Which London boroughs are the most ethnically diverse and what are their demographic mixes?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
Newham is consistently identified as London’s most ethnically diverse borough, with non‑white (Asian, Black, Mixed or Other) residents making up about 69.2% of its population [1] [2]. Other London boroughs frequently ranked among the most diverse are Brent (around 65% ethnic minorities noted), Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Newham’s neighbours in East and West London; overall London is far more diverse than England, with roughly 46% of residents identifying as Asian, Black, Mixed or Other and 17% as white ethnic minorities [3] [1] [4].
1. Which boroughs the data single out — and why it matters
National and local datasets and reporting converge on a small group of boroughs as the city’s diversity hotspots: Newham is identified as the most ethnically diverse local authority in England (69.2% non‑white) by government ethnicity summaries [1], while Brent, Redbridge and Waltham Forest repeatedly appear in press and analysis as having the highest shares of ethnic minority residents [5] [6]. These borough‑level rankings matter because they point to concentrated patterns of migration, language provision needs, schooling choices and the local political economy — issues tracked by the Greater London Authority and charities such as Trust for London [7] [8].
2. What “diverse” means in these sources
Different sources measure diversity slightly differently. GOV.UK and many press stories use the share of the population that is “non‑white” (Asian, Black, Mixed, Other) to flag diversity — Newham leads on that metric at 69.2% [1]. Academic and local analyses often use Simpson’s Diversity Index or disaggregate by specific groups (e.g., Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black African, Black Caribbean), which shows how boroughs differ not only in how many minority residents they have but in which communities are present [9] [2].
3. The common borough patterns: East, West and pockets across the city
East and West London host many of the highest diversity scores. East London boroughs such as Newham and Redbridge, and West London boroughs such as Brent and parts of Harrow, rank highly for large South Asian, Black and mixed populations [5] [2]. Trust for London’s mapping shows West London has the highest regional share of Black and Minority Ethnic residents (about 53% in aggregate) and East London similarly high [4]. Inner South boroughs like Lambeth and Southwark report large Black populations and high diversity indices too [10] [9].
4. Which groups make up those mixes — headline breakdowns
Citywide figures cited by population analysts estimate Greater London’s composition roughly as: majority White overall but with considerable internal splits — around 53.8% White, ~20.7% Asian, ~13.5% Black, ~5.7% Mixed and ~6.3% Other in a 2025 estimate that mirrors 2021 census patterns [3]. Boroughs differ: some (e.g., Redbridge, Harrow) have high Asian (often Indian) shares, Tower Hamlets has a large Bangladeshi community, and South London boroughs like Lambeth, Croydon and Southwark have among the highest Black populations [2] [10] [11].
5. Where diversity is lower — the other side of the map
Several outer and wealthier boroughs consistently record lower non‑white shares: Richmond upon Thames, Bromley and Havering are among the least ethnically diverse, with non‑white proportions cited around the high teens to mid‑twenties in some analyses (Richmond ~19.5%, Bromley ~23.5%, Havering ~24.7%) [12]. These patterns reflect long‑standing residential geography, housing markets and migration history [12] [13].
6. Caveats, measurement limits and contested claims
Not all sources use the same year, categories or methodologies. Some sites draw directly from 2021 Census tables and GLA outputs [14] [7], while press summaries and private estimates [3] [15] sometimes update or reinterpret those numbers. Simpson’s Diversity Index rates boroughs by how evenly multiple groups are represented — that can lift a borough above one with a single large minority community even if the non‑white share is similar [9]. Available sources do not mention a single, universally agreed ranking methodology beyond those used by each publisher; readers should prefer primary datasets (London Datastore, GLA, ONS/GOV.UK) for reproducible figures [14] [7] [1].
7. What this means for policy and public debate
High diversity boroughs are focal points for language services, schooling and health inequalities flagged by local research [9] [8]. Trust for London and local health analyses highlight that ethnic diversity intersects with patterns of deprivation and service need, so rankings are not just descriptive but have fiscal and political consequences [9] [8]. Conversely, the boroughs with lower ethnic minority shares are often discussed in planning and social cohesion debates for different reasons, including slower demographic change [12].
If you want the specific 2021 Census percentages for each borough’s major ethnic groupings or a reproducible ranking by a chosen metric (non‑white share, Simpson index, or disaggregated group percentages), I can extract those directly from the London Datastore and GOV.UK tables cited here [14] [1].