Migration and London

Edexcel B GCSE Geography > The UK’s Evolving Human Landscape > Migration and London

London’s population has grown quickly due to migration within the UK and overseas immigration. Between 2000 and 2013, London’s population increased by 1.9 million, mainly due to people moving to London from overseas.

Who are the migrants?

While internal migrants moving to London are mostly university graduates seeking employment, international migrants moving to London can be divided into two categories: skilled and unskilled.

Skilled workers – these individuals typically pursue well-paid jobs in the city’s knowledge economy, primarily in technology-related fields. When there are not enough skilled people from the UK to fill these jobs, companies appoint migrants with particular skills from overseas. These tend to be drawn from white, highly qualified professionals from the USA, EU, South Africa, and Australia.
Unskilled workers – With numerous undesirable jobs available in London, migrants often find employment easily in restaurants, construction, and roles with unsociable hours. Many businesses would struggle without unskilled workers from the EU, India, West Africa and Pakistan.

Migrants and ethnic communities

As migrants settle in London, often in cheap rented accommodation, clusters of ethnic communities begin to develop. These initiatives bring benefits such as the creation of ethnic shops and services, as well as cultural festivals like the Notting Hill Carnival, which help build awareness and resilience against the discrimination faced by migrants.

Comparing the effects of migration in three London suburbs

	Newham	Lambeth	Richmond upon Thames
Ethnicity	Most diverse: 30% white, 26% black Caribbean & African, 39% Asian.	Quite diverse: white 55%, Black 25%, 38% of people born outside of the UK from 152 counties, Asian population only 8%.	Low diversity: 85% white, 7% Asian or Asian British, but many residents were born overseas, from the USA or EU.
Income	Low-income area	Average income area	High income area: salaries average £41,000 – double UK average.
Housing	67% rented accommodation, (32% of which is social housing), 32% own property.	34% of rental is social housing, 44% own their own home and 20% rent from private landlords.	Property is expensive and purchased by affluent people. 69% own their home, 16% rent from private landlords, and 15% of rental is social housing.
Services	High level of children living in poverty (38%), Huge pressure on schools due to high birth rate.	School have a high amount of EAL students (English as an additional language), 81% of students from ethnic backgrounds, and 140 languages are spoken in Lambeth schools.	Less pressure on schools due to lower birth rate, but a higher pressure on social care due to higher elderly population.
Culture	Large number of Asian shops, temples & mosques, and African Anglican churches.	A mix of black Caribbean culture and white middle class.	Mostly white middle class.