It has recently been revealed that Birmingham and Leicester have become the first “super-diverse” cities in the UK. According to the 2021 census published on the 29th November, 51% of Birmingham’s population are from minority ethnic backgrounds, whilst 59% of people in Leicester are people of colour. This is a significantly higher percentage than the average across England and Wales, where 18% of the population are BAME (black, Asian or minority ethnic).

Councillor John Cotton (Labour Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities at Birmingham City Council) welcomed the news in his public statement following the release of the Census data. He said that although the data has long been forecast by academics’, the release of the 2021 Census data was ‘crucial’ because ‘it helps to inform central Government in allocating resources’. He expressed his desire for ‘every citizen to prosper and thrive’ and stressed his commitment to ensure that everyone ‘benefits from [Birmingham’s] growth and success’.

Cotton also highlighted the ‘long history’ Birmingham has ‘of welcoming people from around the world’, like when people from the Caribbean arrived in the Windrush era and, more recently, refugees fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine. Outside of London, Birmingham has been widely regarded as the United Kingdom’s most diverse city. Birmingham’s welcoming history has created an unique city, with an unprecedented number of cultures, identities, languages, and faiths. A social policy study from the University of Birmingham’s social science college confirms this, with research finding that there are 187 distinct nationalities in Birmingham (with 25% being new or old Commonwealth).

The University of Birmingham is actually one of the leading institutions framing the study of superdiversity, with The Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) working to promote the research. IRiS is the first institute in the UK and one of the first globally to focus on superdiversity. The institute celebrates superdiversity and seeks ‘to promote constructive discourse’ surrounding superdiversity, as it ‘is here to stay’.

Read more News articles here:

Dad’s Cosy Coat Project Proves to be a Massive Success

Young Conservative Faces Backlash After Calling Birmingham a ‘Dump’

UK Universities to be Fined Over Student Dropout and Graduate Employment Rates