London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, has become one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural cities in the world.

Greater London had a population of 8,899,375 at the 2021 census. Around 41% of its population were born outside the UK, and over 300 languages are spoken in the region.

History and ethnic breakdown of London

For the overwhelming majority of London's history, the population of the city was ethnically homogeneous with the population being of White British ethnic origin, with small clusters of minority groups such as Jewish people, most notably in areas of the East End. From 1948 onwards, the population has diversified in international terms at an increased rate. In 2011, it was reported for the first time that White British demographic had become a minority, whilst still being the largest single demographic within the city, establishing it was a majority-minority city within the country. In 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000 in London. Ethnic GroupYear1961 estimations1971 estimations1981 estimations1991 census2001 census2011 census2021 censusNumber%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%White: Total7,602,23397.7%6,901,59692.6%5,893,97386.6%5,333,58079.80%5,103,20371.15%4,887,43559.79%4,731,17253.8%White: BritishNew category created for the 2001 census––6,500,00087%––––4,287,86159.79%3,669,28444.89%3,239,28136.8%White: Irish––401,5965.4%––256,4703.83%220,4883.07%175,9742.15%156,3331.8%White: Gypsy or Irish TravellerNew category created for the 2011 census––––––––8,1960.1%7,0310.1%White: Roma––––––––––37,6890.4%White: Other––––––594,8548.29%1,033,98112.65%1,290,83814.7%Asian or Asian British: Total––––425,4266.3%690,03110.33%946,89413.20%1,511,54618.49%1,817,64020.8%Asian or Asian British: Indian––––232,881–347,0915.19%436,9936.09%542,8576.64%656,2727.5%Asian or Asian British: Pakistani––––59,440–87,8161.31%142,7491.99%223,7972.74%290,5493.3%Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi––––41,792–85,7381.28%153,8932.15%222,1272.72%322,0543.7%Asian or Asian British: Chinese––––35,938–56,5790.84%80,2011.12%124,2501.52%147,5201.7%Asian or Asian British: Other Asian––––55,375–112,8071.68%133,0581.86%398,5154.88%401,2454.6%Black or Black British: Total––––405,3946%535,2168.01%782,84910.92%1,088,64013.32%1,188,37013.5%Black or Black British: African––––102,230–163,6352.44%378,9335.28%573,9317.02%697,0547.9%Black or Black British: Caribbean––––239,956–290,9684.35%343,5674.79%344,5974.22%345,4053.9%Black or Black British: Other Black––––63,208–80,6131.20%60,3490.84%170,1122.08%145,9111.7%Mixed or British Mixed: Total––––––––226,1113.15%405,2794.96%505,7755.7%Mixed: White and Black Caribbean––––––––70,9280.99%119,4251.46%132,5551.5%Mixed: White and Black African––––––––34,1820.48%65,4790.80%77,3410.9%Mixed: White and Asian––––––––59,9440.84%101,5001.24%125,1881.4%Mixed: Other Mixed––––––––61,0570.85%118,8751.45%170,6911.9%Other: Total––––80,7931.2%120,8721.81%113,0341.58%281,0413.44%556,7686.3%Other: Arab––––––––––106,0201.30%139,7911.6%Other: Any other ethnic group––––––––113,0341.58%175,0212.14%416,9774.7%Non-White: Total179,1092.3%547,5887.4%911,62613.5%1,346,11920.2%2,068,88828.85%3,286,50640.2%4,068,55346.2%Total7,781,342100%7,449,184100%6,805,599100%6,679,699100.00%7,172,091100.00%8,173,941100.00%8,799,725100%

Racial breakdown of London

White population of London At the 2021 census, the total White population of London stood at 3.2 million.

As of the 2011 census:White British PopulationWhite Irish PopulationWhite Gypsy/Irish Traveller PopulationOther White PopulationTotal White Population Inner London1,130,882 66,808 1,946 534,7231,853,209 Outer London 2,429,018 100,809 5,141 499,2583,034,226 London 3,669,284 175,974 8,196 1,033,9814,887,435

Whites form a majority of London's population and are evenly spread. Bromley has the highest White British population as well as highest total White, while Newham has the lowest for both. Camden has the highest White Irish population, while Bexley has the highest White Gypsy/Irish Traveller population and Haringey has the highest for Other White (non-British/Irish/Gypsy/Irish Traveller white).

The table below shows the population by numbers in the top 20 boroughs as reported in the 2021 census.

RankLondon BoroughPopulation White British White Irish White Gypsyor Irish Traveller Other White Total White1Bromley219,4934,95457826,719251,744 2Barnet140,7777,64417974,608223,208 3Wandsworth157,0488,06116355,131220,360 4Havering174,2322,89425919,496196,881 5Croydon146,2684,93521236,450187,865 6Bexley158,8242,52862014,872176,8627Westminster119,3956,82814646,872173,241 8Enfield103,1405,96937461,280170,763 9Greenwich119,6654,23038535,844160,124 10Islington89,2618,51124859,009157,033 11Richmond upon Thames123,0934,8868522,667156,711 12Kingston upon Thames109,2536,02415641,208156,641 13Haringey88,4246,99737058,552154,34314Lewisham111,7265,05511636,819153,716 15Hillingdon113,3775,58547927,255146,696 16Waltham Forest94,7664,23019846,433145,62717Sutton120,0143,11813019,562142,82418Ealing86,0927,06210840,634133,796 19Camden74,3489,31412844,285128,07520Lambeth57,1623,7424950,276111,229

Afro-Caribbean and African population of London At the 2021 census, the total Afro-Caribbean and African population of London stood at 1.5 million This is a rise of 1.8% from the 2011 census, when the population stood at 990,000.

Inner London and Outer London have a near-equal Afro-Caribbean and African population. The 2011 census is the first time that the Afro-Caribbean and African population population in Outer London has overtaken that of Inner London:

Black African PopulationBlack Caribbean PopulationOther Black PopulationTotal Black Population Inner London291,331 186,256 95,350 572,937 Outer London 288,892 163,826 76,033 528,751 London 580,223 350,082 171,383 1,101,688

The black population of London is noticeably concentrated in South London, with the four boroughs with the highest black populations overall all south of the river, and Greenwich also featuring inside the top 10. Southwark has the highest African population, Croydon has the highest Afro-Caribbean population, and Lambeth has the highest total black population in London. In Southwark, Greenwich and Newham, the African population is significantly higher than Afro-Caribbean; conversely, Lewisham and Brent are almost balanced, and Croydon is the only borough where the Afro-Caribbean (Jamaican, Trinidadian, Barbadian, Guyanese and other Afro-Caribbean) population nearly exceeds the African one (Nigerian, Somali, Ugandan, Sierra Leonean and other African groups.

The twenty London boroughs with the highest total Afro-Caribbean and African population (Black African, Black Caribbean and Other Black) are listed below:

RankLondon BoroughPopulationBlack AfricanBlack CaribbeanOther BlackTotal Black1Croydon40,21936,10812,11488,441 2Lewisham37,83431,88310,75680,4733Southwark48,32018,15610,82377,5114Lambeth37,35928,9919,79576,145 5Newham40,87413,5866,84261,302 6Enfield36,46316,9907,05960,5127Brent31,07021,2587,16759,495 8Hackney29,47817,9037,26454,645 9Greenwich35,1648,0515,44048,65510Haringey23,03718,0876,70647,83011Barking and Dagenham35,1015,8245,88246,807 12Waltham Forest18,75917,5875,30141,647 13Ealing22,57812,8984,01539,491 14Wandsworth17,33011,3564,37633,062 15Barnet22,6704,9513,03130,65116Islington18,0917,3683,28428,74317Redbridge14,5738,4523,07126,096 18Hammersmith and Fulham13,2346,6262,58422,453 19Merton12,2187,6323,03722,887 20Hillingdon15,8445,7522,35923,955

Asian population of London

At the 2011 census, the total Asian population of London stood at 1,511,546. This is a rise of 60% from the 2001 census, when the population stood at 947,425.

Outer London has a greater Asian population than Inner London:

Indian PopulationPakistani PopulationBangladeshi PopulationChinese PopulationOther Asian PopulationTotal Asian Population Inner London 109,933 59,890 163,838 65,983 115,549 515,193 Outer London 432,924 163,907 58,289 58,267 282,966 996,353 London 542,857 223,797 222,127 124,250 398,515 1,511,546

The Asian population of London is noticeably concentrated in East and West London. Harrow has the highest Indian population, Redbridge has the highest Pakistani population, Tower Hamlets has the highest Bangladeshi population and Barnet has the highest Chinese population. Newham has the highest total Asian population in London. The twenty London boroughs with the highest total Asian population (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Filipino and Other Asian) are listed below.

RankLondon BoroughPopulation Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese Other Asian Total Asian1Newham42,48430,30737,2623,93019,912133,8952Redbridge45,66031,05116,0113,00020,781116,5033Brent58,01714,3811,7493,25028,589105,9864Tower Hamlets6,7872,44281,3778,1095,786104,5015Harrow63,0517,7971,3782,62926,953101,8086Ealing48,24014,7111,7864,13231,570100,4397Hounslow48,16113,6762,1892,40520,82687,2578Hillingdon36,7959,2002,6392,88917,73069,2539Barnet27,9205,3442,2158,25922,18065,91810Croydon24,66010,8652,5703,92517,60759,62711Waltham Forest9,13426,3474,6322,57911,69754,38912Merton8,1067,3372,2162,61815,86636,14313Camden6,0831,48912,5036,4938,87835,44614Enfield11,6482,5945,5992,58812,46434,89315Southwark8,6429,7181,4933,7159,77033,33816Wandsworth7,2132,3286,2995,91710,10531,86217Greenwich7,8362,5941,6455,06112,75829,89418Barking and Dagenham7,4368,0077,7011,3155,13529,59419Westminster5,8191,6233,9128,0747,76427,19220Kingston Upon Thames6,3253,0098922,88313,04326,152

Foreign-born population

At the 2011 census, 36.7% of London's population was foreign born (including 24.5% born outside of Europe), with 3,082,000 residents born abroad in 2014. London has the largest population number (not percentage) of foreign-born residents of any UK city.

Born in the UKForeign-bornNumber%Number% Inner London 2,012,00057.8 1,325,00042.2 Outer London 3,348,00066.9 1,757,00033.1 London (total) 5,359,00063.3 3,082,00036.7

Significant ethnic minority communities

Afghans There is an Afghan refugee community in London.

Arabs

Significant migration from Arab countries to the UK began in the 1940s, mostly by Egyptians. Other waves followed, such as Lebanese fleeing the civil war. The centre of London has a thriving Arab community, centred around Edgware Road.

Bangladeshis

A major wave of immigration began in the 1970s, as people from the Sylhet Division arrived in London, fleeing poverty and the Bangladesh Liberation War. Many settled around Spitalfields and Whitechapel, where they entered the textile trade. This trade has declined causing unemployment, but the community has moved into other businesses, including restaurants and banking. The level of immigration peaked in 1986 and has since entered a decline with the introduction of stricter immigration laws.

The community remains concentrated around Whitechapel and has spread into other east London boroughs. London as a city is home to the single largest number of people of Bangladeshi origin outside of Bangladesh, with close to 200,000 individuals being of full Bangladeshi origin in 2007.

The community also annually hosts Europe's largest outdoor Asian event known as the Boishakhi Mela in Bethnal Green as part of the Bengali New Year celebrations.

Chinese

Chinese people constitute the fourth largest Asian group in London (behind the Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis respectively); numbering 114,800 in 2007, they are spread more or less across the entire city and have become successful in British life, especially when it comes to cuisine. The history of the Chinese in London is long and complex, with the first Chinese people arriving in the city in the 19th century as sailors.

Germans