Ethnicity

This indicator was last updated in March 2024. It is now archived and will no longer be updated. Explore London’s Poverty Profile to view our up to date indicators. If you have any questions, get in touch.

GCSE attainment is higher in London than in England overall. This is true for both boys and girls, students who do not speak English as a first language, students with Special Educational Needs and students from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Attainment decreased from 2021/22 to 2022/23 in London and England across almost all groups. The only exceptions were Chinese students in London, whose grades improved, and Chinese students in England, whose grades stayed stable. The largest relative fall in attainment was recorded for students with a Special Educational Needs statement.

The decrease in grades from 2021/22 to 2022/23 is likely due to a…

Data source: Mid-year population estimates, ONS (2022). Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality, 2021 Census. Ethnic group populations, 2021 Census.

Population change

Around 8.9 million people live in London, which had overall growth since 2012 of 6.2% - slightly lower than the rest of England’s growth of 6.3%. This growth was strongest in East London which saw an increase of 9.5%. South and West London also had sizeable population increases of 5.2% and 6.7% respectively.Central London had the smallest population increase, of just 1.4%. 

(Note: The map at the bottom of the page shows which boroughs make up London’s sub-regions of Central, East, North, South and West). 

Population density

London’s population is 15 times more dense than the rest of England, with 5,640 people per km2 compared to 375 people per km2. Central Londo…

An interactive map looking at the relationship ethnicity and deprivation in London's neighbourhoods.

Special-license data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) makes it possible to analyse how different demographics groups of Londoners suffer from low-pay. It is important to note, nonetheless, two important caveats in relation to this data source. Firstly, because of reduced sample sizes, for some groups the estimations have rather wide confidence intervals (at 95%), which call for a careful interpretation of the data. Secondly, because of the different characteristics of LFS (a survey of residents) and ASHE (based on a sample of administrative data), the London average associated to the figures below differs from the one represented above.

Notwithstanding the limitations explained above, data appears to show important difference in low-pay according to Londoners’ ethnicity. In fact, white Londoners appear to be the only group that have a b…

Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025

What does this indicator show?

This indicator shows the proportion of people living in poverty in London and the rest of England (after housing costs) split by ethnicity.

What does it tell us?

Poverty rates are highest among the Bangladeshi minority ethnic group with 63% being counted as in-poverty. This is followed by the “any other Asian background” group for whom the poverty rate is 41%.

Poverty rates for minority ethnic groups follow the same order in both London and the rest of Engand. The groups least likely to be in-poverty in London are “Mixed/Multiple Ethnic” (24%) and “White” (17%). 

Want to know more?

If you want to explore this data in more depth, check the 'data source and notes' button on the above charts. This will tell you where the data comes from, where you may be able to d…

Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025

What does this indicator show?

This indicator shows the poverty rate in London (after housing costs) by demographics. A person is classed as being in poverty if they earn below 60% of the median income. You can find out more about how poverty is measured here.

For further breakdowns by demographics, explore poverty by ethnicity, poverty by age, poverty by family type and disability and poverty.

What does it tell us?

Poverty rates vary significantly across different demographic groups in London. The highest poverty rates are experienced by workless families (50%) and households comprised of single people with children (47%). Black and minority ethnic groups are far more likely to be in poverty (34%) than white people (17%), and single pensioners also see a higher than average poverty rate a…

Just under two-thirds (63%) of working-age women in London who were born in Bangladesh did not work in the year to March 2021/22, the highest rate of any nationality. Pakistani women are not far behind with 61% not working. Of men in London who were born overseas, those from China have the highest rate of worklessness (28%).

Women originally from Portugal had the lowest rates of worklessness (2%), while those from Sri Lanka had the lowest rate for men (9%). For most countries, the worklessness rate is higher for women than men, although this trend does not hold true for countries such as Lithuania, Portugal, France, Romania, Poland and Italy.