Mixed is an ethnic group category that was first introduced by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics for the 2001 Census. It refers to British citizens or residents whose parents are of two or more racial or ethnic backgrounds. The Mixed or Multiple ethnic group numbered just under 1.8 million in the 2021 United Kingdom census or 2.7% of the total UK population.

Statistics A number of academics have pointed out that the ethnicity classification employed in the census and other official statistics in the UK since 1991 involve conflation between the concepts of ethnicity and race. Aspinall notes that sustained academic attention has been focused on "how the censuses measure ethnicity, especially the use of dimensions that many claim have little to do with ethnicity, such as skin colour, race, and nationality".

The year 2001 was the first census which asked about mixed ethnic identity. In that census, 677,177 classified themselves as of mixed ethnicity, making up 1.2 percent of the country's population. The 2011 Census gave the figure as 2.2% for England and Wales.

Office for National Statistics estimates suggest that 956,700 mixed-ethnicity people were resident in England (as opposed to the whole of the country) as of mid-2009, compared to 654,000 at mid-2001. As of May 2011, this figure surpassed 1 million. It was estimated in 2007 that, by 2020, 1.24 million people in the UK would be of mixed race. Research conducted by the BBC, however, suggests that the mixed race population could be up to twice the official estimate, up to 2 million. According to The Economist in October 2020, the 2011 census figure "is probably an undercount, since not all children of mixed marriages will have ticked one of the mixed categories, and the number is likely to have grown since the census".

3.5 percent of all births in England and Wales in 2005 were mixed-ethnicity babies, with 0.9 percent being 'Mixed White and Black Caribbean', 0.5 percent 'Mixed White and Black African', 0.8 percent 'Mixed White and Asian', and 1.3 percent any other mixed background.

Population

+ Mixed population by region and countryRegion / Country202120112001NumberNumberNumber 1,669,378 2.96% 1,192,879 2.25% 643,373 1.31% —Greater London 505,775 5.75% 405,279 4.96% 226,111 3.15% —South East 260,871 2.81% 167,764 1.94% 85,779 1.07% —East of England 179,654 2.84% 112,116 1.92% 57,984 1.08% —West Midlands 178,224 2.99% 131,714 2.35% 73,225 1.39% —North West 163,245 2.20% 110,891 1.57% 62,539 0.93% —East Midlands 117,247 2.40% 86,224 1.90% 43,141 1.03% —Yorkshire and the Humber 117,017 2.14% 84,558 1.60% 44,995 0.91%—South West 114,074 2.00% 71,884 1.36% 37,371 0.76%—North East 33,271 1.26% 22,449 0.86% 12,228 0.49% 60,899 1.12% 19,815 0.37% 12,764 0.25% 48,598 1.56% 31,521 1.03% 17,661 0.61% Northern Ireland 14,382 0.76% 6,014 0.33% 3,319 0.20% 1,793,257 2.68% 1,250,414 1.98% 677,117 1.15%

The 2021 United Kingdom census recorded a population of 1,793,257 or 2.7% of the population in the United Kingdom. When broken down by country, England recorded 1,669,378 (3.0%), Wales recorded 48,598 (1.6%) and Northern Ireland recorded 14,382 (0.8%). The equivalent census in Scotland, conducted a year later, recorded a population of 60,899, or 1.1% of the population. The ten local authorities with the largest proportion of those who identified as Mixed were all located in London: Lambeth (8.07%), Lewisham (8.07%), Croydon (7.61%), Islington (7.49%), Southwark (7.20%), Haringey (7.02%), Hackney (6.75%), Hammersmith and Fulham (6.73%), Kensington and Chelsea (6.64%) and Camden (6.63%). The three capitals of the other constituent countries of the United Kingdom had the highest proportion of the Mixed population in their respective countries with Cardiff at 4.00%, Edinburgh at 2.50%, and Belfast at 1.20%.

+ Top 15 Areas (2021/22 Census) Alternative URL 'Search data by location' > 'Local Authority (CA2019)' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Ethnic Group' Upper tier local authority Population Percentage Birmingham 55,205 4.8% Hertfordshire 45,126 3.8% Surrey 40,483 3.4% Essex 36,774 2.4% Kent 36,766 2.3% Croydon, London 29,745 7.6% Manchester 29,026 5.3% Leeds 27,388 3.4% Hampshire 26,198 1.9% Lambeth, London 25,630 8.1% Lewisham, London 24,253 8.1% Oxfordshire 22,611 3.1% Southwark, London 22,151 7.2% Bristol 21,116 4.5% Barnet, London 20,889 5.4%

Subgroups In England and Wales, the 2001 census included four sub-categories of mixed ethnic combinations: "Mixed White and Black Caribbean", "Mixed White and Black African", "Mixed White and Asian" and "Any other Mixed background", with the latter allowing people to write in their ethnicity. Analysis of census results shows that, in England and Wales only, 237,000 people stated their ethnicity as Mixed White and Black Caribbean, 189,000 as Mixed White and Asian, 156,000 as Other Mixed, and 79,000 Mixed White and Black African.

The estimates for mid-2009 for England only suggest that there are 301,300 people in the Mixed White and Black Caribbean category, 127,500 Mixed White and Black African, 292,400 Mixed White and Asian, and 235,500 Other Mixed. The White and Black African group had the fastest percentage growth from 2001 to 2009, followed by White and Asian, Other Mixed and then White and Black Caribbean.

The 2011 Census for England and Wales suggested that compared with 2001, the proportion of the population describing themselves as "Mixed White and Black Caribbean" rose from 0.5% to 0.8%, "Mixed White and Asian" from 0.4% to 0.6%, "Mixed White and Black African" from 0.2% to 0.3% and "Other Mixed" from 0.3% to 0.5%.Ethnicity and National Identity in England and Wales 2011, Office for National Statistics, 11 December 2012

The census forms in Scotland and Northern Ireland did not include sub-groups, but rather single categories: "Any Mixed Background" in Scotland and simply "Mixed" in Northern Ireland.

Detailed breakdown Ethnic group within the Mixed group (in England and Wales)2021Population% of total pop% of group makeupMixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean513,0420.929.9%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Asian (unspecified)488,2250.828.4%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Black African249,5960.414.5%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other Mixed107,9570.26.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Any other ethnic group54,9860.13.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Hispanic or Latin American28,0640.01.6%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European Mixed, European unspecified, other European26,5720.01.5%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black and White (unspecified)18,1640.01.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and Arab16,3590.01.0%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black and Asian14,3550.00.8%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and North African or Middle Eastern12,9040.00.8%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British11,8800.00.7%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other White, White unspecified11,0920.00.6%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Arab7,7770.00.5%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Chinese and White7,6420.00.4%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Caribbean7,5790.00.4%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Caribbean Asian7,5160.00.4%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Brazilian6,5690.00.4%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed White6,3890.00.4%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: South American5,9890.00.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mauritian/Seychellois/Maldivian/Sao Tomean/St Helenian5,7410.00.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Iranian5,3640.00.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Turkish5,1490.00.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed Black4,9950.00.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Polynesian/Micronesian/Melanesian4,9000.00.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed Irish4,4320.00.3%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: African Asian4,0710.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: African unspecified3,9250.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and South Asian3,8860.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: English3,8030.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other Middle East3,6470.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Indian or British Indian3,5150.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European and Black African3,4500.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White and East Asian3,1110.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White Caribbean3,0770.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European and North African or Middle Eastern3,0030.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: South Asian and European2,9650.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Chinese2,8710.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Other Asian, Asian unspecified2,8490.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Asian (unspecified) and European2,8050.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mexican2,6550.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Jewish2,5950.00.2%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Portuguese2,5080.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Anglo Indian2,4730.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: European and Black Caribbean2,2660.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Italian2,2480.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black and European2,1850.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Black British2,0500.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: White African2,0170.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Mixed South Asian1,9990.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Turkish Cypriot1,9850.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Greek Cypriot1,9680.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: African/Arab1,9240.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Chinese and other Asian1,9070.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Moroccan1,8790.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Spanish1,7930.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: Pakistani or British Pakistani1,6910.00.1%Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups: South African1,6200.00.1%

See also Multiracial Multiracial Americans

References