# Demographics of Slough

This article is intended to give an overview of the demography of Slough. In 2016, Slough had a population of 149,000 people.

## Population

The modern town of Slough grew from the parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey, Buckinghamshire, England. The populations given below are for the successive institutional areas of the principal local government level that could be recognised as Slough, now in Berkshire.
| Year | Population | Notes |
| 1801 | 1,018 | Parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey |
| 1811 | 1,083 | |
| 1821 | 1,268 | |
| 1831 | 1,502 | |
| 1841 | 2,296 | |
| 1851 | 3,573 | |
| 1861 | 4,688 | |
| 1871 | 5,940 | |
| 1881 | 7,030 | |
| 1891 | 7,700 | |
| 1901 | 11,453 | Slough Urban District from 1894; area enlarged in 1900 |
| 1911 | 14,982 | |
| 1921 | 16,392 | |
| 1931 | 33,612 | area enlarged in 1930/1931 |
| 1939 | 50,620 | estimate (1941 census not taken due to World War II):Municipal Borough from 1938 |
| 1951 | 66,471 | |
| 1961 | 80,781 | |
| 1971 | 87,075 | |
| 1981 | 96,512 | Borough of Slough in Berkshire and area enlarged from 1974 |
| 1991 | 101,066 | |
| 2001 | 119,070 | Area enlarged in 1995: Unitary Authority from 1998 |
| 2011 | 140,200 | Up 16.3% on the 2001 census, and 6.9% higher than the previous mid-2010 population estimate |
| 2016 | 149,400 | ONS - based on 2012 population trends |

## Ethnicity

The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 1991, 2001 and 2011 censuses in Slough. Slough is a majority-minority town, with no ethnic group or broad multi-ethnic group being the majority, having been this way since the late 2000s. The White British make up the largest group at 34.5% of the population, having declined from a majority status of 58.3% in 2001, this decline coincides with the overall decline of White residents in the town from nearly two thirds in 1991 (72.3%) to less the majority (45.7%) in 2011. In conjunction, Asian British people have risen from nearly a quarter of the town's population in 1991 (23.9%) to nearly 40% in 2011, the largest of which is British Pakistanis who surpassed British Indians in 2011 as the largest Asian group. Black British residents have also increased, with the majority of growth coming from Black Africans who have increased from 0.4% in 1991 to 5.4% in 2011, of which surpassed the Black Caribbean group, who was 2.2% of the population, in 2011 as well.
| Ethnic Group | 1971 estimations | 1971 estimations | 1981 estimations | 1981 estimations | 1991 census | 1991 census | 2001 census | 2001 census | 2011 census | 2011 census | 2021 census | 2021 census |
| Ethnic Group | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| White: Total | 78,367 | 90% | 71,908 | 77.2% | 73,749 | 72% | 75,843 | 63.70% | 64,053 | 45.69% | 57,134 | 35.9% |
| White: British | – | – | – | – | – | – | 69,441 | 58.32% | 48,401 | 34.52% | 38,101 | 24.0% |
| White: Irish | – | – | – | – | 3,241 | 3.2% | 2,489 | 2.09% | 1,607 | 1.15% | 1143 | 0.7% |
| White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 220 | 0.16% | 237 | 0.1% |
| White: Roma | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 357 | 0.2% |
| White: Other | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,913 | 3.29% | 13,825 | 9.86% | 17,296 | 10.9% |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | – | – | 17,186 | 18.4% | 23,661 | 23.1% | 33,621 | 28.24% | 55,697 | 39.73% | 74,093 | 46.9% |
| Asian or Asian British: Indian | – | – | 9900 | | 12941 | | 16,719 | 14.04% | 21,922 | 15.64% | 30,209 | 19.1% |
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | – | – | 6399 | | 9428 | | 14,360 | 12.06% | 24,869 | 17.74% | 34,317 | 21.7% |
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | – | – | 39 | | 101 | | 171 | 0.14% | 549 | 0.39% | 910 | 0.6% |
| Asian or Asian British: Chinese | – | – | 205 | | 266 | | 349 | 0.29% | 797 | 0.57% | 594 | 0.4% |
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | – | – | 643 | | 925 | | 2,022 | 1.70% | 7,560 | 5.39% | 8,063 | 5.1% |
| Black or Black British: Total | – | – | 3,253 | | 3,891 | | 6,026 | 5.06% | 12,115 | 8.64% | 11,992 | 7.5% |
| Black or Black British: Caribbean | – | – | 2361 | | 2788 | | 3,470 | 2.91% | 3,096 | 2.21% | 2,771 | 1.7% |
| Black or Black British: African | – | – | 376 | | 429 | | 2,275 | 1.91% | 7,548 | 5.38% | 7,815 | 4.9% |
| Black or Black British: Other Black | – | – | 516 | | 674 | | 281 | 0.24% | 1,471 | 1.05% | 1,406 | 0.9% |
| Mixed: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,778 | 2.33% | 4,758 | 3.39% | 6,311 | 4% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,116 | 0.94% | 1,667 | 1.19% | 1,854 | 1.2% |
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | – | – | – | – | 224 | 0.19% | 607 | 0.43% | 824 | 0.5% |
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | – | – | – | – | 845 | 0.71% | 1,429 | 1.02% | 1,945 | 1.2% |
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | – | – | – | – | 593 | 0.50% | 1,055 | 0.75% | 1,688 | 1.1% |
| Other: Total | – | – | 821 | | 1,099 | | 799 | 0.67% | 3,582 | 2.55% | 8,970 | 5.7% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 928 | 0.66% | 1,826 | 1.2% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | – | – | 799 | 0.67% | 2,654 | 1.89% | 7,144 | 4.5% |
| Ethnic minority | 8,708 | 10% | 21,260 | 22.8% | 28,651 | 28% | 43,224 | 36.3% | 76,152 | 54.3% | 101,366 | 64.1% |
| Total | 87,075 | 100% | 93,168 | 100% | 102,400 | 100% | 119,067 | 100% | 140,205 | 100% | 158,500 | 100% |
Notes for table above
* ↑ New category created for the 2011 census
* ↑ In 2001, listed under the 'Chinese or other ethnic group' heading.
* ↑ New category created for the 2011 census
* White
* White-British
* White-Irish
* White-Other
* Asian
* Asian-Indian
* Asian-Pakistani
* Asian-Bangladeshi
* Asian-Chinese
* Black
* Black-African
* Black-Caribbean
* Other-Arab

### Ethnicity of school pupils

Since statistics on the ethnicity of school pupils have been collected, White students, the majority being the native White British, have been in the minority. As such Slough schools were in a majority-minority state in-till 2018 when Asian British pupils became the majority, of which had surpassed White students in the mid-2000s. In the Asian British multi-ethnic group, British Pakistanis are the largest at 25.8% and are the largest group of all groups in the town. Black British school pupils increased in proportional size between 2004 and 2012 peaking at 9.1%, but have declined since then to 7.2% in 2022. Mixed school pupils have also been in proportional increase and now make up a little over 1 in 10 in schools (11.3%) from 5.9% in 2004.
| Ethnic group | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year | School year |
| Ethnic group | 2004 | 2004 | 2008 | 2008 | 2012 | 2012 | 2015/16 | 2015/16 | 2019/20 | 2019/20 | 2021/2022 | 2021/2022 |
| Ethnic group | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| White: Total | 7,670 | 44.3% | 7,110 | 37.9% | 6,820 | 32.4% | 7,218 | 29.5% | 8,422 | 25.8% | 7,860 | 23.3% |
| White: British | 6,940 | 40% | 5,154 | 27.5% | 4,581 | 21.8% | 4,308 | 17.3% | 4,453 | 13.6% | 4,084 | 12.1% |
| White: Irish | 200 | | 158 | | 148 | | 114 | 0.5% | 110 | 0.3% | 81 | 0.2% |
| White: Traveller of Irish heritage | 10 | | 25 | | 29 | | 34 | 0.0% | 25 | 0.1% | 22 | 0.1% |
| White: Gypsy/Roma | 70 | | 54 | | 110 | | 158 | 0.6% | 244 | 0.7% | 240 | 0.7% |
| White: Other | 470 | | 1,719 | | 1,951 | | 2,762 | 11.1% | 3,610 | 11.1% | 3,433 | 10.2% |
| Asian / Asian British: Total | 7,040 | 40.6% | 8,360 | 44.6% | 9,785 | 46.5% | 12,108 | 48.6% | 16,769 | 51.4% | 17,725 | 52.4% |
| Asian / Asian British: Indian | 2,830 | 16.3% | 3,287 | 17.5% | 3,758 | 20.0% | 4,486 | 18.0% | 6,565 | 20.1% | 7,262 | 21.5% |
| Asian / Asian British: Pakistani | 3,620 | 20.9% | 4,164 | 22.2% | 4,923 | 23.4% | 6,191 | 24.8% | 8,420 | 25.8% | 8,687 | 25.8% |
| Asian / Asian British: Bangladeshi | 60 | | 92 | | 116 | | 149 | 0.6% | 261 | 0.8% | 256 | 0.8% |
| Asian / Asian British: Chinese | 60 | | 63 | | 60 | | 46 | 0.2% | 49 | 0.2% | 97 | 0.1% |
| Asian / Asian British: Other Asians | 470 | | 754 | | 926 | | 1,236 | 5.0% | 1,474 | 4.5% | 1,423 | 4.2% |
| Black / Black British: Total | 1,100 | 6.4% | 1,580 | 8.4% | 1,925 | 9.1% | 2,150 | 8.5% | 2,454 | 7.5% | 2,417 | 7.2% |
| Black: Caribbean | 340 | | 362 | | 357 | | 332 | 1.3% | 343 | 1.1% | 339 | 1.0% |
| Black: African | 660 | 3.8% | 1,133 | 6.0% | 1,454 | 6.9% | 1,658 | 6.6% | 1,899 | 5.8% | 1,847 | 5.5% |
| Black: Other Blacks | 110 | | 91 | | 116 | | 160 | 0.6% | 212 | 0.6% | 231 | 0.7% |
| Mixed / British Mixed | 1,030 | 5.9% | 1,190 | 6.3% | 1,690 | 8% | 2,125 | 8.5% | 3,188 | 9.8% | 3,817 | 11.3% |
| Other: Total | 290 | 1.7% | 391 | 2.1% | 655 | 3.1% | 911 | 3.7% | 1,261 | 3.9% | 1,349 | 4.0% |
| Unclassified | 190 | 1.1% | 37 | - | 173 | 0.8% | 270 | 1.1% | 551 | 1.7% | 590 | 1.7% |
| Total: | 17,320 | 100% | 18,750 | 100% | 21,050 | 100% | 24,941 | 100% | 32,665 | 100% | 33,720 | 100% |

## Country of birth

Top Countries of Birth - 2011 and 2021 :
| Country of birth | 2011 number | 2021 number |
| England | 83,230 | 87,350 |
| India | 11,544 | 17,107 |
| Pakistan | 11,244 | 14,418 |
| Poland | 8,341 | 8,912 |
| Romania | 467 | 3,551 |
| Kenya | 2,183 | 1,940 |
| Sri Lanka | 1,219 | 1,385 |
| Somalia | 1,247 | 1,336 |
| Italy | 621 | 1,125 |
| Philippines | 828 | 1,064 |
* Population pyramids of country of birth groups in Slough
* UK born
* Foreign born: Total

## Languages

Top 10 main languages spoken in Slough according to 2011 census and 2021 census are shown below.
| Rank | Language | 2011 | 2021 |
| Rank | Language | Usual residents aged 3+ | Usual residents aged 3+ |
| 1 | English | 96,508 | 110,212 |
| 2 | Punjabi | 8,247 | 9,527 |
| 3 | Polish | 8,249 | 7,724 |
| 4 | Urdu | 6,568 | 6,497 |
| 5 | Romanian | 401 | 3,275 |
| 6 | Tamil | 860 | 1,224 |
| 7 | Hindi | 825 | 1,148 |
| 8 | Telugu | 275 | 1,066 |
| 9 | Arabic | 703 | 983 |
| 10 | Somali | 938 | 772 |

## Religion

The following table shows the religion of respondents in the 2001, 2011 and 2021 censuses in Slough. With Slough having one of the highest British Asian communities in Britain, the British Muslim, British Hindus and Sikh communities are all overrepresented compared to the national average.
| Religion | 2001 | 2001 | 2011 | 2011 | 2021 | 2021 |
| Religion | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Christian | 63,993 | 53.75% | 57,726 | 41.17% | 50,664 | 31.96% |
| Buddhist | 294 | 0.25% | 743 | 0.53% | 776 | 0.5% |
| Hindu | 5,340 | 4.48% | 8,643 | 6.16% | 12,343 | 7.79% |
| Jewish | 139 | 0.12% | 87 | 0.06% | 85 | 0.1% |
| Muslim | 15,897 | 13.35% | 32,655 | 23.29% | 46,661 | 29.44% |
| Sikh | 10,820 | 9.09% | 14,889 | 10.62% | 17,985 | 11.35% |
| Any Other religion | 358 | 0.30% | 482 | 0.34% | 716 | 0.5% |
| No religion | 13,061 | 10.97% | 17,024 | 12.14% | 20,726 | 13.08% |
| Religion not stated | 9,165 | 7.70% | 7,956 | 5.67% | 8,544 | 5.39% |
| Total | 119,067 | 100.00% | 140,205 | 100.00% | 158,500 | 100.00% |
* Christianity
* Islam
* Judaism
* Hinduism
* Sikhism
* Buddhism
* Other religion
* No religion