Ethnicity
Nine in ten Sikhs are from the Indian group
Religion: by ethnic group, April 2001, GB
Nine out of ten Sikhs (91 per cent) living in Great Britain in 2001 were from an Indian ethnic background. Hindus were also predominantly Indian (84 per cent). A further 12 per cent of Hindus gave their ethnic group as 'Other Asian', the majority being from Sri Lanka.
The vast majority of Christians were White (97 per cent) and this group accounted for almost 40 million people. Although Black people made up only 2 per cent of the total Christian population, 71 per cent of Black people were Christian (815,000), as were half (52 per cent or 353,000) of the Mixed ethnic group.
Three quarters of Muslims (74 per cent) were from an Asian ethnic background, predominantly Pakistani (43 per cent), Bangladeshi (16 per cent), Indian (8 per cent) and Other Asian (6 per cent). There were almost 1.2 million Asian Muslims living in Great Britain in 2001. One in ten Muslims (11 per cent) were from a White ethnic group, 4 per cent were of White British origin and 7 per cent from another White background including Turkish, Cypriot, Arab and Eastern European. A further 6 per cent of Muslims were of Black African origin, mainly from North and West Africa, particularly Somalia.
The vast majority of Jewish people were White (97 per cent), as were 95 per cent of people who had no religion.
Buddhism was the most ethnically diverse of all the main religions. It was made up of people from White (38 per cent), Chinese (25 per cent), Asian (10 per cent), Mixed (3 per cent), Black (1 per cent) and Other (24 per cent) ethnic groups.
Percentage with no religion: by ethnic group, April 2001, GB
Chinese people are the least religious. In 2001, more than half (53 per cent) said that they had no religion. People from a Mixed ethnic background were the next least religious (23 per cent).
South Asians and Black Africans were the most religious. Only 2 per cent of Indians, 2 per cent of Black Africans and less than 1 per cent each of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis said that they had no religion.
People from a White British, Other White, Black Caribbean and Other Black background were somewhere in between with between 11 and 16 per cent stating that they had no religion.
Younger people were less religious than older people, and this was true for all ethnic groups. The proportions having no religion were so small among South Asians that the variation with age was much less marked for these groups.
Among most minority ethnic groups, being religious was also related to country of birth. Those born in the UK were less likely to be religious than their immigrant parents born abroad.
Sources: Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics Census, April 2001, General Register Office for Scotland
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