Minority ethnic women's experiences in Scotland 2024: intersectional evidence review
Explores evidence on the experiences of minority ethnic women living in Scotland as a route to examining the importance of intersectional analysis, plus the opportunities and challenges of taking an intersectional approach in data collection, analysis and reporting.
4. Population
Capturing demographic population statistics is important to understand where to build a baseline understanding of the population. Scotland’s Census 2022 data is the most up to date information on ethnicity intersecting with sex and age.
Scotland’s Census 2022 Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion report revealed that the percentage of people who described themselves as having a minority ethnic background[15] increased from 8.2% in 2011 to 12.9% in 2022. According to National Records of Scotland this increase was partly driven by people moving to Scotland from overseas. The largest increases were observed in the ‘Other white’ group with most people having a European heritage, followed by the ‘Mixed or multiple ethnic’ group, the ‘African, Scottish African or British African’ and the ‘Polish’ group. Breakdowns by sex and ethnicity of Scotland’s Census 2022 show that 6.7% of the total Scottish population are female with a minority ethnic background and 6.2% of the Scottish population are male with a minority ethnic background. Table 1 shows the proportion of Scotland’s individual minority ethnic groups in 2022.
| Ethnic group | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Other White | 2.92 |
| Polish | 1.67 |
| Pakistani, Scottish Pakistani or British Pakistani | 1.34 |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 1.12 |
| African, Scottish African or British African | 1.08 |
| Irish | 1.05 |
| Indian, Scottish Indian or British Indian | 0.97 |
| Chinese, Scottish Chinese or British Chinese | 0.87 |
| Other Asian | 0.59 |
| Other ethnic group | 0.5 |
| Arab, Scottish Arab or British Arab | 0.41 |
| Bangladeshi, Scottish Bangladeshi or British Bangladeshi | 0.13 |
| Caribbean or Black | 0.12 |
| Gypsy / Traveller | 0.06 |
| Roma | 0.06 |
| Showman / Showwoman | 0.03 |
Data Source: Scotland's Census 2022
For comparison, the population sizes for all ‘white Scottish’ and ‘white other British’ ethnic groups were 77.7% and 9.4% respectively.
Analysis undertaken for this report found that most of Scotland’s minority ethnic population generally has a younger age profile than the white Scottish and white other British population (see Table 2). White Scottish and other white British ethnic groups have a higher proportion of people aged 65 and over compared to other ethnic groups, except for white Showperson and white Irish populations. For all other minority ethnic groups, the proportion of people under 15 outnumbered people aged 65 and over. This Review did not explore potential reasons for, or impact of, these age breakdowns among minority ethnic groups. There were no major differences of age profiles across sex for each of the ethnic groups.
| Ethnic group | Aged below 15 | Aged 15 to 64 | Aged 65 and over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed or multiple ethnic group | 39% | 58% | 3% |
| African: Total | 30% | 69% | 2% |
| Other ethnic groups: Total | 23% | 72% | 5% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British: Total | 22% | 73% | 5% |
| White: White Polish | 21% | 77% | 2% |
| White: Gypsy/ Traveller | 19% | 71% | 10% |
| White: Roma | 17% | 79% | 4% |
| Caribbean or Black: Total | 17% | 77% | 6% |
| White: White Scottish | 15% | 63% | 22% |
| White: Other White | 11% | 83% | 6% |
| White: Showperson | 10% | 73% | 18% |
| White: Other White British | 8% | 68% | 24% |
| White: White Irish | 5% | 75% | 21% |
Data Source: Scotland's Census 2022
Further research drawing on the full Scotland Census 2022 data, once published, may be beneficial to understand the these demographic trends for women and girls, and people generally in minority ethnic groups, in more detail. This may also increase understanding of required services and infrastructure to support specific needs.
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