The internal migration of ethnic groups in Britain: A study using the census macro and microdata

Serena Hussain, University of Leeds
John Stillwell, University of Leeds
Paul Norman, University of Leeds

This paper examines the internal migration propensities of different ethnic groups in Britain using three different products of the 2001 Census. Special Migration Statistics provide evidence of variation in aggregate ethnic group migration flows and rates for the 12 month period prior to the Census. Flow data commissioned from the national census agency for England and Wales, are used to explore age variations for different ethnic groups and identify key patterns of net migration using district classification frameworks. One of the 2001 Census microdata products, the 2001 Individual Licensed Sample of Anonymised Records (SAR), is used to examine variations in characteristics of migration that include sex, social class, educational achievement, tenure, employment status and health as well as age and ethnicity. Whilst the paper provides new insights into the compositional and spatial characteristics of ethnomigration in Britain, it also provides an opportunity to compare the benefits and limitations of census micro and macrodata.