E-Paper
Indians best off among non-whites in UK: Report
The nearly 15-lakh strong Indian community here has once again come out on top across various social indicators – such as jobs, education and housing – as growing non-white numbers are projected to account for one-third of Britain’s population by 2050.
The nearly 15-lakh strong Indian community here has once again come out on top across various social indicators – such as jobs, education and housing – as growing non-white numbers are projected to account for one-third of Britain’s population by 2050.
A new report released on Tuesday by the influential think-tank Policy Exchange says Indians now constitute the largest minority ethnic group, accounting for 2.5% of the population of England and Wales, and compare favourably with the white population in terms of achievement.
Of the ‘Indian’ population, many are still first generation migrants, although over 40 per cent of the ‘Indians’ were born here and are under the age of 30, says the report titled A Portrait of Modern Britain. It adds 85% of the ‘Indian’ community had migrated from India, 4% through Kenya and 2% each from Uganda and Mauritius.
Past studies produced similar results for Indians, but a significant conclusion in the report is that unlike other non-white groups, 43% of Indians work in the ‘highest skilled professions’, and that 11% of all Indian women work in ‘higher managerial jobs’, such as directors of major organisations or senior officers in government.
These new figures indicate that the professional face of the Indian community is fast changing from the 1950s’ corner shop operator and factory worker.
Indians are also the most geographically dispersed of the five main non-white groups: Indian, Pakistani, Black African, Black Caribbean and Bangladeshi, and the most religiously diverse community, spread across Islam (14%), Hinduism (45%) and Sikhism (22%), says the report.
Rishi Sunak, co-author of the report, said: “The face of Britain has changed and will keep changing over the next 30 years. From the post-war arrival of Jamaicans and Indians to the recent influx of Africans, the UK is now a melting pot of different cultures and traditions.”
