A new study has revealed that the West Midlands migrant population has risen by 60 per cent in the last decade.
Oxford University’s Migration Observatory has released data showing the region has the third largest proportion of foreign-born residents in England – at 11.3 per cent – after London and the South East.
Of those who weren’t born in the UK, the largest group in the West Midlands is those from India, at 99,717 residents, followed by those born in Pakistan, Poland, Ireland and Jamaica.
About 93 per cent of the population of the West Midlands spoke English as their main language.
Of the 7.2 per cent (386,134) that did not, 72 per cent could speak English well or very well, and five per cent (19,375) did not speak any English at all.
Among those for whom English was not the main language, the most commonly spoken main language was Panjabi (17 per cent), followed by Polish (13 per cent) and Urdu (13 per cent).
A spokesman for BRAP, formerly Birmingham Race Action Partnership, a body dedicated to equality, stressed the city has always been a cultural melting pot.
“The first synagogue was built in the Middle Ages and he said Birmingham is a model for different cultures and creeds living tooth by jowl. The recent EDL protest showed a great unity across the city.
“Yes, there are community tensions, it would be disingenuous to say otherwise. But those tensions are not about a clash of cultures, they’re about deprivation and poverty. If we are not careful, those young people will become disaffected and angry.”
Dr Carlos Vargas-Silva, the Senior Researcher leading the project at the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, said: “The West Midlands has seen substantial change over the last ten years, with significant increases in the migrant population of many areas – particularly Birmingham, where the increase is second only to London in numerical terms.
“But there is enormous variation around the West Midlands region – many districts, such as Staffordshire Moorlands, have a fewer than one resident in 20 who was born abroad.
“The area has seen an increase in the migrant population of 57.8 per cent, which is substantially lower than the national average of 61.6 per cent, but this percentage measure masks the region’s established role in the UK as a migrant receiving area.
“Overall the West Midlands’ foreign-born population is now the fourth largest of England and Wales’ 10 regions after London, the South East and the East – in 2001 it occupied third place in this ranking.
“However, it still has the third largest proportion of non-UK born residents within the population.”
In 2011, the total resident population of the West Midlands stood at 5,601,847. Close to 11.3 per cent of those residents (629,973) were born outside of the UK.
