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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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ethnic and religious minorities
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The *Jews are by far the longest established ethnic group in Britain to have remained identifiable (a strong Celtic element survives on the west coast of Britain, but nobody thinks of himself primarily as a Celt). However the term 'ethnic minority' is commonly used only of groups which have arrived by *immigration since World War II. Since the majority of these came from the New Commonwealth – particularly the West Indies and the subcontinent of India – the phrase implies also a distinction of colour and in many cases of religion.
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The 1991 *census revealed that the number in Britain of Caribbean (or West Indian) descent was about 500,000, and that there were some 380,000 other black people from Africa and elsewhere; the Asian groups included 825,000 Indians, 500,000 Pakistanis, 165,000 Bangladeshis, 165,000 Chinese. The total of all the ethnic minorites in the country, including some 500,000 not in any of the above categories, was in the region of 3 million or about 5.5% of the population. About half of these were born in Britain. The problem of prejudice and discrimination against the ethnic minorities is monitored by the Commission for *Racial Equality.
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People of Caribbean origin are nearly all Christian (with a very small minority of *Rastafarians), but the Asian community is divided between *Muslims, *Sikhs and *Hindus (with, again, a very small minority of *Buddhists).
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