Wiltshire’s diverse
communities
Results from the Census 2011
Maggie Rae, Corporate Director
Wiltshire Council
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Report prepared by:
Phil Morgan (Research Manager and Census Liaison Lead) and
Jackie Guinness (Senior Researcher)
Telephone: 01225 713186
Email: [email protected]
www.intelligencenetwork.org.uk
1.
INTRODUCTION

This report looks at Wiltshire’s increasingly diverse communities as highlighted by the
Census in 2011. It looks at not only broad ethnic classifications, but also at self recorded
country of origin.

Ethnicity is essentially self-defined and may change over time. Classification of ethnicity
is essentially, therefore, pragmatic, based on categories that include common selfdescriptions which are acceptable to respondents and seeks to identify variations that
are important for research or policy. There is increasing recognition that people may
want to identify themselves with more than one ethnic group, and the "mixed" category
introduced in the UK 2001 Census was an attempt to do this.

While ethnicity does in many instances link closely to country of origin it does not always
follow. This is particularly found in the number of those who are born in Germany but
who do not record themselves as having German ethnicity.

The standard classification of ethnic groups in the UK is that used in the 2011 Census
which can be compared with the previous census in 2001. However, the 2011 census
has introduced a small number of variations.

For the first time the 2011 census also introduced two new questions regarding the type
of passports held and the age of arrival in the UK – both designed to help understand
population flows better. The question relating to the number of passports held is however
of limited value at a County level and is not analysed in this report. The age of arrival is
also of limited value.
2.
ACCURACY

It has been claimed that the 2011 Census has been the most accurate census ever
undertaken. Wiltshire recorded one of the highest return rates. Coverage among our
more hard to reach groups was carefully built into our local planning. To date we do not
believe that the accuracy and completeness of returns given by our minority ethnic
population is a cause for concern – there are some issues around our European
countries of origin but we are confident that the counts shown in the census are the most
accurate to date.

Please note that in 2009 the Office for National Statistics undertook a number of
experimental statistical exercises to estimate the ethnic populations across England and
Wales which we have previously used in good faith. The 2011 Census allows us to
compare the actual counts with estimated counts, therefore, because there are
1 | P a g e significant variations (some quite large particularly around the size of our Indian
population), we recommend that any previous reports be ignored.1
3.
KEY POINTS

The majority of the usual resident population in Wiltshire, 439,725 people (93.4%)
reported their ethnic group as White; English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British (this is
considerably higher than the England and Wales figure of 80.5%). Any Other White was
the second highest group with 12,108 people (2.57%).

Any Other Asian was the next largest ethnic group with 2,611 people (0.55%) followed
by Irish (2,381, 0.51%). The latter two statistics are not consistent with the England &
Wales figures which feature Indian and Pakistani as the third and fourth largest ethnic
groups.

Comparing Census data from 2001 and 2011 shows how much more ethnically diverse
Wiltshire has become. The White UK population now represents 93.4% of the total
population whilst in 2001 this figure was higher at 96.2%.

The nature of Wiltshire’s minority ethnic population is changing from a largely Asian or
Asian British grouping to an Eastern European grouping where Polish migrants feature
prominently2

In recent years anecdotal evidence has suggested that people arriving in the UK from
EU accession countries (e.g. Poland) have been practicing ‘turnstile’ immigration3,
however, the Census recorded only 532 Wiltshire residents as Short Term Migrants4
(STU). Whether many of the EU migrants had already returned to their own countries at
the time the Census was taken or whether migrants arrive intending to stay on a long
term basis but then return for one reason or another is difficult to ascertain.

The number of those classifying themselves as from a “mixed” background increased
from 2,845 (0.7%) in 2001 to 5,568 residents in 2011 (1.2%5)

There were substantial numbers of discrete ethnic groups associated with Wiltshire’s
special geography. These were –
1
In 2009 the ONS experimental statistical estimate of the number of Indian residents in Wiltshire was
put at 4,200 and Pakistani residents as 1700. Both these have been found to be wildly inflated.
2
The largest self recorded country of origin outside the UK is in fact Germany but it is felt that these
are mainly British military dependents and children born while on duty in Germany.
3
To come to the UK on a temporary or seasonal basis and to regularly visit home living in Britain
4
Intending to stay only between 3 and 12 months
5
By “mixed” we mean White/ Black Caribbean, White/Black African, White/Asian and other mixed groups 2 | P a g e  803 Filipinos
 908 Nepalese
 569 Polynesian
 757 Gypsy/traveller6

The Black African population grew relatively significantly in size since the 2001 Census
mainly due to the military presence; from 290 to 1418.

The military areas of Tidworth and Amesbury and the large urban settlements of
Trowbridge, Chippenham and Salisbury were the most diverse. The presence of both
the military and EU Accession countries heavily influenced the ethnic make-up of these
community areas.

Some traditional communities were still dominant in some areas especially those from
North Africa. The Moroccan population, while relatively small in absolute numbers, were
mainly found in just a few community areas with the largest concentration in Trowbridge
community area. This has remained largely the same since 2001.

The Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities tended to feature in all our largest
urban settlements. In Wiltshire the largest by far of these three groups was the Indian
population with 1,547.

Around 11,700 people (aged 3 and over) living in Wiltshire did not speak English as their
main language. About 2,000 either could not speak English well or could not speak it at
all. Amongst the main languages spoken (aside from English) were Polish, Nepalese and
German. These were the top three main languages.

In terms of national identity, there were significantly higher numbers of people from
certain countries who recorded their country of birth very differently to their national
identity e.g. North Africa, Kenya, South Africans, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, India recorded
these countries as the place they were born but not as their national identity. There
tended to be less of a ‘discrepancy’ for those born in EU countries especially those who
acceded between 2001 and 2011. This is no doubt linked to their arrival time in the UK
which is probably more recent than some of the aforementioned countries.
6
2011 was the first time Gypsy/traveller appeared as a separate option on the census form so that meaningful comparisons with 2001 may not be possible, figures suggest that previously this group largely self recorded as “Irish” 3 | P a g e 4.
PROFILE OF ETHNICITY IN WILTSHIRE
Ethnic groups

The majority of the usual resident population in Wiltshire, 439,725 people (93.4% of the
population reported their ethnic group as White; English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern
Irish/British in the 2011 Census (this is significantly higher than the England and Wales
figure of 80.5%). Any Other White was the second highest with 12,108 people (2.57%).

Any Other Asian was the next largest ethnic group with 2,611 people (0.55%) followed
by Irish (2,381, 0.51%). The latter two statistics were not consistent with the England &
Wales figures which featured Indian and Pakistani as the third and fourth largest ethnic
groups.

There were two new tick boxes in the 2011 Census: Gypsy or Irish Traveller and Arab.
Arab accounted for 288 usual residents (0.06%). Gypsy or Irish Traveller accounted for
757 usual residents (0.16%). See Charts 1 and 2.
Chart 1: Ethnic groups, Wiltshire, 2011
Asian/Asian British, 6178, 1.3%
Mixed, 5568, 1.2%
Black/African/Carib
bean/Black British, 3228, 0.7%
Other ethnic group, 1036, 0.2%
White, 454971, 96.6%
4 | P a g e Chart 2: Ethnic groups (excluding White UK), Wiltshire, 2011
3.0%
2.6%
2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.5%
0.6%
0.4%
0.2%
0.1%
0.4% 0.3% 0.3%
0.05% 0.1%
0.3% 0.2%
0.3%
0.1% 0.1% 0.2%
White
Mixed
Asian or Asian British
Black or Black British
Any Other Ethnic Group (1)
Arab (2)
Other Black
Caribbean
African
Other Asian (1)
Chinese (1)
Bangladeshi
Pakistani
Indian
Other Mixed
White and Asian
White and Black African
White and Black Caribbean
Other White
Gypsy or Irish Traveller (2)
Irish
0.0%
Other ethnic group
Notes: (1) Comparability issues exists between these ethnic groups for the 2001 and 2011 Census
(2) No comparable data exists for these ethnic groups in 2001 Census
Non-UK born Wiltshire residents
Broad classification

There were 37,073 non-UK born people in Wiltshire in 2011 which represented 8% of the
total population. The greatest single broad grouping of people living in Wiltshire, but born
outside the UK, was the European group (18,777). The Middle East and Asia was the
second largest group with 7,676. See Chart 3.
5 | P a g e Chart 3: Country of birth (other than UK), by broad classification, Wiltshire, 2011
Other, 2
Africa, 5,244
Middle east and Asia, 7,676
European, 18,777
Americas and the Caribbean, 3,418
Antartica and Oceania, 1,956
Note: Although the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are part of the British Islands, they are not
part of the United Kingdom for Census purposes. These figures have therefore been added to the
European total.
European dimension

Chart 4 shows the number of European non-UK born residents. The single largest group
is the German category with 6,240 people. Other data sources7 have been examined to
help clarify the reasons for this relatively large number; however, they have not provided
any potential theories. The one factor that could account for this large number is that it
relates to German born military wives and German born British children of serving
military personnel.

The large Polish population has been a known feature of the Wiltshire landscape - as it
has been across much of the Southwest - since around 2004 when international
immigration from Poland really took off. The Census 2011 recorded 3,546 people living
in Wiltshire who were born in Poland.

In fact, the Accession of new EU countries (between Censuses)8 has been responsible
for the largest increase in non-UK national settlement in Wiltshire in 2011 rather than
7
National insurance registrations data (NI) and previous Censuses (1991 and 2001)
8
EU accession countries after 2001 - The new EU Member States are Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia all
joined in 2004 and 2007.
6 | P a g e those from traditional Asian or former British colonies which formed the largest groups in
2001.
Chart 4: European country of birth (other than UK), Wiltshire, 2011 7000
6,240
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
3,546
2,118 1,975
1,410
1000
720 671 516
354 282 280 198 135 110 108
95
19
0
Notes: 9
Although the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are part of the British Islands, they are not part of
the United Kingdom.
The military angle10

The situation regarding the high number of those self recorded as born in Germany has
already been noted but there were other notable numbers of residents from a number of
countries that are thought to be largely due to the military presence in Wiltshire, namely:
 Nepalese with 908 self recorded in 2011 (Gurkhas)11
9
It is not clear from the published statistics where the majority of individuals in the Census classified
as Other EU countries 2001 to 2011 are from – those registering a country of origin for example
Romania will show up in the table – but with 1,975 classed as “other” it is not clear why they do not
show up with an individual country against them unless individuals failed to give any detail or left the
form blank.
10
This data derives from the 2011 Census ‘Ethnicity’ table as opposed to the ‘Country of Birth’. The
‘mixed’ categories have been included.
11
The Gurkhas are a long established feature of the British Army
7 | P a g e  Polynesian with 569 self recording in 2011 (Fijian)12
 Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British in the Tidworth and Amesbury community
areas
Non-UK born short term migrants

A non-UK born short-term resident is defined as anyone living in England and Wales
who was born outside the UK and who intends to stay in the UK for a period of between
3 and 12 months. This data may provide an indication of the extent to which non-UK
born residents intend to stay in the UK on a more permanent basis, or to practice what
has been coined as ‘turnstile immigration’.

Wiltshire recorded 532 non-UK born short term residents which represents 11 STRs for
every 10,000 population. The relatively low figure may suggest that the migrants that
were recorded as living in Wiltshire at the time of the Census were intending to stay.
Chart 5 : Non‐UK born short‐term Wiltshire residents, 2011
Antartica and Oceania, 46
Americas and the Caribbean, 63
Europe, 254
Middle East and Asia, 141
Africa, 28
5.

CHANGING FACE OF ETHNICITY IN WILTSHIRE
In the last twenty years England and Wales as become more ethnically diverse and to a
much lesser extent the same has occurred in Wiltshire13.
12
Fijians have for a long time been linked with the RLC (Royal Logistics Core) based at Bukeley
Barracks
8 | P a g e 
Table 1 shows how ethnic groups have increased or decreased in size. In the last ten
years the White (UK) ethnic group underwent a 6% increase in size (23,354 more
people). The Irish ethnic group had a 12% decrease (337 less people) although some of
this decrease may be explained by the fact that some Irish Travellers, who in the 2001
Census were recorded as Irish, were recorded as Gypsy or Irish Traveller group in the
2011 Census. The Any Other ethnic group also underwent a decrease albeit a small one
of 38 people. However this could also be attributed to comparability issues between
Censuses. All the other minority ethnic groups had increases in size.

The Other White category had the largest increase (in absolute numbers) across the
non-UK ethnic groups, with an increase of 5,214 people between the 2001 and 2011
Censuses. This represents a percentage growth of 76%. This ethnic group includes
people with Poland as a country of birth who were the second largest group of non-UK
born residents according to the Country of Birth Census 2011 data. In fact, the increase
in the Polish population was nearly ten times greater than it was in 2001 (from 328 in
2001 to 3,546 in 2011).

Other notable increases include:
 The Other Asian ethnic group which had a relatively large increase: 2,343 more
people representing an 874% rise. This particular ethnic group data does have some
comparability issues with the 2001 Census, however, we are confident that that this
increase can be partly attributed to the military presence, namely the Nepalese
(Gurkhas) and Polynesian (Fijian) population. The Filipino14 population also
contributed to this positive change – 803 people recorded this ethnic description.
 The African ethnic group increased by another 1,128 people (389% increase) and
this can also be attributed to the military presence with relatively high concentrations
in Amesbury and Tidworth.
 These trends are consistent with data from other sources which show a decline in the
White UK ethnic category (as a proportion of the total population) and an increase in
minority ethnic groups. There are various factors driving this change including births,
deaths, migration and country of birth.
Please note that caution is required when comparing census ethnicity data over the years because
13
of changes in the tick boxes, and the broad classifications.
14
It was thought that this increase has something to do with the influx of nurses to the Oddstock area near Salisbury but a detailed look at where this population resides suggests this may not be the case. 9 | P a g e Table 1: Changes in ethnic groups (2001 to 2011), Wiltshire.
2001 English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British
2011 Change numbers in Percentage change 416371
439725
23,354 6%
2718
2381
‐337 ‐12%
*
757
* *
Other White 6894
12108
5,214 76%
White and Black Caribbean
999
1968
969 97%
White and Black African 247
656
409 166%
White and Asian 943
1667
724 77%
Other Mixed 656
1277
621 95%
Indian 731
1547
816 112%
Pakistani 128
215
87 68%
Bangladeshi 243
595
352 145%
Chinese (1) 840
1210
370 (1) 44%
Other Asian (1) 268
2611
2,343 (1) 874%
African 290
1418
1,128 389%
Caribbean 730
1151
421 58%
Other Black 129
659
530 411%
*
288
* *
Irish Gypsy or Irish Traveller (2)
Arab (2) Any Other Ethnic Group (1)
786
748
‐38 (1) Notes: * Not available
(1) Comparability issues exists between these ethnic groups for the 2001 and 2011 Census
(2) No comparable data exists for these ethnic groups in 2001 Census

‐5%
An examination of the various minority ethnic groups (i.e. excluding White UK) as
percentages of the total population shows how much more ethnically diverse Wiltshire
has become. In 2011 the White UK population now represents 93% of the total
population whilst in 2001 this figure was higher at 96%; a decrease of three percentage
points. As can be seen in Chart 5, most of the other ethnic groups had increases; the
most notable one being that of the Other White group. This is almost wholly attributable
to the influx of European Accession countries in the last ten years.
10 | P a g e White
Mixed
Asian or Asian British
2001
Black or Black British
0.2%
2011
(2) No comparable data exists for these ethnic groups in 2001 Census
DIFFERENCES IN ETHNICITY ACROSS COMMUNITY AREAS

It has long been assumed that new immigrants have a tendency to cluster together in
certain locations. While this is particularly true of immigration to our large urban areas
the pattern of settlement in our more rural counties has been far more dispersed.

In Wiltshire, our traditional pattern of minority ethnic settlement has been either very
dispersed (our Chinese ethnic group for example) or concentrated in the major market
towns of Trowbridge, Chippenham and Salisbury.

However, in terms of overall ethnic diversity, since 2001 things have changed somewhat
and our most ethnically diverse areas include our military towns as well as the larger
urban centres.

Our most ethnically diverse areas are: Trowbridge with its large Polish population; and
Tidworth which as a military garrison town has a mix of regiments with a number of
overseas recruits. Our most ethnically homogeneous communities are the two
community areas of Mere and Wilton.
11 | P a g e 0.2%
Other ethnic group
Notes: (1) Comparability issues exists between these ethnic groups for the 2001 and 2011 Census
6.
Any Other Ethnic Group (1)
0.1%
Arab (2)
0.1%
0.0%
Other Black
0.2%
0.2%
Caribbean
0.3%
0.1%
African
0.6%
0.1%
Other Asian (1)
0.3%
0.2%
Chinese (1)
0.1%
0.1%
Bangladeshi
0.0%
0.0%
Pakistani
0.3%
0.2%
Indian
0.3%
0.2%
Other Mixed
0.4%
0.2%
White and Asian
0.1%
0.1%
0.2%
White and Black Caribbean
Other White
White and Black African
0.4%
1.6%
0.2%
Gypsy or Irish Traveller (2)
0.6%
0.5%
Irish
3.0%
2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
2.6%
Chart 6: Ethnic groups (excluding White UK) as a percentage of the total population, Wiltshire, 2001 and 2011

Chart 7 shows the ethnic groups (broad classification) by community area. Across the
community areas, Tidworth Community Area was the most ethnically diverse, with the
highest proportion of minority ethnic groups and the lowest proportion of the White ethnic
group at 92.5%. Trowbridge was the second most diverse with a White ethnic group
percentage of 95.4%. Mere was the lowest with 99.1%.

Trowbridge had the highest percentage of people from the Mixed ethnic group (1.8%)
and Salisbury had the highest belonging to the Asian/Asian British group (2.5%). The
largest percentage of people from the Black or Black British group was in Tidworth
(3.1%).

Tidworth had above average proportions (Wiltshire average) for all four minority ethnic
groups (broad classification).
12 | P a g e 90%
92.5%
92%
13 | P a g e 1.2%
Other Ethnic Groups
Notes: Some values are too small to feature on this chart
0.5% 0.8%
0.7% 0.6%
98.5%
98.6%
99.1%
0.7% 0.6%
98.4%
0.9% 0.7%
98.0%
0.5%
0.9%
1.0%
1.3%
1.0%
0.9%
0.9%
97.7%
97.7%
97.5%
1.2%
1.1%
0.9%
97.5%
97.5%
1.1%
1.1%
97.3%
1.5%
1.0%
97.2%
0.7%
1.2%
0.9% 0.6%
0.7%
0.7%
1.8%
1.3%
0.4%
1.8%
0.8%
2.5%
1.9%
1.1%
0.9%
1.2%
1.3%
1.1%
1.1%
0.9%
3.1%
97.2%
97.0%
96.6%
96.1%
95.7%
95.6%
1.6%
94%
95.6%
96%
1.2%
0.5%
98%
1.8%
2.1%
100%
95.4%
1.7%
Chart 7: Ethnic groups by Wiltshire’s community areas, 2011
88%
White
Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Groups
Asian/Asian British
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British

The largest ethnic groups in Wiltshire (excluding White British), as a percentage of the
total Wiltshire population were: Other White (2.6%); Other Asian (0.6%); and White Irish
(0.5%). The influence of the military and the EU Accession countries migration were the
main influences in the concentrations of the aforementioned first two groups. When you
examine these ethnic groups across the community areas, these proportions can vary
considerably. Trowbridge, Salisbury, Marlborough and Bradford-on-Avon are the top four
community areas in respect of the Other White ethnic group. The four community areas
with the highest proportions of people from the Other Asian ethnic group were: Tidworth;
Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade; Salisbury; and Chippenham. Marlborough,
Salisbury, Tisbury and Corsham had the highest concentrations of people belonging to
the White Irish ethnic group.
Table 2: Wiltshire community areas with the highest and lowest proportions (top and
bottom four) of the following - Other White, Other Asian and White Irish, 2011
White; Other White Wiltshire Highest proportions % Asian/Asian British; Other Asian 2.6%
% White Irish % 0.6%
0.5%
Trowbridge 5.2%
Tidworth
1.2%
Marlborough 0.8%
Salisbury 3.6%
Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade 1.0%
Salisbury 0.7%
Marlborough 3.1%
Salisbury
0.8%
Tisbury 0.6%
Bradford on Avon 2.9%
Chippenham
0.8%
Corsham 0.6%
Lowest proportions Mere 1.3%
Mere
0.1%
Westbury 0.3%
Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade 1.6%
Bradford on Avon
0.3%
Southern Wiltshire 0.4%
Melksham 1.8%
Calne
0.3%
Amesbury 0.4%
Amesbury 1.9%
Devizes
0.3%
Wilton 0.4%
The Polish Community

Until the 2011 Census, previous statistics had tried to estimate the number and
distribution of recent immigrants using models that, in hindsight, were not perhaps best
suited to a rural area. Traditional immigration flows and therefore models based around
them have tended to concentrate on influxes to urban areas with London being the main
driver. The feature of immigration from the new EU countries since 2004 exhibits an
entirely different picture with many heading directly to rural shire areas previously
relatively unaffected by large scale immigration. This has indeed been the case in
14 | P a g e Wiltshire where the influx of Polish and to a lesser extent other Eastern European
migrants has been a new phenomena.

The table below shows that, by far, the biggest Polish Community was found in
Trowbridge, with Salisbury being the second largest.
Chart 8: Number of Wiltshire residents born in Poland, by community area, 2011
1,600
1,445
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
186
155
122
113
Westbury
229
Amesbury
254
200
Devizes
400
Melksham
459
Warminster
Chippenham
Salisbury
Trowbridge
0
Notes: Only the community areas with the largest concentrations have been included in this chart.

Further analysis at LSOA15 level shows that within Trowbridge the Polish community was
concentrated in a few small areas. See Table 3 below. In the Trowbridge Adcroft
Seymour area the concentration of Polish people is 1 in 9 of the total population.
Table 3: Number of people in Wiltshire LSOAs whose country of birth is Poland, 2011
LSOA name
Number of people born in Poland
Trowbridge-Adcroft-Seymour
262
Trowbridge College-central
158
Trowbridge Drynham-central
139
Trowbridge Park-central
141
Trowbridge Adcroft-canal road
133
Trowbridge Adcroft-Stallard
101
15
A LSOA is a level of geography called a Lower Super Output Area and is used by the Office for National Statistics to break up the country in to small areas of around 1200 people. 15 | P a g e The Nepalese (Gurkha) community

The Nepalese community has had a long established link to the British Army. A close
look at the settlement pattern in Wiltshire shows that on the face of it the Nepalese are
still linked almost entirely to the military.
Chart 9: Number of residents, Nepalese ethnicity, community area, 2011 186
184
158
139
56
Salisbury
Warminster
Amesbury
Tidworth
Royal Wootton Bassett & Cricklade
64
Chippenham
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Notes: Only the community areas with the largest concentrations have been included in this chart.
Table 4: Number of people of Nepalese ethnicity, Wiltshire LSOAs, 2011
LSOA name
Nepalese ethnicity population
Tidworth North West
85
Bradenstoke/Lyneham North
84
Hullavington
83
Stanton St Quintin & Castle Combe
83
The Filipino community

The Filipino community appeared to be widely spread across Wiltshire but there were
noticeable concentrations in the following three areas: Salisbury, Trowbridge and
Southern Wiltshire. See Chart 10.

At a smaller geography one concentration was seen in the Oddstock area of Salisbury.
Further small concentrations were found in Trowbridge.
16 | P a g e Chart 10: Number of residents, Filipino ethnicity, community area, 2011 200
175
180
160
140
120
103
100
86
80
60
40
20
0
Salisbury
Trowbridge
Southern Wiltshire
Notes: Only the community areas with the largest concentrations have been included in this chart.
The Indian community

The Indian community has been a feature of the Wiltshire landscape for many years
largely concentrated in the main urban centres. In 2011 it continued to feature across all
community areas but was mainly seen within the Salisbury, Chippenham and Trowbridge
areas. There were no real concentrations at smaller geographical areas i.e. well above
50 per LSOA. See Chart 11.
Chart 11: Number of residents, Indian ethnicity, community area, 2011 350
320
300
266
250
200
128
150
108
100
94
50
0
Salisbury
Chippenham
Trowbridge
Tidworth
Marlborough
Notes: Only the community areas with the largest concentrations have been included in this chart.
17 | P a g e The Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British community

The Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British community showed a different settlement
pattern with two areas standing out as being linked to military camps. See Chart 12.
Chart 12: Number of residents, Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicity, community area, 2011 700
594
600
592
500
400
394
378
Trowbridge
Chippenham
300
200
100
0
Tidworth
Amesbury
Notes: Only the community areas with the largest concentrations have been included in this
chart

In these military areas there were four noticeable concentrations at a smaller geography.
See Table 5. The remaining Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British population outside of
our military camps were spread evenly across the larger towns.
Table 5: Number of people of Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicity,
Wiltshire LSOAs, 2011
LSOA name
Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicity
Tiworth North West
227
Durrington-Larkhill Camp
186
Bulford camp
183
Tidworth South
130
Hullavington
122

If we examine this broad at a more detailed level classification we can see that the
African ethnic group had a sizeable representation in Amesbury and Tidworth community
areas. Interestingly, as has been mentioned earlier in this report, the Black/African ethnic
group in Wiltshire overall has grown in size since the 2001 Census making it larger than
the Black/Caribbean group. This is due to the military presence in Wiltshire as can be
seen in Table 6 below.
18 | P a g e Table 6: Number of people, Black/ African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicity: African;
Caribbean; Other Black, community areas, 2011
Black African
Black Caribbean
Other Black
Amesbury
314
Trowbridge
220
Tidworth
174
Tidworth
244
Tidworth
176
Amesbury
140
Chippenham
151
Chippenham
169
Trowbridge
68
Royal Wootton
Bassett
&
Cricklade
122
Amesbury
138
Chippenham
58
The Polynesian (Fijian) community

The Polynesian community also has established links to the British Army. This is
reflected in the relatively higher concentration in Tidworth and Amesbury.

There are no real concentrations at small area geography (i.e. well above 50 people per
LSOA).
Chart 13: Number of people, Polynesian ethnicity, community area, 2011
250
200
192
155
150
100
50
0
Tidworth
Amesbury
Notes: Only the community areas with the largest concentrations have been included in this chart
The Gypsy/Irish Traveller community

The community areas of Salisbury and Southern Wiltshire have the highest
concentrations of people of Gypsy/Irish Traveller ethnicity. See Chart 14.

There are no real concentrations at small area geography (i.e. well above 50 people per
LSOA).
19 | P a g e Chart 14: Number of people, Gypsy/Irish Traveller ethnicity, community area, 2011
170
169
169
168
167
166
165
165
164
163
Salisbury
Southern Wiltshire
Notes: Only the community areas with the largest concentrations have been included in this chart
7.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN

According to the 2011 Census, around 11,700 people (aged 3 and over) living in
Wiltshire did not speak English as their main language. Around 2,000 either could not
speak English well or could not speak it at all.

Chart 15 shows a breakdown of the main 20 languages spoken by people in Wiltshire in
2011. Polish was the main language spoken after English. This was followed by
Nepalese, German, Tagalog (Filipino) and Chinese.
20 | P a g e Chart 15: Top twenty main languages spoken in Wiltshire, 2011
Polish
Nepalese
German
Tagalog/Filipino
Other Chinese
French
Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya)
Portuguese
Spanish
Oceanic/Australian language Italian
Hungarian
Slovak
Turkish
Russian
Thai
Cantonese Chinese
Arabic
Romanian
Malayalam
3,317
825
598
434
434
399
351
323
321
300
258
240
221
218
212
180
171
171
151
149
0
8.
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
NATIONAL IDENTITY

Chart 14 compares the country of birth of Wiltshire’s population with what they consider
to be their national identity. For some, there was a significant discrepancy in numbers
between the country of birth and national identity; such North Africa (which would include
the Moroccan community which has had a strong presence in Trowbridge community
area for many years) Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Iran, Honk Kong, Pakistan, India
and Sri Lanka etc.

There was a sizeable difference between the number of people recording Germany as
their country of birth and those who regarded Germany as providing their national
identity. This strengthens the theory that the high number of Wiltshire residents who
were born in Germany may be British nationals who have links, directly or indirectly, with
the British Army.

There tends to be less of a gap for EU countries especially those who acceded between
2001 and 2011. This is no doubt linked to their arrival time in the UK which is probably
more recent than some of the aforementioned countries.
21 | P a g e Chart 16: Comparing country of birth with national identity
(non UK or Channel Islands etc) Wiltshire, 2011
Australia
420
Other Caribbean
203
432
Jamaica
118
South America
146
Central America
36
129
926
451
462
628
United States
406
Philippines
Sri Lanka
41
182
Pakistan
63
242
1,264
791
571
India
1,611
105
351
Bangladesh
20
Hong Kong
935
412
464
China
14
97
Iran
151
Zimbabwe
735
420
South Africa
1,744
0
4
Somalia
62
Kenya
540
Other Central and Western Africa
170
226
Nigeria
75
199
253
414
Ghana
85
North Africa
514
160
280
Turkey
147
198
Romania
3636
3,546
Poland
104
108
Lithuania
Spain (including Canary Islands)
244
354
Portugal
301
282
409
516
Italy
736
Germany
0
National identity
6,240
458
671
France
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
Country of birth
Notes: Not every country/geographic area has been included due to lack of comparator data
22 | P a g e 7,000
9.

CONCLUSION
In 2011 the population of Wiltshire was predominantly White British. However, the nature
of the population is changing and a number of communities have distinct groupings of
people from a diverse range of backgrounds. Many of these communities are relatively
new either:

linked to our military connections; or

from a new wave of EU migration

In the future it is not certain whether the two distinct ethnic population influxes one from
Eastern Europe and the other from our military deployments will be sustained. The one
from Eastern Europe is very much linked to the economy while the other is linked to ever
changing plans from the Ministry of Defence.

One area that we do not have concrete information on is whether recent migrants from
eastern European countries who have come to this area seeking employment have
stayed or have in fact begun to return to their mother countries due to the effect of the
recession, which took hold in 2008. In recent years anecdotal evidence suggested that
those from EU accession countries (e.g. Poland) had been practicing ‘turnstile’
immigration, however, the Census recorded only 532 people as short term Wiltshire
residents (i.e. intending to stay only between 3 and 12 months). Whether many of the EU
migrants had already returned to their own countries at the time the Census was taken or
whether migrants tend to arrive intending to stay on a long term basis but then return for
one reason or another is difficult to ascertain.

In the military the constant movement of regiments has often been a feature of our
military communities and is not new; however, with plans to return many regiments from
abroad either as a result of changes in Germany or from active service in Afghanistan,
the makeup of the Wiltshire population is set to change yet again.

In this context we do not know whether these recent migrants will remain a permanent
feature of the Wiltshire landscape.
23 | P a g e 24 | P a g e