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Ethnic minority population less likely to live in deprived areas

People from most minority ethnic groups in Scotland, especially Pakistani and Bangladeshi, were less likely to live in deprived areas than they were in England in 2011.

Scotland’s Chief Statistician today released a paper which provides a detailed analysis of equality data from the 2011 Census.

Scotland became a more ethnically diverse country in the decade to 2011, with the number of people from minority ethnic groups doubling to represent four per cent of the population. Despite its increased ethnic diversity, Scotland was still a less diverse country than England. The analysis also shows that people in Scotland who identified their ethnic group as ‘African’ and ‘White: Polish’ were most likely to live in deprived areas.

Scotland became a less religious country in the decade to 2011, with the proportion who recorded that they belonged to the ‘Church of Scotland’ falling from 42 per cent to 32 per cent. Over the same period the proportion of the population stating they had no religion increased from 28 to 37 per cent.

The proportion of people who declared a long-term health problem or disability in 2011 was the same as in 2001 despite an aging population. People who identified a condition were much more likely to live in deprived areas. Those who lived in the most deprived decile were over three times more likely to report that they were limited a lot by a health problem or disability than those in the least deprived decile.

Notes to editors

Scotland’s census is the official count of every person and household in the country and takes place every 10 years. It collects information about the characteristics of people and households and is used by central and local government, health authorities and many other organisations to allocate resources and plan services for everyone.

This analysis is based on statistics already released by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) on Scotland’s Census website: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/

The full statistical publication, ‘Overview of Equality Results from the 2011 Census Release 2’, is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/03/7340. It focuses particularly on ethnicity, religion and disability and there are some comparisons to other UK countries.

The figures were produced by independent statistical staff free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About

Further equality statistics and research can be found on the Scottish Government’s Equality Evidence Website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/Equalities