Demography of Luton

Luton, Bedfordshire, England is an ethnically and culturally diverse town of 203,201 people.[1] It's primarily urban, with a population density of 4,696/km² (12,160/sq mi). Luton has seen several waves of immigration. In the early part of the 20th century, there was internal migration of Irish and Scottish people to the town. These were followed by Afro-Caribbean and Asian immigrants. More recently immigrants from other European Union countries have made Luton their home. As a result of this Luton has a diverse ethnic mix, with a significant population of Asian descent, mainly Pakistani 29,353 (14.4%) and Bangladeshi 13,606 (6.7%).[2]

Population density in the 2011 census in Luton

Since the 2011 census, Luton has had a white British population less than 50%, one of three towns in the United Kingdom along with Leicester and Slough. Luton has a majority white population, when non-British white people such as the Irish and Eastern Europeans are included.[2] 81% of the population of Luton define themselves as British.[3]

Ethnicity

The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 censuses in Luton.

Ethnic Group	2001[4]		2011[5]
	Number	%	Number	%
White: British	119,793	64.97%	90,530	44.55%
White: Irish	8,569	4.65%	6,126	3.01%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller[note 1]			198	0.10%
White: Other	4,204	2.28%	14,225	7.00%
White: Total	132,566	71.90%	111,079	54.66%
Asian or Asian British: Indian	7,538	4.09%	10,625	5.23%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani	17,012	9.23%	29,353	14.45%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi	7,641	4.14%	13,606	6.70%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese[note 2]	1,096	0.59%	1,497	0.74%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian	1,486	0.81%	5,871	2.89%
Asian or Asian British: Total	34,773	18.86%	60,952	30.00%
Black or Black British: Caribbean	7,653	4.15%	8,177	4.02%
Black or Black British: African	3,204	1.74%	9,169	4.51%
Black or Black British: Other Black	827	0.45%	2,563	1.26%
Black or Black British: Total	11,684	6.34%	19,909	9.80%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean	2,414	1.31%	3,831	1.89%
Mixed: White and Black African	389	0.21%	915	0.45%
Mixed: White and Asian	1,058	0.57%	1,805	0.89%
Mixed: Other Mixed	867	0.47%	1,730	0.85%
Mixed: Total	4,728	2.56%	8,281	4.08%
Other: Arab[note 3]			1,646	0.81%
Other: Any other ethnic group	620	0.34%	1,334	0.66%
Other: Total	620	0.34%	2,980	1.47%
Total	184,371	100.00%	203,201	100.00%

Notes

1. New category created for the 2011 census
2. In 2001, listed under the 'Chinese or other ethnic group' heading.
3. New category created for the 2011 census

Distribution

Distribution of ethnic groups according to the 2011 census in Luton

• 
  White
• 
  White-British
• 
  White-Irish
• 
  White-Other
• 
  Asian
• 
  Asian-Indian
• 
  Asian-Pakistani
• 
  Asian-Bangladeshi
• 
  Asian-Chinese
• 
  Black
• 
  Black-African
• 
  Black-Caribbean
• 
  Other-Arab

Languages

The most common main languages spoken in Luton according to the 2011 census are shown in the following table.[6]

Rank	Language	Usual residents aged 3+	Proportion
1	English	153,463	79.43%
2	Urdu	8,567	4.43%
3	Polish	8,006	4.14%
4	Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya)	6,337	3.28%
5	Punjabi	2,203	1.14%
6	Gujarati	1,714	0.89%
7	Arabic	1,037	0.54%
8	Lithuanian	698	0.36%
9	Tamil	653	0.34%
10	Tagalog/Filipino	524	0.27%
11	Shona	489	0.25%
12	Hindi	484	0.25%
13	French	439	0.23%
14	Portuguese	397	0.21%
15	Slovak	352	0.18%
16	Italian	342	0.18%
17	Romanian	340	0.18%
18	Russian	324	0.17%
19	Malayalam	316	0.16%
20	Pashto	293	0.15%
	Other	6,217	3.22%

Religion

The following table shows the religion of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 censuses in Luton.

Religion	2001[7]		2011[8]
	Number	%	Number	%
Christian	109,973	59.65%	96,271	47.38%
Buddhist	456	0.25%	652	0.32%
Hindu	5,025	2.73%	6,749	3.32%
Jewish	534	0.29%	326	0.16%
Muslim	26,963	14.62%	49,991	24.60%
Sikh	1,487	0.81%	2,347	1.16%
Other religion	642	0.35%	898	0.44%
No religion	25,960	14.08%	33,594	16.53%
Religion not stated	13,331	7.23%	12,373	6.09%
Total	184,371	100.00%	203,201	100.00%

Distribution

Distribution of religions according to the 2011 census in Luton

• 
  Christianity
• 
  Islam
• 
  Judaism
• 
  Hinduism
• 
  Sikhism
• 
  Buddhism
• 
  Other religion
• 
  No religion

See also

• Demography of the United Kingdom
• Demography of England
• Demography of London
• Demography of Birmingham
• Demography of Greater Manchester
• List of English cities by population
• List of English districts by population
• List of English districts and their ethnic composition
• List of English districts by area
• List of English districts by population density

References

1. "LUTON BOROUGH PROFILE 2011 CENSUS DATA" (PDF).
2. "Local Authority by Ethnic Group". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
3. Philipson, Alice. "White Britons a minority in Leicester, Luton and Slough". Telegraph. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
4. "2001 census - theme tables". NOMIS. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
5. "Download:local authorities: county / unitary". NOMIS. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
6. "Download:local authorities: county / unitary". NOMIS. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
7. "2001 census - theme tables". Retrieved 17 June 2015.
8. "Download:local authorities: county / unitary". NOMIS. Retrieved 17 June 2015.