4 June 2001

These figures have been pulled together from a variety of sources such as the Labour Force Survey, the Runnymede Trust and various books on race issues. They are approximate figures and the year the survey was made is indicated in brackets.

Number of Chinese in Britain (Census 1991):
160,000 Percentage of total population:
0.3 Percentage of minority population:
5.2 Number of persons per household (LFS 1987):
3.5 Percentage of Chinese population under 10: 20

Country of Origin of the Chinese in the UK (Cheng 1994)
China: 10%
Hong Kong: 35%
UK: 25%
Vietnam: 10%
Others: 20%

Distribution of Chinese population across regions (Cheng 1994)
North: 5%
Yorkshire: 5%
East Anglia: 2%
East Midlands: 5%
Southeast: 56%
Southwest: 4%
West Midlands: 4%
Northwest: 12%
Wales: 3%
Scotland: 4%

The following statistics from 1984 and 1988 roughly indicate the number of Chinese people in each borough or county. An asterisk indicates that the Chinese vote in that county is large enough to significantly swing the vote due to a closely run previous election. Figure in bracket shows the majority margin:

Westminster*: 3,600 (4,800)
Hampshire: 3,500
Barnet*: 3,200 (1,000)
Ealing: 3,000
Brent: 3,000
Camden: 2,900
Essex: 2,600
Manchester 2,500
Birmingham 2,500
Kent*: 2,600 (4,000)
Surrey: 2,300
Kensington and Chelsea: 2,200
Harringey: 2,200
Wandsworth: 2,100
Glasgow: 2,100
Liverpool 2,000
Edinburgh: 1,500
Cardiff: 1,100