ABSTRACT
The growth of Britain's black population is essentially a post-war phenomenon: in 1951 0.2 million of people living in Britain were born in the New Commonwealth; this figure had increased to 1.3 million in 1981. The 1981 census, like those before it, included no question on ethnic origin, as opposed to place of birth: the 1981 estimate for the total British population of New Commonwealth ethnic origin (including Pakistan: hereinafter NCWP) whether born here or not was 2.2 million. A 1988 estimate is 2.4 million, or 4.5 per cent of the general population (CRE, 1988e). The largest ethnic minority groups within this number are those of Indian origin (750,000), of Caribbean origin (550,000) and of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin (500,000) (CRE, 1988e: 13).
