London: For the first time in history, white British people are now in a minority in London. They have been overtaken by the immigrant population from countries like India, the latest census revealed. Just 3.7 million Londoners described their ethnicity as 'White British' in 2011 - down from 4.3 million in 2001, and making up 44.9 per cent of the city's population.
It is believed to be the first time that British whites have become a minority in any region of the UK. Another major change came in the decreasing number of Christians - four million fewer people claimed to belong to the faith as a quarter of Britons said they had no religion.
In 2011, 7.5 million residents were foreign-born, making up 13 per cent, or one in eight of the population - up from 4.6 million people in 2001. The total population of England and Wales was 56.1 million, a seven per cent increase on 2001 - and 55 per cent of the increase is due to migration.
Britain's increasing diversity was emphasised by the data released by the Office of National Statistics, as it emerged that the proportion of the nation that is white has fallen below 90 per cent for the first time.
As many as 48.2 million people described themselves as being white, making up 86.0 per cent of the population of England and Wales, down from 91.3 per cent a decade earlier. Within this ethnic group, the 'White British' category was the largest at 45.1 million, or 80.5 per cent of the population, a fall compared to 87 per cent in 2001.
Around 7.5 per cent of the population is Asian, while 3.4 per cent described themselves as black. Unsurprisingly, London was found to be the most ethnically diverse region, while Wales was the least.
London is also home to the most immigrants, as 37 per cent of its residents were born abroad and 24 per cent are not citizens of the UK. Apart from Poland, the other leading countries of origin for British immigrants were India, Pakistan, Ireland and Germany.
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