LONDON: Indians have become the largest foreign-born group in London. Nearly 9% of all foreign-born residents in London are now Indians.In sheer numbers, this means 2.63 lakh people born in India are now living in London. London had about 3 million foreign-born residents in 2011 (37% of the total London population and 40% of the total foreign-born population of England and Wales).London’s foreign-born population increased by 54% since 2001, accounting for 105% of the total population increase, as the UK-born population decreased in the decade. A slight majority of 52% of London’s foreign-born were women . Nearly half, 47%, of all London’s foreign-born were aged between 20 and 39 years of age.According to the 2011 Census, the number of usual residents of London stood at 81.7 lakhs — 15% of the total resident population of England and Wales in 2011.Of this total, nearly 30 lakh of London’s residents (36.7% of the total London population) had been born outside the UK. Moreover, London concentrates a large proportion (40%) of the entire foreign-born population of England and Wales.Between 2001 and 2011, the total resident population of England and Wales increased by 14%, by about 1 million residents. However, the UK-born population in London actually declined, by 1% (about 50,000 residents). This means that the entire growth of the London population can be accounted for the by increase in the number of residents that had been born outside of the UK.The foreign-born population grew by an estimated 10.5 lakh residents, representing a 54% increase since 2001. This accounted for 105% of the growth of the total London population. Of the estimated 30 lakh foreign-born residents in 2011, 48% were male and 52% were female.In terms of age, the most common age group was that of 30 to 34 years of age.Indeed, 47% of all foreign-born residents of London were aged between 20 and 39 years of age. This was also reflected for both men and women. However, while there were more women in the foreign-born population overall, this was only the case for those aged 20 years or more.For those younger than 19, there were actually more men (51%) in the foreign-born population. For the rest of the age-groups, women remained more numerous, and this got more pronounced as the population’s age increased.UK’s office of national statistics has already earlier pointed to the fact that Indians had overtaken the Irish to become the largest foreign-born ethnic group in the whole of England and Wales. The latest census had revealed that the number of Indians went up by over 52%, from 4.56 lakh in 2001 to 6.94 lakh a decade later.In comparison, the number of the Irish dipped to just 4 lakhs in 2011, against 4.7 lakh 10 years back. The overall foreign-born population increased from 46 lakh to 75 lakh. The highest overall increase has been among Poles, whose numbers increased nearly 10 fold, from 58,000 in 2001 to 5.79 lakh.Oxford University's migration observatory deputy director Scott Blinder described the increase in foreign-born population from 9% to 13% in 2011 as “a very noticeable change” and said the rise in the numbers of Poland and Indian-born people has particularly driven it. "These two countries alone account for more than a quarter of the increase in the size of England and Wales' migrant population."The ONS data identified 10 countries, where migrants are most likely to have been born, as India, Poland, Pakistan, Ireland, Germany, Bangladesh, Nigeria, South Africa , US and Jamaica. The number of Pakistan-born people increased by over 56%, from 3.08 lakh to 4.8 lakhs. The Bangladeshi origin people have increased by 39% to 2.1 lakh.People born in Poland represent another major foreign-born group in London with 158,300 persons born in Poland living in London in 2011. This number represents 27% of all residents with Poland as their country of origin living in England and Wales.Other important foreign-born groups in London, with more than 100,000 residents, include those born in Ireland (129,807), Nigeria (114,718), Pakistan (112,457) and Bangladesh (109,948).