SafekipediaDemographics of Birmingham
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
Birmingham is the largest city in England. It is very important for learning about population trends in the country. Experts at the Office for National Statistics study how many people live in Birmingham and in each of its different areas, called wards. This helps everyone understand how the city is growing and changing.
Birmingham is not just a big city; it is also the center of a larger group of nearby towns and cities known as the West Midlands conurbation. This whole area is the third most crowded urban space in all of England. Knowing about the people who live in Birmingham helps leaders make good plans for schools, hospitals, and other important services.
Population
Birmingham is a big city in England. In 2001, the city had 977,099 people. By 2005, the number grew to 1,001,200. This growth happened because there were more births, more people moving in, and fewer deaths. Experts think the population will keep growing.
Birmingham has many young people. In 2005, about 23.4% of people were under 16 years old, and the average age was 36. Some areas, like Hodge Hill, have lots of children, while others, like Sutton Coldfield, have more older people.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1538 | 1,300 | — |
| 1650 | 5,472 | +320.9% |
| 1700 | 15,032 | +174.7% |
| 1731 | 23,286 | +54.9% |
| 1778 | 42,250 | +81.4% |
| 1785 | 52,250 | +23.7% |
| 1801 | 73,670 | +41.0% |
| 1811 | 85,753 | +16.4% |
| 1821 | 106,722 | +24.5% |
| 1831 | 146,986 | +37.7% |
| 1841 | 182,922 | +24.4% |
| 1851 | 232,638 | +27.2% |
| 1861 | 296,076 | +27.3% |
| 1871 | 343,787 | +16.1% |
| 1881 | 400,774 | +16.6% |
| 1891 | 478,113 | +19.3% |
| 1901 | 522,204 | +9.2% |
| 1911 | 840,202 | +60.9% |
| 1921 | 919,444 | +9.4% |
| 1931 | 1,002,603 | +9.0% |
| 1939 | 995,039 | −0.8% |
| 1951 | 1,112,685 | +11.8% |
| 1961 | 1,107,187 | −0.5% |
| 1971 | 1,098,654 | −0.8% |
| 1981 | 996,365 | −9.3% |
| 1991 | 1,005,764 | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 977,091 | −2.9% |
| 2011 | 1,073,045 | +9.8% |
| 2021 | 1,144,900 | +6.7% |
Ethnicity
The following table shows the ethnic groups of people in Birmingham from 1951 to 2021.
Estimates vary for how many people lived in Birmingham. In 1958, one estimate said there were about 20,000 people from the Caribbean, 7,000 from Pakistan, 2,000 from India, and 450 from West Africa.
Detailed
The following table shows the 20 largest ethnic groups in Birmingham from the 2021 census.
These groups are based on how people described themselves using UK ethnicity classifications. Among the "White" groups, after European Mixed, the next largest were White unspecified, Other Eastern European and Roma. In the "Asian" groups, after Afghan, the next largest included Filipino, Other/unspecified, Vietnamese, and Sri Lankan.
In the "Black" group, after Nigerian, the next largest were Eritrean, Other/unspecified, Somalilander and Ghanaian. In the "Other" group, after Sikh, the next largest were Kashmiri, Kurdish, and "Any other ethnic group".
| Ethnic Group | 1951 estimations | 1961 estimations | 1966 estimations | 1971 estimations | 1981 estimations | 1991 census | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2021 census | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 1,107,685 | 99.6% | 1,079,018 | 97.6% | 1,014,350 | 95.3% | 921,819 | 90.9% | 838,751 | 83.5% | 754,274 | 78.48% | 687,406 | 70.35% | 621,636 | 57.93% | 556,608 | 48.7% |
| White: British | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 641,345 | 65.64% | 570,217 | 53.14% | 491,211 | 42.9% |
| White: Irish | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 38,290 | 3.98% | 31,467 | 3.22% | 22,021 | 2.05% | 16,964 | 1.5% |
| White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 408 | 0.04% | 686 | 0.1% |
| White: Roma | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,833 | 0.2% |
| White: Other | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14,594 | 1.49% | 28,990 | 2.70% | 45,914 | 4.0% |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 106,550 | 10.6% | 138,867 | 14.44% | 195,794 | 20.04% | 285,640 | 26.62% | 355,384 | 31% |
| Asian or Asian British: Indian | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 42,865 | 51,075 | 5.31% | 55,749 | 5.71% | 64,621 | 6.02% | 66,519 | 5.8% | |
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 49,405 | 66,085 | 6.87% | 104,017 | 10.65% | 144,627 | 13.48% | 195,102 | 17.0% | |
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7,523 | 12,739 | 1.32% | 20,836 | 2.13% | 32,532 | 3.03% | 48,232 | 4.2% | |
| Asian or Asian British: Chinese | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,523 | – | 3,315 | 0.34% | 5,106 | 0.52% | 12,712 | 1.18% | 12,487 | 1.1% |
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,234 | – | 5,653 | 0.58% | 10,086 | 1.03% | 31,148 | 2.90% | 33,044 | 2.9% |
| Black or Black British: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 49,473 | 4.9% | 56,376 | 5.86% | 59,832 | 6.12% | 96,360 | 8.98% | 125,760 | 10.9% |
| Black or Black British: African | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,443 | – | 2,803 | 0.29% | 6,206 | 0.64% | 29,991 | 2.79% | 66,822 | 5.8% |
| Black or Black British: Caribbean | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 39,585 | 44,770 | 4.65% | 47,831 | 4.90% | 47,641 | 4.44% | 44,718 | 3.9% | |
| Black or Black British: Other Black | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7,445 | – | 8,803 | 0.91% | 5,795 | 0.59% | 18,728 | 1.75% | 14,220 | 1.2% |
| Mixed: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 27,946 | 2.86% | 47,605 | 4.44% | 55,205 | 4.8% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15,644 | 1.60% | 24,720 | 2.30% | 25,119 | 2.2% |
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,446 | 0.15% | 3,223 | 0.30% | 4,680 | 0.4% |
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6,307 | 0.65% | 11,186 | 1.04% | 13,130 | 1.1% |
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,549 | 0.47% | 8,476 | 0.79% | 12,276 | 1.1% |
| Other: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9,349 | 0.9% | 11,524 | 1.19% | 6,109 | 0.63% | 21,804 | 2.03% | 51,965 | 4.6% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10,910 | 1.02% | 19,196 | 1.7% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11,524 | 1.19% | 6,109 | 0.63% | 10,894 | 1.02% | 32,769 | 2.9% |
| Ethnic minority: Total | 5,000 | 0.4% | 28,169 | 2.4% | 49,870 | 4.7% | 92,466 | 9.1% | 165,372 | 16.4% | 206,767 | 21.52% | 289,681 | 29.65% | 451,409 | 42.07% | 588,314 | 51.3% |
| Total | 1,112,685 | 100% | 1,107,187 | 100% | 1,064,220 | 100% | 1,014,285 | 100% | 1,004,123 | 100% | 961,041 | 100% | 977,087 | 100% | 1,073,045 | 100% | 1,144,922 | 100% |
| Detailed ethnicity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ethnic category | Ethnicity | Population |
| White | English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British | 491,179 |
| Asian | Pakistani or British Pakistani | 195,102 |
| Asian | Indian or British Indian | 66,519 |
| Asian | Bangladeshi or British Bangladeshi | 48,232 |
| Black | Caribbean | 44,673 |
| Black | African (unspecified) | 25,161 |
| Mixed/Multiple | White and Black Caribbean | 25,119 |
| Other | Arab | 19,196 |
| White | Irish | 16,971 |
| Black | Somali | 16,964 |
| Mixed/Multiple | White and Asian (unspecified) | 13,130 |
| Asian | Chinese | 12,487 |
| Black | British | 9,411 |
| White | Polish | 8,407 |
| Asian | Kashmiri | 8,224 |
| White | Romanian | 7,364 |
| White | European Mixed | 7,138 |
| Black | Nigerian | 5,764 |
| Asian | Afghan | 5,293 |
| Other | Sikh | 4,842 |
Country of birth
National identity
Birmingham, England, has a population of over 1 million people. Most people living there say they are only "British," with many also saying they are "English." Some people also say they have identities from places outside the United Kingdom.
Languages
Birmingham is a place where people speak many different languages. The most common languages were found in a study from 2011.
In the same year, Polish became a very popular language in the West Midlands area, where Birmingham is the largest city.
| Rank | Language | Usual residents aged 3+ | Proportion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | 866,833 | 84.70% |
| 2 | Urdu | 29,403 | 2.87% |
| 3 | Punjabi | 21,166 | 2.07% |
| 4 | Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya) | 14,718 | 1.44% |
| 5 | Pakistani Pahari (with Mirpuri and Potwari) | 10,827 | 1.06% |
| 6 | Polish | 8,952 | 0.87% |
| 7 | Somali | 8,139 | 0.80% |
| 8 | Arabic | 6,921 | 0.68% |
| 9 | Pashto | 6,123 | 0.60% |
| 10 | Gujarati | 4,871 | 0.48% |
| 11 | Persian | 3,031 | 0.30% |
| 12 | French | 2,558 | 0.25% |
| 13 | Hindi | 1,540 | 0.15% |
| 14 | Romanian | 1,233 | 0.12% |
| 15 | Cantonese Chinese | 1,198 | 0.12% |
| 16 | Tagalog/Filipino | 1,186 | 0.12% |
| 17 | Portuguese | 1,127 | 0.11% |
| 18 | Tigrinya | 1,074 | 0.10% |
| 19 | German | 1,009 | 0.10% |
| 20 | Tamil | 999 | 0.10% |
| Other | 30,478 | 2.98% |
Religion
Main article: Religion in Birmingham
Birmingham has many different religions. In 2001, most people were Christian. Islam was the second most common religion. Some people had no religion, and others did not share what they believed.
Birmingham has more Muslims than many other places in England. People from many backgrounds practice different religions. For example, most Indian people in Birmingham are Sikh or Hindu, and many Bangladeshi and Pakistani people are Muslim. The city also has smaller groups of Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Sikhs.
| Religion | 1980s estimations | 1990s estimations | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2021 census | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Christian | – | – | – | – | 577,783 | 59.13% | 494,358 | 46.07% | 389,406 | 34.0% |
| Muslim | – | – | 80,461 (1991) to 100,000 | 8% to 9.9% | 140,033 | 14.33% | 234,411 | 21.85% | 341,811 | 29.9% |
| Sikh | – | – | – | – | 28,592 | 2.93% | 32,376 | 3.02% | 33,126 | 2.9% |
| Hindu | – | – | – | – | 19,358 | 1.98% | 22,362 | 2.08% | 21,997 | 1.9% |
| Buddhist | – | – | – | – | 2,977 | 0.30% | 4,780 | 0.45% | 4,340 | 0.4% |
| Jewish | 5,000 (1985) | – | 4,000 (1995) | – | 2,343 | 0.24% | 2,205 | 0.21% | 1,687 | 0.1% |
| Other religion | – | – | – | – | 2,501 | 0.26% | 5,646 | 0.53% | 6,367 | 0.6% |
| No religion | – | – | – | – | 121,541 | 12.44% | 206,821 | 19.27% | 276,327 | 24.1% |
| Religion not stated | – | – | – | – | 81,959 | 8.39% | 70,086 | 6.53% | 69,856 | 6.1% |
| Total | – | – | 1,005,764 | 100% | 977,087 | 100.00% | 1,073,045 | 100.00% | 1,144,917 | 100.00% |
Sexual orientation
In the 2021 census, people in Birmingham, England, were asked about their sexual orientation. Most said they were straight or heterosexual. Smaller groups said they were gay or lesbian, bisexual, or another orientation. Some people did not answer this question. This information helps us learn about the different kinds of people who live in Birmingham.
Income and industry
Most people in Birmingham work in service jobs. In the past, many jobs were in manufacturing, but this changed a lot since the middle of the 1900s.
Health
In Birmingham, many people said their health was not good in the 2021 census.
Many people in Birmingham have obesity. About 29% of adults are obese, which is higher than the average in Europe. Also, around a quarter of children aged 11 and 12 in the city are obese.
Education
Birmingham has a good education system. It offers many chances for children and young people to learn and grow. Schools in the city have different programs to help students with their studies.
Housing
This section shows what kinds of homes people live in across Birmingham, based on information from 2021.
Birmingham has 423,456 homes in total. Most of these homes, about 226,657, are owned by the people living in them. Some are fully paid for, while others are still being paid for. Around 196,799 homes are rented, with some being rented from social housing groups and others from private landlords.
Looking at how families live together, there are 133,225 homes with just one person, 243,037 homes with a single family, and 47,195 homes that are other types of arrangements.
| Accommodation type | Population |
|---|---|
| Whole house or bungalow | 927,835 |
| Whole house or bungalow: Detached | 141,217 |
| Whole house or bungalow: Semi-detached | 436,846 |
| Whole house or bungalow: Terraced | 349,772 |
| Flat, maisonette or apartment | 189,335 |
| A caravan or other mobile or temporary structure | 677 |
| Tenure | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Number | Number | Number | |||||
| Owned | 224,804 | 232,771 | 230,556 | 226,657 | ||||
| Owned: outright | 83,277 | 106,437 | 110,356 | 118,611 | ||||
| Owned: with a mortgage or loan | 141,527 | 129,772 | 120,200 | 108,046 | ||||
| Privately renting | 29,495 | 46,154 | 73,405 | 95,719 | ||||
| Lives rent free | 7,183 | 1,580 | ||||||
| Social renting | 119,738 | 108,429 | 99,592 | 99,499 | ||||
| Total | 374,037 | 390,792 | 410,736 | 423,455 | ||||
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