PIOs in UK see wealth soar, whilst Pakistanis see ‘notable decline’: LSE report

LONDON: Individuals from white British and Indian ethnic groups have seen substantial increases in median wealth in Britain since 2012, whilst the wealth of those of Pakistani ethnicity has seen a marked decline, a new report from the London School of Economics (LSE) shows.

Individuals from Asian Other and white Other ethnic groups also experienced substantial increases in median wealth from 2012/2014 up to 2021/2023, In contrast, wealth among individuals from the Pakistani ethnic group dropped sharply and black African, black Caribbean, and Bangladeshi ethnic groups remained with “almost no accumulated household wealth throughout”, it said.

The largest gains were experienced by the Indian and Asian Other groups, with median wealth rising by £93,000 for the Indian ethnic group.

UK-born adults from the Indian group “have a clear wealth advantage” over both non-UK-born Indians and the white British group, it said.

The report, titled “The Ethnic Wealth Divide in the UK: Mapping Disparities Across Time, Age and Immigrant Generations”, by Eleni Karagiannaki, research fellow at LSE, used data from the UK Household Longitudinal Survey to show how ethnic wealth gaps have widened in 24-month periods from 2012/14 to 2021/2023.

Adults from Pakistani, Bangladeshi, black Caribbean, and black African ethnic groups reported significantly lower savings than those from the white British, Other Asian, and Indian ethnic groups, with PIOs recording the highest levels. More than 50% of adults among the Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and black African groups had no savings.

Whilst white British, white other, and Indian individuals are more likely to move up from the bottom quartile, Pakistani and black African individuals are more vulnerable to downward mobility from the top, it said.

In 2012/14, adults in the white British, Indian, and Asian Other groups already had higher rates of home and investment ownership compared to other groups. By 2021/23, these gaps had widened further, as these groups increased ownership while Bangladeshi, black Caribbean, and Pakistani groups saw sharp declines, particularly in home ownership.

“Indian and white British groups typically experience steadier income growth across the life-course, enabling earlier asset accumulation. Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups exhibit the widest income gaps relative to the white British group than any ethnic minority group,” it said.