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Which UK cities have the highest non-white resident percentages?
Executive summary
Census and government analysis since 2021 show large variation across UK cities: Leicester, Birmingham and parts of London and the West Midlands figure prominently among places with the highest shares of non‑white residents — Leicester recorded just 41% identifying as “white” (lowest of any UK city), and many London boroughs and Birmingham report large non‑white populations (London: 46% identified as Asian, Black, Mixed or Other in 2021) [1] [2] [3]. Reporting disagreements focus on labels — “non‑white” vs “white British” — and on whether any whole city has become majority non‑white, a point where outlets and fact‑checks differ in emphasis [4] [5] [6].
1. How the data is defined — “non‑white” versus specific categories
Official statistics and many analyses define “ethnic diversity” as the share not in the white group (i.e., all people identifying as Asian, Black, Mixed or Other, plus white minorities when noted); GOV.UK’s Ethnicity Facts and Figures explains that “ethnic diversity” refers to the percentage not from the white ethnic group for each local authority [3]. Some reporting instead highlights “white British” specifically — Reuters and other fact‑checks note headlines that conflate a drop in “white British” share with becoming a “minority white” city, which can mislead if readers expect “white” to include white minority groups [4] [5].
2. Cities with the highest non‑white shares — what the reporting says
Leicester is frequently singled out: BBC reported that Leicester’s 2021 census figure showed only 41% identifying as “white” — the lowest of any UK city — and that the city moved from 51% white in 2011 to 41% in 2021 [1]. Birmingham and Manchester are repeatedly named among the most diverse large cities: several sources say Birmingham is a “no‑majority” or “super diverse” city and Manchester has very high minority shares [7] [8]. London as a region is the most ethnically diverse in Britain, with 46% identifying as Asian, Black, Mixed or Other in the 2021 census; within Greater London there are stark differences by borough [3] [2].
3. Where London fits — region vs boroughs
London overall is the most diverse region: government and secondary analyses report that nearly half of Londoners identified with Asian, Black, Mixed or other groups in 2021 [3] [2]. But diversity is uneven across boroughs — some outer boroughs like Richmond upon Thames, Bromley and Havering have much lower non‑white shares (around 19.5%, 23.5% and 24.7% in one analysis), while boroughs in east and west London (e.g., Redbridge, Harrow) show far higher concentrations of specific minority groups [9].
4. Are entire cities now ‘majority non‑white’? — competing interpretations
There is disagreement in coverage about wording. Some outlets and data aggregators have called Birmingham, Leicester, London and Manchester “no‑majority” cities where no single ethnic group exceeds 50% [7]. Other fact‑checks caution that while “white British” can be below 50% in cities such as London and Manchester, that is not the same as the whole “white” category being under 50% everywhere; Full Fact and Reuters emphasize the distinction between “white British” and “white” overall when rebutting exaggerated claims [4] [5] [6].
5. Outside London and the major cities — hotspots and low‑diversity areas
Government reporting notes that outside London Slough was the most ethnically diverse local authority, with 64.0% from non‑white groups in the local authority population — demonstrating that high non‑white shares are not limited to historic cores of big cities [3]. Conversely, Allerdale, Torridge and Ryedale were among the least ethnically diverse local authorities (white majorities above 98% in some cases) [3].
6. Context, caveats and what’s not in the provided sources
Available sources show clear city‑level differences and document borough/local authority extremes, but they vary in the exact phrasing (e.g., “non‑white”, “not white British”, “Asian/Black/Mixed/Other”). The provided material does not give a single ranked table of every UK city by non‑white percentage; nor does it present a definitive 2025‑era ranked list derived from the 2021 census for all cities in one place — some commercial sites and analyses make such claims but should be cross‑checked with ONS/GOV.UK data [3] [7] [2]. Fact‑checks warn that social‑media phrasing often overstates changes when it uses “minority white” without specifying which white category is meant [4] [5] [6].
If you want, I can: (a) extract and compile the 2021 census or GOV.UK local‑authority figures into a ranked list of UK cities/local authorities by percentage non‑white (using the sources you provide), or (b) list boroughs/local authorities with the single highest and lowest non‑white shares cited in these sources. Which would you prefer?