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Ethnic minorities: key points

  • Since April 2012, information on ethnic group at the time of death registration (see Christie, 2012) has been collected to contribute to the Scottish health data on ethnicity. This was introduced in response to the recommendations of the Health in our multi-ethnic Scotland  report in 2009.
  • Scotland has a number of White ethnic minority groups, including those of English, Irish and Eastern European origins. However, this section focuses on the non-White minority groups, which formed 4% of the Scottish population in the 2011 Census. This total does not include gypsy travellers, refugees, asylum seekers or migrant workers. While estimates from the 2022 Census are not yet published, results from England and Wales and the Annual Population Survey suggests the ethnic minority population has increased since 2011. 
  • Minority ethnic groups are younger than the general population and many were born in Scotland.
  • The largest non-White minority ethnic group is Pakistani (White Irish are a larger ethnic group but are not included in the 4% figure for non-White minority groups).
  • There is a clear policy commitment in Scotland to address discrimination against minority ethnic groups and inequalities in health.
  • Initiatives to improve the routine collection and analysis of data on ethnicity have been partially successful. The completeness and quality of the ethnicity coding is now sufficient to allow publication and wider use of the data. These improvements should enhance our understanding of ethnic inequalities in health and support action to reduce them. 
  • Minority ethnic groups in general have similar or lower mortality than the general population, but may have specific health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes among South Asians.
  • In March 2022, Public Health Scotland published a report compiling the data and evidence on the impact that COVID-19 on ethnic minority populations in Scotland.

Section updates:

  • The last major update of this section was completed in June 2023.
  • The next major update is due to be carried out by June 2024.
Page last updated: 25 June 2023
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