The
racial and religious diversity that is defining
a nation
The
UK Newspaper "The Independent" reported
on Friday 6th October 2006 that the most detailed
map of ethnic and religious diversity in Britain
has been published, showing where different groups
live - and how Muslim minorities in particular are
at a disadvantage.
Analysis
by the Office for National Statistics - ONS (www.statistics.gov.uk)
of the 2001 census figures shows that the north-west
London borough of Brent is the most ethnically diverse
area in England and Wales. Ethnographers devised
a "diversity index" - based on the probability that
any two people chosen at random from a particular
area would be from different ethnic groups, even
if neither of them were white.
In
Brent, the chance of doing so was 85 per cent. Just
29 per cent of residents are white British, with
Indians, black Caribbeans and black Africans all
heavily represented. That compares to Easington
in Co Durham, where there is a 2 per cent chance,
making it the least diverse place in the country.
On average, two people bumping into each other in
the street stand a 23 per cent chance of having
different ethnic backgrounds. In some areas, more
than 70 per cent of residents are from an ethnic
minority.
The
2001 census was the first in the history of the
UK census whereby the 2001 survey asked people to
state their religion as part of an effort to get
a more detailed demographic picture of the world
peoplelive in.
Using
the same diversity index calculations, the Office
for National Statistics - ONS found that the London
borough of Harrow was the most religiously diverse,
with a more than 60 per cent chance that someone
standing next to you will not share the same faith.
Mapping also showed that people from the same religions
and ethnic groups moved to the same areas. Indian
Hindus tended to live in different regions from
Indian Sikhs. In some areas, such as Leicester,
Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester, three-quarters
of the population are non-white and non-Christian,
despite the fact that this ethno-religious group
accounts for 70 per cent of England and Wales as
a whole.
England
and Wales ethnicity:
Detailed
analysis of ethnic minorities also shows how many
are now second, third or fourth generation immigrants.
More than half (57 per cent) of black Caribbeans
were born in the UK, alongside 55 per cent of Pakistanis,
46 per cent of Bangladeshis and 45 per cent of Indians.
The report also shows how, outside major cities,
many areas remain predominantly white British.
Seven
per cent of local authority areas are classed as
being "highly ethnically diverse" - based on the
idea that there is a more than 50 per cent chance
that two random people will be from different backgrounds.
Fewer - 3 per cent - are classed as being highly
religiously diverse, on the same calculation.
Black
African Muslim men suffer most from the deprivation
gap, with rates of unemployment three times higher
than white British men. The new data shows that
black African Muslims are also twice as likely as
Indian Muslims to be unemployed. In turn, Indian
Muslims are far more likely to be jobless than Sikhs
or Hindus, suggesting that it is religion, rather
than race, that is key.
