To be staggered that >95% of the population of Wales is White?

[ColeHawlings]

Or, I should say, that it was at the time of the 2011 census (almost 94% White British and Irish combined).

I had absolutely no idea that it was so high.

I vaguely thought that, like Liverpool, parts of Wales had been at the vanguard of multiculturalism, for seafaring reasons.

Am I just thinking too much of Cardiff?

97% Northumberland where I am from are white and where I am now my London borough is 63% black and ethnic minority and a very large Jewish population too. Big contrast but back home and here everyone lives well together - people are just people at the end of the day.

We have people up by Hadrian's wall by the way who look white but have the genes of black Roman slaves who were up there a very long time ago.

Aren't 95% of the Welsh population sheep? Which are white?

putting

Would you want to be the only black person in a university full of white people? Or vice versa? The only woman in a place full of men?

Yes - people do it - but you stick out. Some people don't want to stick out.

Gasoline I just wondered if I was alone in finding this surprising.

desire to comment with surprise (and not always positively) on the whiteness of their fellow man

I know imagine someone in some remote part of Thailand wow...we all seem to be Thai? exclaiming this surprise or in the Congo..

Why surprised? Outside the cities there is little work to attract people from overseas and a lot of the jobs in tourism or agriculture are likely to be local. Where I live in a North Shropshire town, I know of one black family, one Chinese family and quie a few Polish families but that is all. I work in a local secondary school which is also a state boarding school and there are a few non white children but they are almost all boarders.

Yes! It doesn't bother me Orlando because I don't see myself as different to people because of skin colour nor sex! After initial misgivings most people realise the same.

I don't find it particularly surprising in rural areas thegrey, or on a county by county basis. It was just the whole-of-Wales figure that took me aback slightly.

I was wondering if it was a bit stupid of me to be surprised, I suppose.

Possibly it is

It doesn't surprise me at all. Outside of major population centres, it is quite normal to see very few non-white faces. When surveyed people often over-estimate the number of non-white people living in the UK as a whole.

Even quite close to I grew up in an ex-mining town about 15 miles outside Birmingham. The contrast between the ethnic makeup between my home town and the city centre was astonishing. There were two black kids and the only Indian and Chinese kids were the children of the owners of local takeaways.

It's probably also a self fulfilling prophecy. People who aren't used to people from more diverse backgrounds may have racist / homophobic tendencies as they pick up what they see and read in the media etc. If you don't know anyone from such backgrounds, it's easier to other such groups.

If you are the only one from such a background, you would be more likely to experience prejudice compared to if you were one of many. Safety in numbers and all that.

But if there was more of a diverse community, attitudes might change towards people who are "not you". It's like Islam. Islam is concentrated in certain areas of the UK and I bet the vast majority of people don't even know any Muslims so they pick up their views from what they read. Once you know some Muslims and socialise with them, you'll see how the reality is different from perceptions.

I have had two memorable conversations about ethnic diversity in Wales.

1. Explaining to a Brixton lady that none of the hairdressers in North Pembrokeshire would be experienced at braiding and cornrowing black hair. So she had best get her hair done before going on holiday.
2. A student trainee came to London from Dolgellau and she had been educated entirely in Welsh speaking schools, so she had never socialised with anyone who wasn't Welsh. London was one hell of a culture shock. There was not one ethnically diverse person in her entire educational experience.

It is natural to want to live in places where you will be accepted. If you don't see anyone like you living in an area, you are less likely to want to take the risk of living there.

Could I point out to the people who are making comments like 'Isn't that like being surprised that 95% of the population of India is Indian?' that the OP specified ethnicity, not nationality? Some comments on this thread, worryingly, seem to be equating 'ethnic minority' with 'not British'.

OP are you doing DD101?

Exactly - you can still be British / English / Welsh and be .....not white.

You can even be white and not be British.

What's DD101 nokids?

We live in the South West of England. My DC go to a school of 500 children of which only 2 are non white and they both have one white parent.
The town I live in is probably 98% White British. It's a seaside town and even in summer with all the tourists visiting you don't see many more non white people.

it an OU module.

One of the essays is about the nationalities of English and Welsh national parks based on the 2011 census!

Both non white children are British.

Good point Lady and possibly explains why the 'indians' comment was so confusing

This is the UK breakdown of ethnicity

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/interactive/census-map-2-1---ethnicity/index.html

Put in a postcode

I work in two schools in newport where it's unusual to see a white child in the class, similarly in Cardiff there are very concentrated areas of ethnic minority families. However Wales is very rural so I can see that being a reason for the figure. I chose my daughters secondary partly for that reason, it has a very diverse population, not always represented elsewhere in more rural cities and towns.

I am sure you are op seeing as the media would have us believe we're being over run by the brown people and immergarnts

The UK BME population is only 12 % of the UK as a whole so step outside on london ,Manchester ,luton,birmingham you will hardly see a black face

One of the reasons when we were looking to buy we felt we had no choice to but move to close to london as so to have the diversity

I'm not at all surprised. I come from a large-ish town amd diversity is shockingly low. Attitude to ethnic minorities are equally as shocking.

I left a long time ago.

I'm not sure why this is, I guess because the economy where I grew up isn't particularly booming so why would anyone be drawn there.

Oh no nokids - I'm moving to Wales.

I was browsing Wales trivia and stats.