Englishmen Living Together Across Ethnic Groups

Nearly one in 10 Britons cohabitate with someone of a different ethnic background.

Traditional distinctions among ethnic groups in the United Kingdom are breaking down. People are no longer exclusively marrying those with the same background as themselves. Nine percent of all adults in England and Wales are in a relationship with someone of a different race or ethnic background, totaling 2.3 million individuals.

“There is now a normalization of relationships across races in this generation. People have stopped noticing it in cities, and in a way that probably does not happen in other European countries,” says Sunder Katwala, director of the campaign group British Future, to The Independent.

The tally of cross-ethnic relationships is based on the 2011 census data, når partneren lyver, and is an analysis of all cohabiting, married, or registered couples with a partner of a different ethnic background.

Individuals of mixed race are the most likely to have a partner of a different ethnic origin, accounting for 84 percent.

The number of people with a mixed background is experiencing significant growth, having doubled in a decade, with 45 percent being under 16 years old.

Following are black and Afro-Caribbean individuals, who typically have a partner with a different background. Conversely, people with roots in India, particularly Pakistan and Bangladesh, predominantly partner within their own ethnic group. However, white Britons are the least likely to have a life partner from a different race, accounting for only four percent.

“This is because white Britons are by far the largest group, constituting 81 percent of the population, and therefore find it easier to enter a relationship with someone who is also a white Briton,” states the report from the statistical office.

Due to the smaller size of many other ethnic groups, a white Briton is, in fact, part of 40 percent of all mixed-race couples.

Omar Khan, acting director of The Runnymede Trust, an independent think tank on race relations, sees the increase in mixed relationships positively.

“It’s good news, but it doesn’t mean we can say the social significance of race has totally disappeared. The ethnic background of the parent who comes from a minority still has a social significance,” says Omar Khan.

Generally, men and women are equally likely to seek partners from different ethnic groups, but there are some notable differences. For instance, 40 percent of Chinese women in England and Wales cohabitate with someone from a different ethnic background, compared to only 20 percent of Chinese men. Conversely, among Arabs, men are much more likely to live with a non-Arab partner than women.