A guide to ethnic groups in Britain

This section of the website contains short profiles of the most common ethnic groups in Britain.

In each profile, we describe the national origins of that group, its cultural characteristics - language, religious beliefs, family customs, and so on - and other background information.

What do we mean by 'ethnicity'?

When we talk about 'ethnicity', 'ethnic origins', and 'ethnic minorities', it's important to be clear about what we actually mean by these terms.

The House of Lords has provided a definition of 'ethnic group' as a group that regards itself, or is regarded by others, as a distinct community by virtue of certain characteristics that will help to distinguish the group from the surrounding community. Two of these characteristics are essential:

• A long shared history, of which the group is conscious as distinguishing it from other groups, and the memory of which it keeps alive; and
• A cultural tradition of its own, including family and social customs and manners, often but not necessarily associated with religious observance.

Other relevant characteristics may (but need not) include common geographical origin or ancestry, a common language (not necessarily peculiar to the group), a common literature, a common religion and the status of either a minority or a dominant group within a larger community.

For a more in-depth look at the concept of ethnicity, race and identiy, see our 'Words and Meanings' essays:

• Words and Meanings: Home page

The statistical information in this section of the website - for example, the proportions of people from ethnic minority groups living in certain regions or cities in Britain - is derived from the Office for National Statistics' ethnic classifications used in the 2001 Census.

While this system is useful in gaining an overall picture of ethnic populations across Britain, these classifications do not always accurately reflect the way in which people describe their own ethnic origins.

In the 2001 census, nearly two million people (4% per cent of the population) chose one of the 'Other' categories ('Other White', 'Other Asian', 'Other Black', 'Other Mixed' or 'Other ethnic group') rather than selecting from the 16 categories available.

For example, using current census categories, when someone who is an Irish Traveller (a group already recognised as a racial group under English law) completes a census form, he or she has a choice between ticking the boxes for 'White British, 'White Other' or 'White Irish'. It may be that none of these classifications accurately reflects that person's perceived ethnic origins. Moroccans, Saudis and Polynesians are other examples of ethnic groups who may feel that they do not fit into any of the standard Census classifications and have to tick the 'Any other ethnic background' as a result.

Top of this page

What is an 'ethnic minority'?

The CRE uses 'ethnic minorities' as an umbrella term, covering all the characteristics of a 'racial group', as well as the religious and cultural bonds that are seen as defining Muslims, Rastafarians and other groups that may not have formal protection under the Race Relations Act.

Someone who is said to belong to an 'ethnic minority' is therefore anyone who would tick any box other than 'White British' box in response to an ethnicity question on a census form. This means that, across England and Wales, 12.5% of the population are ethnic minorities, according to the 2001 census.

Top of this page