Take a tour of multi-ethnic Britain

By clicking on the map below, or choosing an option from the drop-down menu, you can find out about the ethnic make-up of 11 different regions within Britain.

Each of these regional profiles describes the population of ethnic groups, using data from the 2001 census. You can also find more detailed, local information about the main cities and towns within each region.

Click on a region on the map, or select from the menu below.

London South East England South West England East of England East Midlands West Midlands North West England North East England Yorkshire and The Humber Wales Scotland

London

In London, four out of every ten people are from ethnic minorities, making it by far the most diverse place in England. This section takes a closer look at the 32 London boroughs, and describes how the city’s ethnic make-up varies considerably from borough to borough.

South East England

The South East is a region of considerable contrasts: more than 95% of people living in the region are white, but some places, like Slough, are as diverse as anywhere in Britain.

South West England

The South West is one of the least ethnically diverse places in the country. Only in cities such as Bristol and Gloucester are there significant numbers of people from ethnic minority groups.

East Midlands

The East Midlands is extremely varied in terms of its ethnic make-up: Leicester has one of the largest ethnic minority populations of any city in Europe, while other large towns have some of the lowest numbers of non-white residents in the country.

West Midlands

The West Midlands is the second most diverse English region: people from ethnic minorities make up one in seven of its population. There are large populations of black and Asian people in places such as Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton – click now to find out more.

East of England

Overall, in terms of its ethnic diversity, the East of England region falls slightly below the average for the country as a whole. 91% of its population is White British, although in its most diverse area, Luton, this figure drops to as low as two-thirds.

North West England

The North West region is home to some of the largest concentrations of Asian people outside London. We here look at eight towns and cities within the region, including Manchester, Liverpool, Oldham and Blackburn.

North East England

The North East is statistically the least diverse region of England. Less than 4% of people living here are from ethnic minority groups, compared to the national average of 13%. This section contains profiles of the North West region as a whole and six of its major population centres: Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesborough and Easington.

Scotland

More than 98% of Scotland's population is white; a much greater proportion than in England. However, Scotland's number of foreign-born residents is currently increasing at a faster rate than either England or Wales.

Wales

Wales is much less ethnically diverse than England. Only 4% of its population is made up by people from ethnic minorities, compared to 13% for England. Cardiff, its capital city, is home to more than half of all black people living in Wales, and just under half of its total Asian population.

Yorkshire and The Humber

A mixture of rural and urban areas, Yorkshire and the Humber has one of the largest Asian populations in England, although most of its ethnic minority residents tend to be concentrated in the region's major cities of Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield.