The ONS figures projects an upward increase in BME population in UK
The ONS Census now records 18 ethnic groups with the largest groups in ascending order are Asian, Black, Mixed and Other. There are also 60 smaller ethnic and national groups making Britain their home.
There is a wealth of information for marketers to get to grips with:
The black and minority ethnic BME population in the UK has more than doubled in the last 30 years and is expected to have doubled again by 2045.
The top 5 countries for origin in the last five years include Lithuania, Poland, Romania, China and the Philippines and one in four babies has a mother born outside of the UK.
The recent IPA report explores their spending habits, attitudes and behaviours and looks at language and length of residency in the UK to provide insights into generational differences and the impending marketing challenges.
This most recent Census told us two important things about society. First, one would struggle to find a town with non-white faces, no migrants or children of migrants. Quite simply, diversity isn’t limited to city centres but is spreading across the country. Second, Britain’s diversity is rich and growing, with the number of cultures, nationalities, and language groups on the rise.
The Census data only relates to main languages and doesn’t take in account for all the multi-lingual residents with varying fluency. One study found that in just one kilometre stretch of a busy South London street 11% of proprietors spoke one language, 61% spoke two to three languages and 28% spoke four languages or more. These multilinguists – as well as those with foreign nationality – can be considered as a national resource for connecting markets and trends between home and abroad
Britain’s Multicultural population are becoming increasingly influential and in terms of density more than 10 cities in the UK are going to have a multicultural majority.
The BME population are likely to be younger, more urban than white counter part and early adopters of new gadgets and hence will be trendsetters influencing the mainstream population when it comes to purchasing decisions.
