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Ethnicity & Identity

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Identity
9 in 10 of Mixed group identify as British

Proportion who consider their identity to be British, English, Scottish or Welsh: by ethnic group, 2004, GB

National identity

In most non-White ethnic groups in Britain in 2004, the majority of people described their national identity as British, English, Scottish or Welsh. This included almost nine in ten people from a Mixed (88 per cent) or Black Caribbean (86 per cent) group, around eight in ten people from a Pakistani (83 per cent), Bangladeshi (82 per cent) or Other Black (83 per cent) group, and three quarters (75 per cent) of the Indian group.
People from the White British group were more likely to describe their national identity as English (58 per cent) rather than British (36 per cent). However, the opposite was true of the non-White groups, who were more likely to identify themselves as British. For example, over three quarters (78 per cent) of Bangladeshis said they were British, while only 5 per cent said they were English, Scottish or Welsh. The non-White group with the largest proportion identifying as English was the Mixed group - 37 per cent identified as English and 52 per cent identified as British.

People living in Great Britain who were born in the United Kingdom: by ethnic group, April 2001

Country of Birth

Among people living in Great Britain in 2001, the proportion born in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) varied markedly by ethnic group.

Other than the White British group, those most likely to be born in the UK were people from the Mixed ethnic group and from the Other Black group, 79 per cent in each. This reflects their younger age structure. A substantial proportion of the Other Black group were young people, who were born in Britain, and who chose to describe their ethnicity as Other Black and wrote in 'Black British' as their answer. Black Caribbeans were the next most likely group to be born in the UK.

Among the non-White ethnic groups the proportions born in the UK generally declined with age. For example, 83 per cent of Black Caribbeans aged 25 to 34 were born in the UK, but this fell sharply with age so that only 5 per cent of those aged 45 to 64 were born in the UK. For some other non-White ethnic groups (Black Africans, Chinese and Bandgladeshis) this sharp decline occurred in younger age groups, reflecting their later immigration.

Sources: Annual Population Survey, January 2004 to December 2004, Office for National Statistics; Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics and General Register Office for Scotland

Published on 21 February 2006 at 0:01 am

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