Ethnicity Map of UK: South West England
The South West is one of the least ethnically diverse of the nine English regions. Only the North East has a greater proportion of White British residents than the 95.3% in the South West.
According to the 2001 census, 4.4% of the South West's population were born abroad. Although low by national standards, this nonetheless represented an increase of 34% compared to the census in 1991, when only 3.5% were foreign-born.
The South West region had a total population of 4.9 million, according to the 2001 census. It covers an area of 23,829 square kilometres, making it the largest of England's nine regions. It is also the most sparsely populated, with an average of just 207 people living on each square kilometre of land.
Goldie is from Bristol
According to the 2001 census, 4.4% of the South West's population were born abroad. Although low by national standards, this nonetheless represented an increase of 34% compared to the census in 1991, when only 3.5% were foreign-born.
The next most populous group is made up of people in the Mixed category. The South West is the only English region where this group is proportionally better represented than black and Asian people, although in numerical terms the Mixed population here is smaller than that of any other region apart from the North East. One reason for this is the large Mixed populations in Bristol and Gloucester – more than 2% of both cities' residents – which skews the overall proportion somewhat.
At a glance
Out of every 1,000 people, on average:
- 953 are White British
- 24 are White non-British
- 8 are Asian
- 7 people are mixed race
- 4 people are Black
- 3 people are Chinese
Only the North East has proportionally fewer black residents. In the South West, the Black group makes up just 0.4% of the population. The difference compared to the national average is less marked for black people than Asians, however, because every region in England - apart from London and the West Midlands – has a black population that makes up less than 1% of all residents.
Sources: Office for National Statistics, Commission for Racial Equality
