Summary of results
Brighton & Hove is continuing in becoming a more ethnically diverse city. While the overall number of residents has only increased by 1% between the last census the number of Black and Racially Minoritised residents has increased by 35% or 18,921 people.
More than a quarter of residents (26%, 72,272 people) are Black and Racially Minoritised under the definition used by Brighton and Hove City Council, which is, all ethnic groups apart from White British.
The proportion of Black and Racially Minoritised residents is Brighton and Hove (26%) is significantly higher than seen in the South East (21%) but similar to what is seen in England (26%).
More than a quarter (27%, 21,775 households) of multi person households in the city are multi ethnic households. This is significantly higher than in the South East (16%) and England (15%) and the highest in England outside of London
Ethnicity in Brighton & Hove
| Ethincity | 2021 Census, Brighton & Hove (n) | 2021 Census, Brighton & Hove: Percentage of Black & Racially Minoritised | 2021 Census, Brighton & Hove: Percentage of total population | 2021 Census, South East: Percentage of total population | 2021 Census, England: Percentage of total population | 2011 Census, Brighton & Hove (n) | 2011 Census, Brighton & Hove (%) | Change Brighton & Hove (n) | Change Brighton & Hove (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White: | 236,571 | na | 85.4% | 86.3% | 81.0% | 243,512 | 89.1% | -6,941 | -3% |
| - UK or British | 204,831 | na | 73.9% | 78.8% | 73.5% | 220,018 | 80.5% | -15,187 | -7% |
| - Irish | 3,944 | 5.5% | 1.4% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 3,772 | 1.4% | 172 | 5% |
| - Gypsy/Irish Traveller | 197 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 198 | 0.1% | -1 | -1% |
| - Roma | 787 | 1.1% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% | na | na | na | na |
| - Other White | 26,812 | 37.1% | 9.7% | 6.3% | 6.3% | 19,524 | 7.1% | 7,288 | 37% |
| Asian, Asian British: | 13,217 | 18.3% | 4.8% | 7.0% | 9.6% | 11,278 | 4.1% | 1,939 | 17% |
| Black, Black British | 5,458 | 7.6% | 2.0% | 2.4% | 4.2% | 4,188 | 1.5% | 1,270 | 30% |
| Mixed or Multiple ethnic: | 13,228 | 18.3% | 4.8% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 10,408 | 3.8% | 2,820 | 27% |
| Arab | 3,049 | 4.2% | 1.1% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 2,184 | 0.8% | 865 | 40% |
| Any other ethnic group | 5,580 | 7.7% | 2.0% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 1,799 | 0.7% | 3,781 | 210% |
| Black and Racially Minoritised (non white UK/British) | 72,272 | 100.0% | 26.1% | 21.2% | 26.5% | 53,351 | 19.5% | 18,921 | 35% |
According to the 2021 Census:
- Arab residents have increased the most since the last Census, increasing by 40% (865 people) to 3,049 residents.
- Other White remains the largest Black and Racially Minoritised group in the city with 26,812 residents. Making up more than a third of Black and Racially Minoritised residents (37%) and one in ten of all residents (10%).
- nearly a fifth of Black and Racially Minoritised residents (18%) and one in twenty of all residents (5%, 13,228 people) are of mixed ethnicity. Residents of mixed ethnicity have increased by more than a quarter (27%, 2,820 people).
- nearly a fifth of all Black and Racially Minoritised resident (18%) and one in twenty of all residents (5%, 13,217 people) are Asian or Asian British. Asian or Asian British residents have increased by 17% (1,939 people) since the last Census.
- Black or Black British residents have increased by nearly a third (30%, 1,370 people). Black or Black British residents make up nearly one in ten (8%) of all Black and Racially Minoritised residents.
Information from Census 2021, including different geographical levels, maps and 2011 census data is available at:
Ethnicity by household and distribution
Households in Brighton & Hove are among the most ethnically diverse in the country. There are 79,301 multi person households in the city. More than a quarter (27%, 21,775 households) are multi ethnic households. This is significantly higher than in the South East (16%) and England (15%) and the highest in England outside of London.
Distribution across Brighton & Hove
The distribution of Black and Racially Minoritised residents is not even across the city. Two neighbourhoods, one near Brighton Station and one around Tarner and Albion Hill, have over 50% Black and Racially Minoritised residents. Meanwhile, two neighbourhoods in North Portslade have less than 10% Black and Racially Minoritised residents.
Black and Racially Minoritised residents are concentrated in central and coastal areas of the city particularly in areas west of the Old Steine, westwards towards Hove along Western Road.
A person's first or preferred language
English is not the first or preferred language for nearly one in ten Brighton & Hove residents (24,579 residents, 9%) This is significantly higher than seen in the South East (7%) but similar to England (9%).
| Language spoken | Brighton and Hove (n) | Brighton and Hove (%) | South East (%) | England (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | 245,614 | 90.9% | 92.8% | 90.8% |
| Arabic | 2,620 | 1.0% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Spanish | 2,507 | 0.9% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| Italian | 2,221 | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Polish | 1,663 | 0.6% | 1.0% | 1.1% |
| Portuguese | 1,418 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| French | 1,179 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Hungarian | 989 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Greek | 865 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Romanian | 827 | 0.3% | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| German | 585 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Other EU language | 2,162 | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Other European language: Including Russian | 1,119 | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Turkish | 679 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| West or Central Asian language | 1,161 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| - Persian or Farsi | 688 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| - Any other West or Central Asian language | 473 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| South Asian language | 1,621 | 0.6% | 1.8% | 2.5% |
| - Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya) | 612 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| - Any other South Asian language | 1,009 | 0.4% | 1.7% | 2.1% |
| East Asian language | 2,376 | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| - All Chinese languages: Including Mandarin and Cantonese | 1,441 | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| - Any other East Asian language | 935 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| African language | 373 | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| Sign language | 145 | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Only languages with a published number of speaker of over 500 is included in this table.