In January 2018, 10.6% of pupils attending state-funded schools in Somerset were of a minority ethnic group (that is, with a reported ethnicity other than White-British)
The second largest ethnic group after White British was 'White Other' (which includes White European pupils) accounting for 5.0% of the school population.
Mixed pupils accounted for 2.5% of the population; Asian pupils 0.6%; Black pupils 0.2%; and Chinese pupils 0.2% of the population.
Number of pupils by ethnic group, Somerset, 2018
| Ethnic Origin or Background | Number of pupils | % of all pupils |
| White | 65,896 | 95.0% |
| White - British* | 62,015 | 89.4% |
| White - Irish | 94 | 0.1% |
| Traveller of Irish Heritage | 39 | 0.1% |
| Gypsy / Roma | 269 | 0.4% |
| Any other White background | 3,479 | 5.0% |
| Mixed | 1,763 | 2.5% |
| White and Black Caribbean | 303 | 0.4% |
| White and Black African | 280 | 0.4% |
| White and Asian | 575 | 0.8% |
| Any other Mixed background | 605 | 0.9% |
| Asian | 418 | 0.6% |
| Indian | 267 | 0.4% |
| Pakistani | 27 | <0.1% |
| Bangladeshi | 120 | 0.2% |
| Any other Asian background | 4 | <0.1% |
| Black | 172 | 0.2% |
| Black - African | 153 | 0.2% |
| Black - Caribbean | 19 | <0.1% |
| Chinese | 123 | 0.2% |
| Any Other Ethnic Group | 241 | 0.3% |
| Information Not Yet Obtained | 660 | 1.0% |
| Refused | 90 | 0.1% |
| All Pupils | 69,363 | 100.00% |
Source: Somerset Schools Census, January 2018 (DfE). *includes 'English' and 'Welsh' ethnicities.
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Somerset is less diverse than nationally, 96.4% of the population in Somerset are ‘White’, compared to 81.1% nationally. 1.5% are ‘Asian, Asian British, or Asian Welsh’. 1.3% ‘Mixed or Multiple Ethnic groups’, 0.4% ‘Black, Black British, Caribbean, or African’, and 0.4% ‘Other ethnic group’ (Census 2021).