TransCity

Brent in north west London is the most ethnically diverse area in England and Wales, reveals pioneering new research published today. Easington in the north east of England is the least ethnically diverse area, while Harrow in north west London is the most religiously diverse area.

In Brent, the likelihood that two randomly selected people are from different ethnic groups is 85 per cent, while in Easington it is just two per cent. Brent’s predominant ethnic groups were white British (29 per cent), Indian (18 per cent), black Caribbean (10 per cent), other white (nine per cent), and black African (eight per cent). In Harrow, there is a nearly two-in-three chance (62 per cent) that two people will be from different religious groups, with the dominant groups being Christian (47 per cent), Hindu (20 per cent), Muslim (seven per cent) and Jewish (six per cent).

Few areas had high ethnic or religious diversity, with less than one-in-10 local authorities having a high level of ethnic diversity, and just three per cent with a high religious diversity. Across England and Wales, 87 per cent of the population were white British and 72 per cent were Christian.

Black African Muslims are the most likely to be unemployed with almost one-in-three adults out of work. Unemployment rates among UK born people from black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups were more than twice as high as among white British. In contrast, unemployment rates among Indian Muslims were lower at 11 per cent.

Workless households with dependent children are prevalent among Bangladeshi and black African groups, with more than a third of households with dependent children workless, compared with 16 per cent of white British households. Muslim households are the most likely to be workless, with 33 per cent with dependent children out of work, compared with just 15 per cent of Christian households.

The report by the Office for National Statistics looked at changes in the census between 1991 and 2001. Between 1991 and 2001 home ownership rates fell most among Indian households (from 82 per cent to 76 per cent), Pakistani households (from 76 per cent to 67 per cent) and Bangladeshi households (from 44 per cent to 37 per cent). Home ownership only increased among white households, from 66 per cent to 69 per cent.

The average household size fell between 1991 and 2001, to 3.3 among Indian households, 4.1 among Pakistani households, 4.5 among Bangladeshi households, and 2.3 among white households. And in 2001, 44 per cent of Bangladeshi and 42 per cent of Black African households were overcrowded, seven times the rate of overcrowding among white British households (six per cent).

Some ethnic groups were found to be more religiously diverse than others. Indians are the most religiously diverse ethnic group, with 45 per cent Hindu, 29 per cent Sikh, 13 per cent Muslim and five per cent Christian. Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are the least religiously diverse, with nine-out-of-10 Muslim. And Muslims are the most ethnically diverse religious group, with 43 per cent Pakistani, eight per cent Indian, seven per cent other white and four per cent white British. Christians and Sikhs are the least ethnically diverse religions, as more than 90 per cent of people from these religions belong to the same ethnic groups.

Tom Linch, a spokesperson for the Office for National Statistics, said: “This is the first time that we’ve done this research, so there’s nothing to compare it to, to say ‘this is really surprising.’”

Copyright © 2006 UK National News