The 2001 Census collected information about ethnicity and, for the first time, religious identity. Religious and ethnic minorities in Wales formed a small proportion of the population, although Cardiff was considerably more diverse.
Ethnicity
Most of the population of Wales described their ethnicity as White, with 96 per cent White British, 0.6 per cent White Irish and 1.3 per cent from another White background. The remaining 2.1 per cent of the population were from ethnic backgrounds other than White, and together numbered 62,000 people.
More than 25,000 people were of Asian descent, the majority being either Indians or Pakistanis (8,000 each). Nearly 18,000 people were of Mixed ethnic origin, 7,000 described their ethnicity as Black, and 6,000 as Chinese. A further 5,000 were from other ethnic backgrounds.
People from ethnic backgrounds other than White were concentrated in the three biggest cities in Wales. In Cardiff they made up 8 per cent of the population, in Newport 5 per cent and in Swansea 2 per cent. By far the highest concentrations were in Cardiff. Around half of the Black and Asian groups and a third of the Mixed and Chinese groups lived in the capital.
The White group were older than other ethnic groups. The White Irish were oldest of all. Among White Irish people 32 per cent were above working age, compared with only 5 per cent of the Mixed group and 3 per cent of Bangladeshis. The Mixed group were youngest, with nearly half (47 per cent) under the age of 16.
Religion
Nearly three quarters of the Welsh population described their religion as Christian (72 per cent). The White group contained the highest proportion of Christians (73 per cent), and majorities of Black Caribbeans and people from Mixed ethnic backgrounds also identified as Christians (70 and 51 per cent respectively).
After Christianity, Islam was the next most common faith. Cardiff had the largest Muslim population (4 per cent of the local population) but in the country overall Muslims accounted for less than 1 per cent of the population (22,000 people). Most Muslims were from Asian backgrounds, including 7,000 Pakistani Muslims and 5,000 Bangladeshi Muslims, although nearly 3,000 White people also described themselves as Muslim.
Among other faiths the next largest groups were Indian Hindus (over 4,000) and White Buddhists (3,000), followed by White Jews and Indian Sikhs (both about 2,000).
Age structures of the different religious groups reflected their ethnic composition and the secular trend among the White population. Between 5 and 6 per cent of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs were pensioners, compared with 24 per cent of Christians and 30 per cent of Jews.
Across Wales 19 per cent reported they had no religion and a further 8 per cent did not record an answer.
Source: Censuses, April 1991 and April 2001, Office for National Statistics.
Notes: Census Religion Question - "What is your religion?" Answers categories were None, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, or, any other religion.
Census Ethnic Group Question - In both 1991 and 2001 respondents were asked to which ethnic group they considered themselves to belong. The question asked in 2001 was more extensive than that asked in 1991, so that people could tick 'Mixed' for the first time. This change in answer categories may account for a part of the observed increase in the minority ethnic population over the period.
White British includes those who indicated their ethnicity was White English, White Scottish or White Welsh.
Working age - Males aged 16 to 64, females aged 16 to 59.
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Demography