Last week the Office for National Statistics published new data on the ethnic composition of the English and Welsh population, based on the 2021 census. It revealed, to nobody’s surprise, that our population is becoming ever more ethnically diverse. About 18 per cent identified as from a non-white ethnic minority, up from 14 per cent in 2011 and 6 per cent in 1991. Unless something remarkable changes, the non-white share of our population will continue to grow.
Understanding the diversity of experience across ethnic groups has never been so important. Look at the evidence, as we have done as part of a much broader study of inequalities, led by the Nobel Laureate Sir Angus Deaton, and you will be, by turns, surprised, encouraged, and deeply concerned.
