Waltham Forest has changed in ethnic composition since 1991, even though the population total has grown by only a small amount. The white population group in Waltham Forest has fallen by 17,000 over the decade since Census 1991, when this group was 74.4% of the population. Census 2001 shows this proportion is now 64.5%, a total of 140,803 people in all the white groups including the Irish, people from the European Union and elsewhere.
The proportion of the population belonging to an ethnic minority group has risen from 25.6% in the Census 1991 to 35.5% of the resident population in 2001.The black Caribbean group is still the largest ethnic minority group in Waltham Forest. The population was 14,410 in 1991, rising to 17,797 in Census 2001, a growth of 24%. Black Caribbean people are 8.2% of the total population.
The 2nd largest ethnic minority group in Waltham Forest is the Pakistani population. This population has grown from 13,310 in 1991 to 17,295 in 2001, a growth of 30%. The Pakistani population in Waltham Forest is 7.9% of the total, the second highest percentage in Greater London after Newham with 8.5%.
The black African group is the next largest in Waltham Forest, with 12,630 people in 2001, 5.7% of the total population.
Many other ethnic groups are also represented in the Borough.
Religion
This is the first time that a question on religion has been asked in the Census. This question was voluntary with a response rate of 91% so no comparison with previous years is possible.
People in Waltham Forest stated their religion to be:
- Christian 56.8%
- Muslim 15.1%
- Hindu 1.8%.
- Jewish 0.7%
- Sikh 0.6%
- Buddhist 0.4%
- Other 0.4%
- No religion 15.4%
- Not stated 9%
Waltham Forest has the 3rd largest Muslim community in London. With 32,902 people it is less than Tower Hamlets (71,389) and Newham (59,293) Muslim populations. There are around 607,000 Muslims in London
Statistics
Census 2001 Theme table on ethnic group
Census 2001 Ethnic groups by age
For further detailed statistics about Waltham Forest and other small area statistics please see Waltham Forest Stats.
