Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report

The report presents results across the main policy areas covered in the Census analysed by ethnic group


Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report

5. EDUCATION

Highest level of qualification

Table 5.1 shows the highest level of qualification by ethnic group where the highest level of qualification is defined as:

Group 1: 'O' Grade, Standard Grade, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, City and Guilds Craft, SVQ Level 1 or 2 or equivalent.

Group 2: Higher Grade, CSYS, ONC, OND, City and Guilds Advanced Craft, RSA Advanced Diploma, SVQ Level 3 or equivalent.

Group 3: HND, HNC, RSA Higher Diploma, SVQ Level 4 or 5 or equivalent.

Group 4: First Degree, Higher Degree, Professional qualification.

Table 5.1: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 16-74 years
Percentages

Ethnic Group

No qualifications or qualifications outwith these groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Base

White Scottish

35

26

15

7

17

3,249,488

Other White British

18

20

18

7

37

307,071

White Irish

32

14

16

6

31

41,402

Other White

23

11

16

6

44

62,158

Indian

24

15

15

6

40

11,335

Pakistani

43

19

14

8

17

21,070

Bangladeshi

33

19

14

6

29

1,354

Other South Asian

27

15

15

8

34

4,365

Chinese

38

13

16

6

27

12,548

Caribbean

17

25

18

10

30

1,398

African

15

15

14

9

47

3,880

Black Scottish or Other Black

30

21

16

9

23

736

Any Mixed Background

21

19

24

7

30

6,851

Other ethnic group

29

10

12

7

42

7,423

All People aged 16-74 years

33

25

16

7

19

3,731,079

  • All minority ethnic groups in Scotland are at least as or more likely to have degrees (or equivalent) than White Scottish people. Those most likely to have degrees from ethnic minority groups are Africans, people from 'Other' ethnic groups and Indians.
  • People from the White Scottish group and Pakistanis are the least likely to have degrees (17%).
  • Pakistanis are also the most likely to have no qualifications (43%) followed by Chinese people (38%) and White Scottish people (35%). In contrast, only 15% of African people aged 16-74 years have no qualifications.

Tables 5.2-5.4 provide a breakdown of qualifications by ethnic group for different age groups.

Table 5.2: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 16-34 years
Percentages

Ethnic Group

No qualifications or qualifications outwith these groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Base

White Scottish

14

36

24

10

16

1,079,218

Other White British

6

23

31

7

33

103,374

White Irish

7

15

30

9

38

13,407

Other White

18

11

22

6

43

31,330

Indian

12

17

22

7

41

6,013

Pakistani

26

24

20

11

19

11,699

Bangladeshi

26

22

21

6

25

765

Other South Asian

24

17

22

8

29

2,214

Chinese

17

16

27

8

32

6,557

Caribbean

12

26

25

11

26

620

African

13

19

20

10

38

2,172

Black Scottish or Other Black

23

27

24

9

17

351

Any Mixed Background

13

21

32

8

26

4,291

Other ethnic group

27

12

18

6

37

3,863

All People aged 16-34 years

14

33

25

10

18

1,265,874

  • 'Other White' people aged 16-34 years are most likely to have degrees (43%) and the White Scottish group are the least likely to have degrees (16%). .
  • 'People from Other Ethnic Group (27%), Pakistani (26%) and Bangladeshi (26%) people are the most likely to have no qualifications in this age group.

Table 5.3: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 35-54 years
Percentages

Ethnic Group

No qualifications or qualifications outwith these groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Base

White Scottish

33

25

14

7

20

1,280,088

Other White British

15

21

13

8

43

128,124

White Irish

26

16

13

7

38

15,035

Other White

20

11

11

7

51

21,366

Indian

35

14

8

6

38

3,803

Pakistani

59

15

7

4

15

6,990

Bangladeshi

43

17

4

5

31

456

Other South Asian

26

14

9

10

42

1,693

Chinese

55

11

5

4

25

4,661

Caribbean

16

26

14

9

34

595

African

16

9

5

8

61

1,484

Black Scottish or Other Black

26

19

10

11

34

273

Any Mixed Background

25

17

11

8

40

1,785

Other ethnic group

30

8

6

7

48

3,087

All People aged 34-54 years

31

24

14

7

23

1,469,440

  • Again, the Pakistani group has the highest proportion of people in this age group with no qualifications (59%). The second highest proportion (55%) is for Chinese people.
  • The third highest proportion is in the Indian group: 35% of people aged 35-54 have no qualifications. However, Indian people have one of the higher proportions of people educated to degree level or above (38%).
  • The Pakistani group has the lowest proportion of people aged 35-54 years educated to degree level and above (15%). The second lowest proportion (20%) is for White Scottish people.
  • The group with the highest proportion of people educated to degree level or above is African (61%). This is consistent with the result shown in table 3.1 that 31% of Africans aged over 18 years are full time students.

Table 5.4: Highest level of qualification by ethnic group - All People aged 55-74 years
Percentages

Ethnic Group

No qualifications or qualifications outwith these groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Base

White Scottish

63

14

7

3

14

890,182

Other White British

38

15

8

5

34

75,573

White Irish

65

11

6

2

16

12,960

Other White

46

9

8

3

35

9,462

Indian

45

8

3

3

42

1,519

Pakistani

76

8

3

1

12

2,381

Bangladeshi

40

10

2

3

45

133

Other South Asian

49

12

3

4

32

458

Chinese

82

5

2

1

10

1,330

Caribbean

39

16

11

4

30

183

African

32

10

6

4

47

224

Black Scottish or Other Black

63

11

5

4

17

112

Any Mixed Background

55

12

5

1

27

775

Other ethnic group

43

7

5

4

41

473

All People aged 55-74 years

61

14

7

3

16

995,765

  • The proportion of people who have no qualifications is considerably higher across all ethnic groups than for the younger age bands; in most cases the proportion is double that for 35-54 year olds.
  • The Chinese group is the most likely to have no qualifications (82%) and it has the lowest proportion of people educated to degree level and above (10%).
  • The group with the highest proportion of people educated to degree level is the African group (47%) but the qualification profile is more polarised than for the younger age groups and 32% of the population has no qualifications. The next highest is the Bangladeshi group (45%) followed by the Indian group (42%).
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