CHAPTER II

The Present Population of the United Kingdom

The people who now inhabit the British Isles are descended mainly from the people who lived here some 9 centuries ago. The English nation was formed as a result of the amalgamation of the native population of the British Isles — the pre-Celts and the Celts with the invaders: the Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes), the Danes and the Normans. The latter were a branch of the Scandinavian Vikings who, after settling in northern France and assimilating the local language and customs, conquered England in 1066.

Two decades later in 1086 William the Conqueror ordered the so-called Domesday Book. As it was discovered, in those days the population of the country was approximately 2 million people. But the available records do not enable any precise estimates about the size of the population until the beginning of the 19^th century. Censuses of the people of the United Kingdom have been taken regularly every 10 years since 1801 (except for 1941 because of the Second World War).

In the early 18^th century Britain was inhabited by 6.5 million people. In 1901 the population of the UK was 38.2 million. It increased to 59.8 million in 2000 (see Table below). Official projections, based on mid-1999 population estimates, forecast that the population will have reached nearly 61.8 million by 2011.

For the first time ever, the UK has more people aged over 60 than under 16. Today there are five times more people aged over 85 than there were in 1951.

The average European Union population growth since 1951 has been approxi­mately 23 per cent. The UK is well below that at 17 per cent. The UK is currently experiencing substantial internal migration. The population of southern England and London is continuing to grow while northern areas decline. Scotland's popula­tion has dropped by 2 per cent in 20 years. In contrast Northern Ireland's population has increased by 9 per cent.

In England and Wales, the fastest-growing region over the past 20 years has Been Milton Keynes (+64.4 per cent). Manchester has witnessed the biggest decline (-15.1 percent).

Traditionally Britain has had an inflow and outflow of people. During the 100 years, from 1836 till 1936, 11 million people left the British Isles. This mass emi­gration was caused by a movement of bankrupt peasants and unemployed who travelled to North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, some parts of Asia and Africa in search for a better life. Thus they spread economic, political and cultural (as well as linguistic) influence of Britain. Mass emigration from Britain stopped after World War I when the above mentioned countries imposed strict immigration laws.

On the other hand, in the 1930s Britain saw a considerable flow of refugees from continental Europe as a result of fascist persecution, in the 1950s and 1960s — a large influx of people from West Indies and India. After the 1960s a considerable number of people entered the UK from the Commonwealth countries.

Ethnic minorities

According to the 2001 census, about 9 per cent of the people in Britain are non-white. While there were predictions of a large growth in ethnic minorities in some cities, the picture is more complicated than that. Two areas of London have become the first in the UK to have a non-white majority — Newham and Brent.

What the figures of the census don't tell us at the moment is how mobile the UK's minority communities have become. Many academics predict that British Indians will be most mobile because of a historically high level of their qualifications.

London has the highest proportion of minority ethnic communities. Just a lit­tle over 50 per cent of the city's people describe themselves as white British. A fur­ther 14 per cent are either white Irish or white other, which includes Europeans, Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, etc. There are now more ethnically African residents (8 per cent) in London than black Caribbean (7 per cent). The largest Asian community is Bangladeshis (5 per cent), principally in east London.

On the other hand, Luton, Birmingham, Leicester and Blackburn have seen an increase in their ethnic minority shares of greater than five percent since 1991 with the Conurbations of Manchester, Bradford and Oldham seeing an increase of around the 3-5 per cent mark. The city long predicted to have the first non-white majority, Leicester, actually has minority ethnic communities comprising only 36 per cent of its total population.

The greatest change can be seen in Greater London, particularly in Hounslow, Lewisham, Croydon, Tower Hamlets, Harrow and Redbridge. Newham has seen the greatest increase in its ethnic minority share with an increase Of 18 per cent over the 1991-2001 decade.

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