Figures published by the Office for National Statistics have shown that between 2001 and 2009 the population of England and Wales increased by 2.45 million to 54.8 million

However, the numbers of white British people actually fell by 36,000 in that period, while the group of people the ONS classifies as non-white British, increased from 6.64 million to 9.13 million. This group includes the Chinese, black Africans, Pakistanis and black Caribbeans. The proportion of the population in England and Wales that is from an ethnic minority group has increased from 13% in 2001 to 17% in 2009. The fastest growing ethnic minority group, in percentage terms, was the Chinese, which jumped from 233,000 to 451,000 over the period. Nearly all areas outside of London saw a dramatic change in ethnic mix. The south east, for instance, went from being composed of 8.8% ethnic minorities to 14.3% during the period.