An insight into the ethnic and multicultural market in the UK
It’s interesting how mosaics work – each piece contributes to the whole image but a piece on its own is difficult to understand. To be able to realise what they represent we have to see the full picture. I view the population map of the UK in the same way as a mosaic: a culturally and religiously diverse environment with a long history and a promising future in.
A multicultural community constitutes several cultural or ethnic groups within a society – this includes the wider ‘mainstream/ white’ population. We in the UK are fortunate that we are rich in multicultural communities, a fact that most overlook either out of fear or ignorance.
The Olympics is a key example of what can be achieved when you embrace multiculturalism and put our best foot forward. London’s multiculturalism was one of key deciding factors for the Olympics committee when they named London as the host city for the Games in 2012. We all celebrated the news when the announcement was made, how much… Multiculturalism in the UK, especially London, is not a new phenomenon – we all have reasons to be celebrating this fact for decades. This is actually what we, at Media Reach, have been doing for over 21 years. With this publication our aim is to show you this picture in its fullness through the description of the creating elements. By understanding the pieces with variety of shapes, colours and textures you will be able to see the whole image.
According to the Census 2001, which found that 4,635,296 people, almost 8 % of the UK population belonged to a non-white ethnic group. This percentage varied for the four UK countries – while 9 % of the population of England were nonwhite, the percentages for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were much lower (2 %, 2 % and 0.7 % respectively). South Asians, make up the half of the Ethnic population, followed by Black, Mixed, Chinese and other.
The categories can be broken down as follows: White Asian Black Mixed White British Indian Caribbean White/Black Caribbean White Irish Pakistani African White/Asian White other Bangladeshi Other Black Other mixed Other Asian Other ethnicities Chinese Other ethnic groups Categories of Minority Ethnic Groups in Census 2001 Migrants from Eastern Europe in the UK 796,000.
This is the number of workers registered in the UK from Eastern Europe, according to Home Office (February, 2008). This figures does not include dependents, the self-employed and people who refused to register as not everyone has to in order to work. 1 million This is the estimated number of Polish people in the country. However, there is a belief that the number is between 1.5m-2m. Despite the number of Eastern Europeans returning to their country of origin there are others still coming. Whilst Ethnic minorities make up 8% of the UK’s total population, (Census, 2001), this percentage varied for the four UK countries. England is home to the largest number equating to 9% of the population. In Wales and Scotland they amount to 2% of the total population and Northern Island is home to .07%.
London is home to the largest number of Ethnic Minorities (including Eastern Europeans) than another city in the UK. London is the most cosmopolitan city home to representatives of 189 countries from the total 192 countries as recognised by UN.
71% The London borough with the largest proportion of ethnic minorities was Brent where 71 per cent of the population is from an ethnic minority group (including White minorities), followed by Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Ealing.
1 in 3 Londoners Ethnic One in three Londoners claims to belong to an ethnic group. Not surprising as Minorities have tended to moved to urban areas where job prospects are better. Demographics The age profile of Ethnic minority communities is generally a lot younger. The overwhelming majority of Eastern Europeans tend to be aged 20-39 years as they come to the UK primarily in search of work. This is stark contrast to the white population, where almost 50% of them are over the age of 40, whereas only 19% of the Bangladeshi community is over the age of 40.
Ethnic community households are larger in number and often have multi-generations living under one roof. Asian households are larger than households of any other ethnic group. Those homes headed by a Bangladeshi person were the largest of all with an average size of 4.5 people in April 2001, followed by Pakistani households (4.1 people) and Indian households (3.3 people). The smallest households were found among the White Irish (average size 2.1 people). Black Caribbean and White British households were the next smallest, both with an average size of 2.3 people. All these groups have an older age structure than other ethnic groups, and contain a higher proportion of oneperson households. 38 per cent of Black Caribbean households, 37 per cent of White Irish households and 31 per cent of White British households contained only one person. Only 9 per cent of Bangladeshi households contained just one person. Language English remains overwhelmingly the most common first language. However, communities migrating to the UK in recent decades have brought many languages to the country.
The Annual Schools Census carried out by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) asks schools to report on the number of children with a first language other than English. The latest data for 2008 shows: • 14.4% of all primary school children have a first language known to or believed to be a language other than English • 10.8% of all secondary school children have a first language known to or believed to be a language other than English.
Identity tends to vary across generations. Older generations (often referred to as 1st generation) and new migrants attach a great deal of importance to their backgrounds. They often have very strong ties with their hometowns and may regard themselves as temporary residents despite having lived in the UK for many years.
The younger generations are generally much more integrated into British culture. They tend to describe themselves in hyphenated identities, and they may feel they have more in common with other British young people than with their parents’ culture. However, most still feel that they are unable to fit in comfortably in either. Education EM more likely to have a degree According to the January 2003 pupil census, at least three in four primary pupils, and four in five secondary pupils, still fit the description “white British”. Asians from the Indian subcontinent form the second largest ethnic group in schools. They account for more than 7% of primary children and 6% of secondary pupils. Children of Pakistani origin are the biggest Asian group in primaries, but Indians outnumber Pakistanis in secondary’s. Primary schools now have more black African pupils than black Caribbean children, however, there are similar numbers from both ethnic groups at secondary level (ONS, 2004).
Labour Market 3.26 million of Ethnic Minorities of working age Due to the high birth rate and net migration the ethnic minority population has been growing strongly. With a younger age profile, the median age for Ethnic minorities is 27 compared with 40 years for white people according to the Labour Force Survey (2005). Therefore it is not surprising that the ethnic minority share of the working age population is increasing – reaching 3.26 million or 9.3% of the 35.2 million people of working age in 2004. The Chinese and Other grouping shows the lowest economic activity and employment rates, 60% and 53% respectively. The other three ethnic groupings, Black, Asian and Mixed, have similar economic activity and employment rates. However, within the Asian grouping the economic activity and employment rates for Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are noticeably lower than for Indians and Other Asians. In all ethnic groups, employment rates are higher for men than for women. Low rates of female employment are likely to be related to the differing roles of women in the home, particularly among the Asian group. (33) In 2002/03 Pakistani and Chinese groups are more likely to be self-employed, as it is shown on Table 11. (14) Lots of Chinese work in catering and operate takeaway food outlets. High proportions of Pakistanis work in wholesale and retail trade.
Many Bangladeshis work in catering and hotel industry and operate the majority of so-called ‘Indian’ restaurants. Famous locations are Brick Lane, Green Street and Southall Broadway; both are famous for its South Asian business success. Brick Lane is known as the “curry capital” of the UK, while Green Street and Southall Broadway is renowned (at least to south Asians resident in the UK) for the multitude of fashion, jewellery and other shops along the length of its high street.
Consumer Insights In a recent report by Ofcom (2007) on Ethnic Minority groups and communication services revealed: • People from Ethnic groups are slightly more likely to own a mobile phone (83 per cent compared to 80 per cent of all adults). This may reflect the younger age profile of these groups, as research shows younger people are more likely to have mobile phones than older people. Among mobile phone users, for Ethnic groups the most popular network is T-mobile, as opposed to O2 for all UK adults. Also a greater proportion of these groups have a contract phone rather than pre-pay than the general population. • Ethnic groups claim to spend more on fixed-line and on mobile telecoms services that all UK adults •
Ethnic groups are more likely to take up new technologies, as those Ethnic groups who have Internet access, have broadband services. • When considering the reasons for having Internet connection at home, a greater proportion of Ethnic groups say it is for their children’s education than the overall UK population. 60% Ethnic groups more likely to have cable/ satellite television services that the average UK population. The main reason for this is that certain (Asians, Chinese and Middle Eastern) groups have particular needs to view programming that feature culture, heritage, news and language associated with their ethnic background that is not being met in the mainstream. 63.8% of viewing by Ethnic groups in multichannel households is of nonterrestrial channels, compared to 42.3% of viewing among all individuals.
Ethnic minority groups are three times more likely to own a BMW and twice as likely to own a Mercedes Benz than the population as a whole. Furthermore, 60% of these BMW’s and 66% of Mercedes Benz’s were bought as brand new cars (Starfish, 2006). Eastern Europeans Research conducted in 2007 reveals some interesting insights into Eastern European migrant in the UK in terms of their mobile phone usage (STMC Consulting, 2007). • One of the first things that Eastern Europeans do upon arrival to the UK is to buy a pre-paid mobile SIM card. They spend, on average, £34 per month on top-ups, which is 74 per cent more that the average UK pre-pay customer. • Currently mobile network provider O2 is getting the largest share (33.2 per cent) of this attractive market segment. T-mobile is the second largest with 20.6 per cent). • Eastern Europeans migrant workers are very loyal mobile customer. The research sampled showed that the average lifetime with a mobile network was 22 months) Some other general insights can be found below: • Eastern Europeans are tech savvy, spending any spare time on their community specific portals. •
Business There are 300,000 Ethnic minority run small businesses in the UK that contribute an estimated £20 billion to the UK economy (BERR, 2007). Research finding from a report by Barclays Bank (2005) on BME run businesses in the UK revealed that BME business start-ups grew a third reaching record levels from 32,000 in 2000 to 50,000 in 2004. The research went onto state that BME businesses are three times more likely to have a turnover between £250K and £1M and to employ staff. There business performance also outstrips that of their white counterparts.
In London, there are 66,000 Ethnic-owned businesses, employing 560,000 and generating combined sales turnover of £90 billion compared to the turnover of all London businesses of £800 billion. These figures do not include approximately 93,000 self-employed Minority Ethnic people (LDA 2005). The British Polish Chamber of Commerce estimates that Polish entrepreneurs have set up some 40,000 businesses in the UK, creating thousands of jobs. . According to LFS and IPPR (IPPR, 2008) calculations, three in every four (74 per cent) self-employed workers are located in the London. Facts:
CONCLUSIONS: The multicultural communities are going to be more visible and influential as they rise up the ladder in business and corporations. They will have more say and targeting the diverse groups and communities is going to be a must for all serious brands and marketers in the UK. In London and around the UK there are a number of cities and towns with more than 35% of the population of a multicultural background. These diverse groups have different cultures and needs and to communicate to them effectively we need to be aware of these differences. Post enlargement we are going to see an on-going inflow of Europeans coming to the UK for jobs and opportunities. While some of the A8/A2 members will go back to their countries, it is estimated that around 40% will stay in the UK with their families and children. The migrants tend to be young, hardworking, highly mobile and can travel to areas of skills shortages very quickly. They generally do not access public services such as hospitals, doctors, benefits and housing. The impact of the A8/A2 migration to the UK has so far been a positive one and we forecast that this trend will be happening in the UK quite frequently in the next decade.
Saad Saraf
CEO
