A bigger melting pot: what the census really tells us

18 Dec 2012 The detailed analysis of the 2011 census data of England and Wales by the University's new research Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) reveals the term 'ethnic minority' is fast becoming redundant. Previously passionate debates over how segregated we are, they say, should now be a thing of the past. The research finds residential mixing has accelerated in the 2000s: Indians, Whites, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Africans, Irish, Caribbean, Mixed White-Caribbean, White-Africans and White-Asian populations all live more evenly spread through the country than in 2001. According to their analysis, the 2011 census shows that one-in-five people identified themselves as coming from an ethnic group other than White British, compared with 13% in 2001. Excluding one-person households, 1 in 8 households now have more than one ethnic group. And the proportion of mixed households has grown in 346 out of 348 local authorities in England and Wales. Ludi Simpson, who lead the team said: "Last week's headlines which reported a rising immigrant population does not give us the whole picture.