What is the ethnic diversity of West Midlands?
The West Midlands had a higher than average percentage of minority ethnic groups: Pakistani at 4.1 per cent, Indian at 3.9 per cent and Caribbean at 1.5 per cent. It also had a lower than average White ethnic group at 82.7 per cent and White British at 79.2 per cent.
The West Midlands is a vibrant region that is home to people from many different communities, of various faiths and cultures.
Almost 97 per cent of Black Britons live in England, particularly in England's larger urban areas, with most (over a million) Black British living in Greater London.
The name has been in use since the mid-19th century and is thought to refer to the colour of the coal seam or the air pollution from the many thousands of foundries and factories around at the time; in 1862, Elihu Burritt famously described the area as being 'black by day and red by night'.
The four metropolitan boroughs of the Black Country form part of the Birmingham metropolitan economy, the second largest in the UK. In 2011, the government announced the creation of the Black Country Enterprise Zone. The zone includes 5 sites in Wolverhampton and 14 in Darlaston.
Leicester and Birmingham have become the first “super-diverse” cities in the UK, where most people are from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, according to the 2021 census.
London may be the most densely populated city in the United Kingdom, as it is a certified metropolis. Still, if you look for the country's most culturally diverse city, that honour goes to Birmingham.
Brixton, situated smack bang in the middle of south London, and enriched with black culture.
Whites form a majority of London's population and are evenly spread. Bromley has the highest White British population as well as highest total White, while Newham has the lowest for both.
The white British population of London made up 37% of the capital in 2021, or 4.5 million, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS. That was down from from 45 per cent, or 4.9 million people in 2011. Meanwhile the white British population of Birmingham made up 581,000, or 52 per cent of the city in 2011.
Why is Birmingham so diverse?
In the 1960s car manufacturing took hold in the region and with heavy industry came the need for more migrant workers, and thousands arrived from the Indian sub-continent and the West Indies to take up work in the giant factories popping up in the areas around Birmingham.
- according to the 2021 Census, the total population of England and Wales was 59.6 million, and 81.7% of the population was white.
- people from Asian ethnic groups made up the second largest percentage of the population (9.3%), followed by black (4.0%), mixed (2.9%) and other (2.1%) ethnic groups.

46% of Londoners are Black and Minority Ethnic and 41% are not born in the UK. West London has the highest proportion (53%) of its population that are Black and Minority Ethnic and 47% who are not UK-born.
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Wammel | Animal |
Wash ('a' pronounced as in arrow) | Wash |
Wench | Girl |
Wesh | Wash |
Warro | Hello |
"The country is very desolate every where; there are coals about, and the grass is quite blasted and black.
Dialect and accent
People living in Birmingham often refer to Black Country folk as Yam Yams because they say 'yow am' or 'yow'm' instead of 'you are', whereas the term 'Brummie', used to refer to people from Birmingham, is derived from 'Brummagem' - traditional Black Country speak for Birmingham.
The white ethnic group is still expected to be the largest. There were 679,600 people living in Birmingham, who, according to 2005 estimates, said that they belonged to one of the three White ethnic groups, British, Irish or White 'Other', representing a total of 67.8% of the population.
- London Borough of Newham - 60,300 (19.6%)
- London Borough of Brent - 58,600 (18.8%)
- London Borough of Enfield - 53,700 (17.1%)
- Nottingham - 37,900 (7.3%)
- Leicester - 20,600 (6.3%)
- Bristol - 25,700 (6.0%)
- Sheffield - 20,100 (3.6%)
- Leeds - 25,900 (3.4%)
Today the 2021 Census data on ethnicity has revealed that Birmingham is one of the first 'super diverse' cities in the UK where citizens from ethnic minorities make up more than half the population. Cllr John Cotton reflects why this is not a surprise and also one of the city's biggest strengths.
Birmingham in the 1950s and 60s was known as the most segregated city in the United States. Jim Crow laws separated black and white people in parks, pools and elevators, at drinking fountains and lunch counters. African Americans were barred from working at the same downtown businesses where many of them shopped.
What is the largest ethnic group in Birmingham?
Asian and Asian British people make up the next largest group, with 26.6% of the population. They are followed by Black or Black British (9.0%), mixed (4.4%), and Other, including Arab (2.0%). Almost one in four people (238,313) living in Birmingham were born outside of the United Kingdom.
In the 12 months to June 2021, 7,400 NInos were registered to foreign nationals living in Birmingham. This is down 47.1% from 13,900 the previous year. The majority (74%) of registrations were from non-EU countries.
The reason that there are quite so many of them is the city's history of immigration from the subcontinent. As the British Empire began to disintegrate, shortly afterwa rds, many Indians took advantage of their right to move to and start a new life in the UK.
The Boston metropolitan area, Northern Rhode Island, and Southwest Connecticut tend to be the most diverse areas in New England in regards to large variety of ethnic minorities.
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Ethnicity of school pupils.
Ethnic group | School year | |
---|---|---|
2021/2022 | ||
White: Other | 3,551 | |
Asian / Asian British: Total | 9,175 | 19% |
Asian / Asian British: Indian | 1,408 |
Iraqis also began settling in London in the 1930s. Arab migration to the United Kingdom significantly began in the 1940s and 1960s when Egyptians and Moroccans came in search of employment, and this generally increased as the Arab world wrestled for independence from European colonialism.
Today the Black Country is described as most of the four Metropolitan District Council areas of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton and the term is used as a marketing tool to sell and promote the West Midlands region to the north of Birmingham.
According to the latest 2021 census, the population in The West Midlands is predominantly white (77%), with non-white minorities representing the remaining 23% of the population. The median average age in The West Midlands in 2021 was 40.3, with over 18s representing 81.9% of the population.
London may be the most densely populated city in the United Kingdom, as it is a certified metropolis. Still, if you look for the country's most culturally diverse city, that honour goes to Birmingham.
The white ethnic group is still expected to be the largest. There were 679,600 people living in Birmingham, who, according to 2005 estimates, said that they belonged to one of the three White ethnic groups, British, Irish or White 'Other', representing a total of 67.8% of the population.
Is Birmingham a segregated city?
Birmingham was once the nation's most segregated city, home to brutal, racially motivated violence. Today, a new national park site commemorates the critical civil rights history that happened here.
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Wammel | Animal |
Wash ('a' pronounced as in arrow) | Wash |
Wench | Girl |
Wesh | Wash |
Warro | Hello |
In the case of Birmingham, 'Brummie' comes from Brummagem, a name for the city used by locals since the 1700s. When used to describe how Brummies speak, the term Brummie is used to denote the accent of people from Birmingham, as well as distinct vocabulary.
West Midlands has several universities, colleges, and cultural institutions, but it remains best known for its manufactures, ranging from the luxurious (Rover cars from Solihull) to the everyday (chocolate and cocoa from Cadbury's model workers' settlement at Bournville). Area 348 square miles (902 square km).
236,047 or 8% of the West Midlands County population are black according to the latest 2021 census.
The 2021 Census shows 42.7% of the population as being from BME groups; an increase from 35% in 2011. Despite its young age-structure, Nottingham has a higher than average rate of people with a limiting long-term illness or disability.
Census 2021: Ethnic minorities represent over 50% of Birmingham's population. Birmingham is famous for the warm welcome it offers to all who come to our city – it is one of our strengths and why it is home to people from 187 different nationalities.
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