scotPHO introduction:
  Ethnic Minorities
  Key points
  Introduction
  Policy context
  Data
Population composition from 2001 Census
  Self-assessed health from 2001 Census
  Classification of ethnicity in Census
  Mortality by country of birth
  CHD incidence
  Data from surveys
  Specialised databases
  Key data sources
  Key references
  Useful links
  Defining ethnicity and race
  Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual (LGB) People
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Ethnic minorities: population composition from 2001 Census

The following data pages summarise information from the 2001 Census on population composition and self-reported health by ethnic group and religion. Further information is available in two reports from the Scottish Executive: Analysis of ethnicity in the 2001 Census and Analysis of religion in the 2001 CensusPDF Button(478Kb). It should be noted that the classification of ethnic groups in the Census changed between 1991 and 2001 and is different in Scotland, England and Wales and Northern Ireland. In July 2008 the Scottish Government announced a new ethnicity classification which is recommended for Scotland's 2011 Census and for use in all relevant Scottish Official Statistics.

Table 1 shows data from the 2001 Census in Scotland on the numbers in each of the main ethnic groups in Scotland. In general, minority ethnic groups in Scotland are younger than the general population. Minority ethnic groups are concentrated in urban areas, for example, 80% of Pakistanis but only 39% of white Scottish groups live in large urban areas (Source: Analysis of ethnicity in the 2001 Census). Minority ethnic group populations are also available by health board area (to view click hereExcel file icon(16Kb)). Information is also available on the distribution of minority ethnic groups in areas with different levels of deprivation (to view click hereExcel file icon(16Kb)).

Table 1: Scottish population by ethnic group

% of total population

% of minority ethnic population

Base

White Scottish

88.09

n/a

4,459,071

Other white British

7.38

n/a

373,685

White Irish

0.98

n/a

49,428

Any other white background

1.54

n/a

78,150

Indian

0.30

15

15,037

Pakistani

0.63

31

31,793

Bangladeshi

0.04

2

1,981

Chinese

0.32

16

16,310

Other South Asian

0.12

6

6,196

Caribbean

0.04

2

1,778

African

0.10

5

5,118

Black Scottish or any other black background

0.02

1

1,129

Any mixed background

0.25

13

12,764

Any other background

0.19

9

9,571

 

All minority ethnic populations

2.01

100

 

All population

100.00

n/a

5,062,011

N/a: not applicable.
Source: GROS.