Trend
-35 Latest quarter change
+239 Change across series
48 Official data points
Norwich
Alice Macdonald
2 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping Norwich.
266 people housed on asylum support in Norwich
Rank 114 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 18.07 per 10,000 puts Norwich in the 76th percentile. That means this area carries more than most. White British projected to be a minority by approximately 2056. 47 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). At roughly £150/person/day, that costs the taxpayer an estimated £15M per year for this area alone.
What asylum costs Norwich
£5.2Mestimated hotel costs/year
£680Ksubsistence payments/year
£319KLA dispersal grant/year
Estimates based on 266 people on asylum support in Norwich (0.25% of 107,003 nationally). Hotel costs pro-rated from £5.77M/day national spend (2024/25 average, NAO). Subsistence: £49.18/week per person. Nationally, the hotel bill alone costs £62 per taxpayer per year.
Norwich: asylum numbers falling
Quarter-end stock series to Dec 2025. A rise or fall is a net change in the number of people on support at period end, not the number of new claims or distinct people moving through the caseload. Support stock also overlaps with, but is not identical to, the awaiting-decision backlog.
Local numbers
Accommodation split
Dispersal accommodation 210
Initial accommodation 0
Subsistence only 9
Contingency accommodation 47
Pathway breakdown
Other routes
Homes for Ukraine 281
Afghan programme 129
Resettlement cumulative 318
Population context
All pathways total 676
Share of local population 0.46%
Ethnic composition projection
Norwich: WBI 77.5% (2021) → 54.1% (2051). White British minority by ~2056. 80% CI: 49.4–56.6%.
Ethnic composition: Norwich
White British White Other Asian Black Mixed Other 80% CI
Each line shows one ethnic group's share of the local population. The shaded band is the 80% confidence range. Values after 2051 are illustrative only.
Ethnic composition: Norwich
Census 2011, Census 2021, then Hamilton-Perry projections to 2051. Percentages.
White British White Other Asian Black Mixed Other
Model: Hamilton-Perry single-year CCRs, 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations, SNPP-constrained
Census 2011 to 2021 cohort change ratios. Shaded band = 80% confidence interval from stochastic perturbation. Not a forecast.
Scenario explorer
Under different assumptions, White British share in Norwich ranges from 49.0% to 62.3% by 2051. That is a 13.4pp spread.
Fertility
Low ~108k/yr
Principal ~315k/yr
High ~476k/yr
Constant Rates stay at current levels
Half convergence Move halfway to national avg
Full convergence Converge to national avg
Migration
Central scenario: WBI 54.1% by 2051
Religion projection
Muslim 3.2% (2021) → 7.4% (2051). Christian 36.1% → 10.2%.
Religion: Norwich
Christian No religion Muslim Hindu
Religious affiliation projected from Census 2021 self-identification. Trends reflect demographic change in the existing population, not religious conversion.
Nativity
17.6% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: moderately diverse (entropy 0.48). 90% main language English.
UK-born vs foreign-born: Norwich
UK-born Foreign-born
Share of the local population born outside the UK. Movement reflects both new arrivals and the UK-born children of existing residents reaching adulthood.
emerging diversity: Limited ethnic diversity. Projections primarily driven by national trends.
Census 2021 mobility: 14.7% moved within UK, 1.4% arrived from abroad
black 24.8% internal, 7% international
asian 18.4% internal, 8.6% international
other 18.1% internal, 6.4% international
mixed 19.9% internal, 2.5% international
white other 16.1% internal, 3.5% international
white british 13.7% internal, 0.3% international
Why Norwich is changing
-7.2ppWhite British change 2011–2021. Cyan = decline. Amber = growth.
Dominant driver: national trend. Shift-share methodology following Franklin (2014).
Full demographic profile
School pressure, housing demand, service demand scoring, economic profile, language projections, and more on UK Demographics.
View Norwich on UK Demographics →
Economy & housing by ethnicity
Census 2021 employment, homeownership, and qualifications by ethnic group.
Employment rate
White British 56.9%
Mixed 60.6%
White Other 76.6%
Other 53%
Homeownership rate
White British 44.7%
Mixed 27.8%
White Other 30%
Other 19.8%
Degree+ qualification rate
White British 32.5%
Mixed 38.2%
White Other 46.2%
Other 39.7%
Source
Census 2021 RM018 (economic activity), RM134 (tenure), RM049 (qualifications) by ethnic group. Observed, not projected.
Service demand impact
Projected impact of demographic change on local services.
non-English speakers
Interpreter demand is manageable at current levels.
foreign-born growth to 2051
High foreign-born population growth will drive additional housing demand, particularly in the private rented sector.
EAL growth
EAL demand growth is moderate.
National benchmarks
Supported asylum count
266 National distribution.
Supported asylum rate
18.07 Per 10,000 residents.
Contingency accommodation
47 Hotel and contingency placements.
Regional peers
Top 6 in East of England by supported asylum.