Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report

Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report

INTRODUCTION

Information on ethnic group was collected as part of the 2001 Census in Scotland representing the first large scale collection of data on ethnicity in Scotland for a decade. This report presents results across the main policy areas covered in the Census analysed by ethnic group. Many of the results confirm previous findings or anecdotal reports. However some of the information is new and presents insights into areas where data has previously been unavailable. In addition, the data do confirm the fact that as well as there being many differences between the majority White group and ethnic minorities, there are many differences between and within minority ethnic groups.

The report is not intended to be a definitive analysis of ethnicity; many of the important inter-relationships between ethnicity and other variables could not be examined in the time available. Rather, the intention is that the report should stimulate discussion by highlighting interesting differentials between different ethnic groups.

Some interesting findings in the report are:

• Ethnic minority groups have a much younger age profile than the White groups.
• There are large differences between ethnic groups in the proportion of families who are lone parent families.
• There are large differences between ethnic groups in the proportion of people who live in owned homes. Pakistani and Indian people have the highest rate of home ownership and African and Black Scottish people have the lowest rate.
• Minority ethnic people living in rented accommodation are much less likely to live in social rented accommodation compared to White people.
• There are large differences in economic activity rates between ethnic groups. White people have the highest activity rate and Pakistani and Other South Asian people have the lowest rate.
• There are large differences between the industries in which people from different ethnic groups are employed.
• Overall, White people report poorer health than people from other ethnic groups. However, this picture varies by age.
• There are large differences in education qualifications between ethnic groups. This varies with age, but generally African people are the most highly qualified.
• The proportion of the adult (18 years+) population who are students varies enormously between ethnic groups.

Note on population bases:

Different base populations are used for different tables in this report. In many cases the data refer to all people. However, in other cases, tables refer to all people in household and thus will not include people who live in communal establishments. The reason for this difference is that not all questions in the Census were asked of all types of establishment; some questions were only asked in the longer form which was sent to unshared households.

The base population which has been used is clearly marked in each table or chart heading.

Details of the different classifications used in the Census can be found in the Supporting Information that is prepared by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). This document can be accessed using the following link: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/grosweb/grosweb.nsf/pages/file5/$file/supporting_information.pdf