Ethnicity and poverty

Poverty rates vary sharply across ethnic groups. The highest rates are among people in Bangladeshi (53%) and Pakistani (48%) households, followed by those in households headed by someone from Other ethnic backgrounds (44%), Black or Black British backgrounds (39%), Asian or Asian British backgrounds (38%), and Mixed or Multiple ethnic backgrounds (28%). This compares with a poverty rate of 18% among people in white-headed households (note figures in chart are rounded).

These differences reflect a combination of factors that increase vulnerability to poverty, including younger age profiles, larger household sizes, lower employment rates and levels of earnings, and higher reliance on rented housing.

Ethnic minority groups are not only more likely to experience very deep poverty, but also more likely to remain in it for prolonged periods. Between 2011 and 2023, people in Bangladeshi (11%) and Pakistani (9%) households were around five times more likely than those in white households (2%) to experience persistent very deep poverty - defined as living in very deep poverty for at least three out of any four consecutive years during this period.

Rates were also elevated among people in Black African or African British (8%), other Black (7%), other Asian (6%), and Black Caribbean or Caribbean British (5%) households. Indian, Chinese, and Mixed or Multiple ethnicity-headed households (all 3%) were only slightly more likely than white households to experience persistent very deep poverty.

Persistent very deep poverty rates were higher still among children in minoritised ethnic households. At least 1 in 10 children in Bangladeshi (13%) and Pakistani (11%) households experienced persistent very deep poverty, more than three times the rate for children in white households (2%).

When examined by religion, persistent very deep poverty rates were around three times higher among Muslim households (9%) than among households with no religion (3%) or Christian households (2%). Hindu and ‘Other religion’ households both had rates of 5%, while Jewish, Sikh and Buddhist households had rates like those with no religion, at around 3%. These patterns partly reflect the ethnic composition of religious groups, but also highlight risks faced by other large faith groups, including Hindus.

Although people in Bangladeshi and Pakistani households remain the most likely to experience poverty, poverty rates for these groups have fallen substantially over the past 25 years. In 2001–04, 72% of people in Bangladeshi households and 58% of people in Pakistani households were living in poverty. By the latest data, these rates had fallen to 53% and 49% respectively.

These declines largely reflect improved integration into the labour market over time and higher employment rates among second-generation individuals. In contrast, poverty rates among people in white-headed households have remained relatively stable and much lower, hovering around 19–20% across the period and standing at 18% in the most recent data. Poverty rates among Black African-headed households have also remained broadly stable, but consistently around twice as high as those among white-headed households.