Every tenth baby born in UK is of Pakistani or Indian descent
30 Aug 2008, 1148 Hrs

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London, Aug.30 (ANI): Every tenth baby born in UK is of Pakistani or Indian descent, according to statistics provided by the Office of National Statistics.

According to The Telegraph, Of the 649,371 babies born in England and Wales in 2005, 8.6 per cent were recorded as Asian or Asian British, and of Pakistani or Indian descent. The ONS statistics also revealed that over a third of new babies are foreign or from an ethnic minority, a sign of the changing face of Britain.

It said that just 64 per cent of newborns in England and Wales were registered as "white British".

Five per cent were black or black British, such as Caribbean or African descent. Of the others, 3.5 per cent were registered as "mixed" ethnicity and 2.4 per cent were "other ethnic group", such as Chinese.

The totals from the Office for National Statistics were buried in health figures on birth patterns between different ethnic groups in 2005.

It is the first time such a picture could be drawn as ethnicity has only recently been recorded at birth, says the paper, and it adds that if this trend continues, it is likely to alter dramatically figures from the 2001 Census in which one in eight people said they were not white British.

It comes a week after separate statistics showed that births to foreign mothers have almost doubled since Labour came to power and are set to become the main cause of population growth. (ANI)