Demography
Regional Distribution:
The bulk of the ethnic minority group as a whole are
concentrated in large urban areas, especially London.
An outstanding 80% of Black Africans and 61% of Black
Caribbeans lived in London in 2001. Following London,
the second largest proportion of ethnic minority population
as a whole lived in the West Midlands (13%), followed
by the South East (8%), and Yorkshire and the Humber
(7%).
The 1999 GCSE results indicated that not only is there
a disparity between the results of Black and White
children; there is a large gap between the achievements
of Black girls and Black Boys. On average 46% of Black
girls achieved 5 or more GCSE’s at grades A*-C,
compared to only 31% of Black boys. In 2001/2 despite
Black Africans being one of the groups more likely
to have degrees than White people, men of Afro-Caribbean
origin were still the least likely to have a degree
at all, at 8%.
Households:
In 2002, Black
Caribbean and Other Black households were generally
the same size as White households at 2.3 people.
Generally people from minority ethnic groups were
more likely than White people to live in low-income
households in 2000/1. Of these a substantial proportion
of Black Caribbean households (49%) lived on low incomes
after housing costs had been deducted. However, the
risk of low-income for this group was much less pronounced
in comparison with other ethnic groups if income before
housing costs is used. The economic activity rates
of Black Caribbean women had varied significantly.
Black Caribbean women in 2001/2 had economic activity
rates almost as high as White women at 72%. However
young Black African men and Black Carribeans had very
high unemployment rates that ranged between 25-31%.
Age Distribution:
Age distribution:
by ethnic group, 2001/02
[source: Government Statistics Office]
After the White community, the Black Caribbeans had
the highest proportion of people aged over 65 at 9%,
reflecting the first large scale migration to Britain
back in the 1950’s.
Population Size:
The Black or Black British community make up a significant
amount of the minority ethnic population. In 2001
Black Caribbeans made up 1.0% of the total UK population
figure and 12.2% of the total ethnic minority number.
Black Africans constitute 0.8% of the total population
number and 10.5% of the ethnic minority figure. And
Other Black people accounted for 2.1% of the ethnic
minority population and 0.2% of the total UK population.
