United Kingdom

III

Population

The majority of the people of the United Kingdom are descended from the many peoples who invaded the islands in the two millennia before 1066 (the date of the Norman invasion), including Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, and Scandinavians. However, people of many other ethnic backgrounds have settled in the United Kingdom over the centuries, including Jews; Chinese; central, eastern, and southern Europeans; and, particularly since the 1950s, people from the Caribbean and South Asia.

The United Kingdom is one of the most urbanized of the world’s larger nations: about 89 per cent of the population lives in cities and towns. The distribution of population, notably in Great Britain, still largely mirrors the industrial history of the island. About 40 per cent of Great Britain’s population is concentrated in the seven English conurbations that focus on the cities of London, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle upon Tyne. All but London rose to prominence as manufacturing, mining, or trade centres in the first century of industrialization.

The concentration of two thirds of the Welsh population in the southern valleys, and three quarters of Scotland’s population in the central lowlands around Glasgow and Edinburgh, has a similar origin. Most of these population centres are having to adjust to the decline of the industries on which their economies were first built. During the 20th century, southern, and particularly south-eastern, England has reasserted its historical role as the focus of economic wealth and population growth in the United Kingdom.

A

Population Characteristics

The United Kingdom has a population of 60,776,238 (2007 estimate), which gives an average population density of about 252 people per sq km (652 people per sq mi), one of the highest in Europe and the world. England has around 83 per cent of the United Kingdom’s total population and is its most densely populated part, with about 384 people per sq km (995 per sq mi). Scotland has just under 9 per cent of the population and is the least densely populated part, with an average of 64 people per sq km (167 per sq mi). Wales and Northern Ireland have almost 5 per cent and 3 per cent each of the British population; their respective average population densities are 142 and 121 people per sq km (368 and 313 per sq mi).

Population censuses have been held in the United Kingdom every decade since 1801; the 1991 census was the first to include a question on ethnic origin. It showed that more than 94 per cent of the population belonged to the “white” group. Of the 5.5 per cent who described themselves as belonging to another ethnic group, 1.6 per cent were black, primarily Afro-Caribbean, 1.5 per cent Indian, just under 1 per cent Pakistani, and 0.3 per cent each Bangladeshi and Chinese. Members of the minority ethnic groups live predominantly in the main urban and industrial areas of England, especially the South-East and the Midlands. The vast majority of the population, including about half of the various ethnic minority groups, was born in the United Kingdom. The 2001 census revealed that 9 per cent of the population classified itself as “non-white”. A further breakdown established that 2.2 per cent was black (principally Afro-Caribbean), 4.4 per cent South Asian, 1.4 per cent mixed race, and 0.4 per cent Chinese.

B

Principal Cities

The capital, seat of government, and largest city of the United Kingdom is London (population, 2001, 7,172,036). London is also the capital of England. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh (2001 estimate, 449,000), of Wales, Cardiff (2001 estimate, 305,200), and of Northern Ireland, Belfast (2001 estimate, 277,200). Apart from Glasgow (2001 estimate, 578,700) in Scotland, all the other large cities of the United Kingdom are in England. They include: Birmingham (2001 estimate, 976,400) at the heart of the Midlands industrial conurbation; Leeds (2001 estimate, 715,500), Sheffield (2001 estimate, 513,100), Manchester (2001 estimate, 392,900), and Bradford (2001 estimate, 467,900), all of which developed as the focus of manufacturing and mining in the north of England; and the ports of Liverpool (2001, 439,476) and Bristol (2001, 380,615.

C

Religion

Religious freedom in the United Kingdom is guaranteed by various laws passed between the 17th and early 20th centuries. Religion has played a minimal role in politics in Great Britain since the 18th century. However, in Northern Ireland religion came to symbolize the political and cultural differences between the descendants of the original Irish inhabitants and the descendants of the Scottish and English settlers—which in the 1970s erupted into sectarian violence and terrorism (see History section below, and Northern Island: History). The latter group, in a majority, are overwhelmingly Protestant and in favour of remaining part of the United Kingdom; the former are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and the majority are in favour of a united Ireland.

Most of the world’s religions are represented in the United Kingdom, but it is still predominantly a Christian nation, at least nominally. There are two established Churches, the Church of England and the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). About 47 per cent of people say they belong to the Anglican communion, represented primarily by the Church of England, but also including the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Church of Ireland.

The decision by the 1992 General Synod of the Church of England to admit women to ordination to the priesthood threatened for a while to split the Church. A compromise was reached for congregations and priests opposed to the change, but on the ordination of the first female priests in March 1994, 136 Anglican clerics converted to Roman Catholicism; many more clerics and lay members have converted since. The ordination of women was rejected by the Church in Wales in 1994, but approved by the Church of Scotland.

According to the 2001 census, just over 71 per cent of the population regards itself as Christian, with about 9 per cent Roman Catholic, 4 per cent belong to one of the Presbyterian Churches, and 1 per cent are Methodists. The same census reported that 2.7 per cent of the population is Muslim, 1 per cent is Hindu, 0.5 per cent Jewish, 0.6 per cent Sikh, and 0.3 per cent Buddhist. There are smaller communities of Jains, Zoroastrians, and Bahais. Islam and evangelical Christianity are the fastest-growing faiths in the United Kingdom. However, an increasing percentage of the population professes no religious faith, and may be represented by bodies like the British Humanist Association and National Secular Society.

D

Language

English is the official language of the United Kingdom and the first language of the vast majority of the population. The spoken language, however, is far from homogeneous. Distinctive regional and local accents differentiate natives of different parts of the kingdom, although the various dialect forms of English with their individual vocabularies have largely withered, especially in England.

The indigenous Celtic languages of Scotland and, especially, Wales continue to be spoken and in recent years have undergone something of a renaissance, paralleling the resurgence of nationalism in both countries. According to the 2001 census, 797,717 people in Wales claimed to have one or more skills (either understanding, speaking, or writing) in the Welsh language. Welsh remains the first language of most people in the north and west of the principality. Bilingual education is available in many schools and there is a Welsh-language television channel. Since 1993, and following decades of agitation by nationalists, Welsh has been the joint official language with English for the courts, the civil service, and other public sector bodies. Scotland has 58,650 Gaelic speakers, the majority living in the Hebrides.

Scots, a Germanic language, is spoken in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Irish Gaelic is also spoken in Fermanagh and Armagh of Northern Ireland, and Traveller Scottish is used in parts of Scotland. Welsh Romani, Vlax Romani (Indo-Iranian Romani languages), and Angloromani (an English variety with much Romani vocabulary) are also spoken by some, while French is spoken in the Channel Islands where it has official status. The Cornish language, which was extinct in 1800, has been successfully revived and there are now at least 1,000 speakers in the south-west of England. See also Scottish Language.

As well as the above indigenous languages, many immigrant languages are spoken, including Gujarati, Punjabi, Tagalog, Turkish, Yoruba, Bengali, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Kashmiri, and Western Farsi.