The challenges of measuring the ethno-cultural diversity of Britain in the new millennium

During the next 50 years the ethnic diversity of Britain will increase in response to growing intermarriage, differential rates of natural increase, and continuing migration flows, especially of refugees. While religion is assuming a greater importance in the social identities of some minority ethnic groups, in others it is being displaced by an ethnic focus. In the upcoming decades the increasing sovereignty that people attach to self-identifiers and the demand for finer distinctions to accommodate hybridisation and generational changes will present substantial challenges to statistical agencies. New conceptual approaches are needed to capture this diversity and give service providers the robust data required to promote equal opportunities.