Diversity and Ethnic Minorities

Overview

Discussions and data around demographics and diversity can focus on the proportion of the population that belong to an ethnic minority.  In a city like Glasgow this can be a point of interest as the proportion of the population belonging to an ethnic minority has increased from 3.5% in 1991 (21,135) to 5.5% in 2001 (31,510 persons) and to 11.6% in 2011 (68,684 persons).   

While this is useful in itself, it can gloss over some other issues of potential interest. This approach groups together people from an ethnic minority regardless of whether or not they were born in the UK.  As an indicator of diversity, it leaves out people resident in an area who have been born outside the UK and who are not part of an ethnic minority.

While the 1991 census was the first to have a measure of ethnicity it made no distinction as to their place of birth; this was not the case with the census in 2001 and 2011.       

Glasgow Levels of Diversity

The suggestion is that the degree of diversity in an area can be measured by grouping together three categories; persons who are part of an ethnic minority and who were born in the UK, persons part of an ethnic minority who were not born in the UK, and persons who are not part of an ethnic minority and who were not born in the UK. 

The following table shows how these three categories have their own rates of change.

Source, Census Table S202 (2001) and DC2205SC (2011)

Grouping the three together, the level of diversity essentially doubled from 8.4% in 2001 to 16.6% in 2011.  All three categories showed an increase; with the greatest level of change being people in an ethnic minority who were not born in the UK.

Diversity in Different Areas

As might be expected, different areas have their own levels of diversity, as shown in the data from the census in 2011.

Diversity in Different Areas, 2011.

Source, Census Table DC2205SC.  NGC is the non-Glasgow conurbation, comprising North and South Lanarkshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

There is an interesting difference between Glasgow and Edinburgh; in Glasgow diversity is mainly driven by ethnic minorities (combined 11.6%) and not so much by persons not in an ethnic minority and born outside the (UK 5.0%).  In Edinburgh it is the opposite, the combined ethnic minority total is 8.3% with persons not in an ethnic minority and born outside the UK at 10.3%. 

Both cities comfortably exceed the total amount of diversity in Scotland.  From a west of Scotland perspective, there is a big difference between the amount of diversity in Glasgow and smaller levels in the combined areas surrounding the city, which are themselves lower than the Scottish average.

Summary

This approach leaves open a number of questions.  Do children born in the UK and to parents from an ethnic minority or who were born outside the UK feel a different sense of belonging to that of their parents. Is it appropriate to group together ethnic minorities regardless of where they were born. 

Similarly, do persons not born in the UK and from an ethnic minority, and persons not from an ethnic minority and not born in the UK, see themselves as part of the same grouping. 

Probably the most reasonable response is to accept a degree of diversity within this grouping of diversity, avoid making generalisations, and not to make simplistic assumptions based on "difference" and "foreignness".

Once the results of the 2022 census are available, an update to this briefing will become available.  It should also be possible to show which areas in Glasgow have become or are becoming more diverse.