* residents aged 18-29 by ethnic group and gender

Source: 1991 Census, LRC Commissioned Table LRCT39
* Qualified above A level standard

• Less than a quarter of Bangladeshi women and a third of Pakistani women were working or looking for work, compared with over two thirds of Black Caribbean women.
• Economic activity rates among men ranged from just over 70 per cent of Black African and Bangladeshi men to just over 80 per cent of Black Caribbean and Black Other men.
• Young White, Black Caribbean and Black Other men and women, had high economic activity rates with low numbers of students.
• Fewer than one in five Bangladeshi women aged 25-59 were economically active.
• There were high proportions of both male and female economically inactive students up to age 24 in the Black African, Indian, Chinese and Other Asian ethnic groups, extending also to the next age groups for Chinese and, particularly, for Black African people.
• Part-time employment was particularly common among White women aged 35 and over, whereas full-time employment was customary among Black Caribbean working women of all ages.
• Overall, London's White residents were least likely to be unemployed.
• The highest rates of unemployment were among the Bangladeshis at over 50 per cent of some age groups.
• More than 40 per cent of Chinese residents aged 23-26 were qualified above A level standard - double the proportion among Whites and Indians of the same ages.
• 98 per cent of Bangladeshi women aged 18-29 were 'unqualified'.
• The largest differences in occupational distribution were between men and women rather than between ethnic groups.
• Black men were much less likely to be working as managers or administrators than men from other ethnic groups.
• High proportions of managers and administrators among Indian, Pakistani and Chinese workers were mainly due to large numbers running smaller businesses, particularly men aged 45 and over.
• Bangladeshi and White women in professional occupations were mainly teachers, whereas the large numbers of Chinese and Black African professionals were more likely to be in all the non-teaching professional occupations.
• Many of the significant numbers of Chinese, Black African and Black Caribbean women working in occupations such as nursing and midwifery were from older age groups, with far fewer among those aged under 30.
• Around half of Bangladeshi and Chinese men worked in distribution and catering, compared to one in six Black Caribbean and White men.
• Nearly one in five working Chinese men were in social class I, whereas very few Black Caribbean men were in this class - 40 per cent were in social class III(M), representing skilled manual occupations.
• Almost 3.5 million people travelled to work into, within or out of London each day.
• Sixty per cent more women drove to work in 1991 than a decade previously.
• Black Caribbean and Black African women were the most likely to travel to work by bus, while 22 per cent of Bangladeshis walked to work.
• The very high proportion of Chinese working in Central London was reflected in the high levels of use of underground trains by Chinese workers.

• The population of ethnic minority groups is growing, mainly due to natural growth - that is, more births than deaths.
• The number in the White group is declining due to more White people moving out of London than moving in.
• More than one in three Londoners (1.8 million people) is now from an ethnic minority group, including mainly White minority groups such as Irish, Cypriots and Turks.
• The number of Londoners of mixed ethnic origin is growing, which is reflected in the introduction of a 'Mixed' category in the ethnic group question in the 2001 Census.
• The two largest minority groups, the Indian and Black Caribbean groups are growing by the smallest amounts.
• The Black African group is set to grow the fastest, almost doubling in size between 1991 and 2011.
• While the number of Indian children is expected to decrease by 1 per cent between 1991 and 2011, the number aged 65 and over is expected to more than double.
• International in- and out-migration have been high and are expected to remain so.
• On average, just over 30,000 asylum seekers and visitor switchers became residents of London per year during the 1990s, a trend which looks set to continue.

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