Ethnicity
4 in 5 Bangladeshi families have children
Families with dependent children as a proportion of all families: by ethnic group, April 2001, UK
Among all families, those headed by a person of non-White ethnic background are more likely than White families to have children living in them. In 2001 nearly four out of five Bangladeshi families in the UK had dependent children compared with just over two out of five White families (the smallest proportion for any ethnic group).
Over 70 per cent of Black African, Other Black and Pakistani families also had dependent children. Indian and Chinese families had the smallest proportions of any non-White ethnic group (58 per cent and 57 per cent had dependent children).
The differences in the presence of children reflect partly the young age structure of non-White ethnic groups, and past immigration and fertility patterns.
Bangladeshi and Pakistani families were larger than families of any other ethnic group; in Great Britain over 40 per cent of these families had three or more dependent children in 2001. This compared with 28 per cent for Black African families, 20 per cent for Indian families, and 17 per cent for White families.
Families with dependent children: by ethnic group and family type, April 2001, UK
In the UK, families of Asian and Chinese origin with dependent children living with them were the most likely to be married and least likely to be lone-parent families – in 2001, 85 per cent of Indian families with dependent children were headed by a married couple.
Mixed, Black Caribbean and White families with dependent children had the largest proportions of cohabiting couple families, 12 per cent each. Cohabitation is less usual among Asian, Chinese and other ethnic group families (each below 4 per cent).
Lone-parent families were most prevalent among Other Black families – 64 per cent. Over 45 per cent of Black Caribbean, Black African and Mixed families were headed by a lone-parent, compared with 25 per cent of White families.
Sources: Census, 2001, Office for National Statistics; General Register Office for Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
Notes:
Family: a married/cohabiting couple with or without child(ren), or a lone-parent with child(ren). Cohabiting couples includes same sex couples.
Dependent children: aged under 16 in a household, or 16-18 in full-time education in a family.
Family Reference Person (FRP) is used to identify a family and its characteristics. The FRP in a couple is based on economic activity, then age (oldest), then the first member of the couple on the Census form.
The ethnic group of a family is given by the ethnic group of the FRP. It does not follow that everyone in the family will be of the same ethnic group as the FRP. Mixed families are those whose FRP is of Mixed ethnic origin, for example, some of the families classed as Asian or Black or even White could be mixed families in the sense that the partners are not of the same ethnic group.
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