- London's white population fell by 7 per cent during the
1990s, a greater decline than expected, according to new studies of the
2001 Census that illustrate the increasing diversity of the capital. Advertisement
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- While ethnic groups experienced strong growth trends,
contributing to an overall London population increase of 4 per cent, or
282,143, the white population fell by 390,000.
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- In 1991, whites comprised 79.8 per cent of all Londoners.
The new findings suggest that proportion has fallen to 71.2 per cent.
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- Most striking has been the rise of the black African
population, putting it on course to overtake Indians this decade as the
biggest ethnic group in the capital after whites. Its growth was the largest,
least predicted among London's ethnic groups, overtaking the number of
black Caribbeans by more than doubling from 163,635 to a projected 378,933.
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- The data from the Greater London Authority shows the
non-white population of London at more than 2m for the first time, having
stood at slightly over 1.3m in 1991. Added to that are 220,000 Irish and
nearly 595,000 "other white" groups, such as Cypriots, Americans
and Europeans born on the Continent.
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- Redmond O'Neill, senior adviser to Ken Livingstone, London
mayor, said the policy implications for London public services, such as
policing and education, were considerable. "As the whole principle
of public services is that you are policed by your peers, this will require
an effort to ensure that public services are representative, and therefore
acceptable and legitimate to the populations they serve," he said.
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- A Mori poll found that 83 per cent of Londoners believed
the Metropolitan Police, which has only 6 per cent of officers from ethnic
minorities, should reflect London's ethnic diversity.
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- New census information on religion underscores the diversity
of the capital's residents but also reveals a high proportion of non-believers.
More than a million Londoners, just under 16 per cent, said they had no
religion and more than 621,000 did not reply to the census question on
religion.
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- London's largest non-white population is Indian, projected
at 436,993, but its rise of 22 per cent over the decade, or just over 80,000,
is the lowest of all non-white ethnic groups other than black Caribbean,
which increased by 14 per cent.
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- The birthplace with the largest increase is Nigeria,
followed by Bangladesh, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Kenya and Somalia also
have growing London populations. But increases have come from far and wide
- the South American population nearly trebled over the 1990s to just under
45,000, while the number of EU-born Londoners from outside the UK and Ireland
swelled by 64,000 or 43 per cent.
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- Smaller-sized ethnic groups had significant increases,
based on predicted population growth.
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- The number of Bangladeshis in London grew by nearly three-quarters,
Pakistanis by more than a half, and a younger ethnic group classified as
"black other" almost doubled.
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- Christians make up 58 per cent of London's population,
compared with 72 per cent across England and Wales, followed by Muslims,
with 8.5 per cent, or over 607,000. There are 292,000 Hindus in London,
or 4 per cent of the capital, followed by nearly 150,000 Jews, or 2.1 per
cent, and 104,000 Sikhs.
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- London's white British population is concentrated in
the outer parts of south and east London, in contrast with much of inner
London. The main strongholds of white British London are in the boroughs
of Havering, Bexley and Bromley.
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- © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2003.
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