Bradford's greatest asset has always been its people. During the industrial revolution Bradfordians pioneered new ways of working, new machinery, new products and opened up markets world wide to make the city and international trading centre.
At the same time, Bradford played a leading role in social reform - pioneering school meals, baths and medical examinations, taking a major part in education reform, and founding the Socialist movement.
In 1801, Bradford was a small rural market town with a population of 6,393. Thirty years later the population was 97,191 and by 1851 it had increased again to 181,964.
Bradford's booming textile industry and new mills needed workers, and people poured in from rural Yorkshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire and the North. German merchants came and built up flourishing businesses but the biggest migration came from Ireland, with almost 10% of Bradford's 1851 population originating from central and western Ireland.
By 1902, 23 of Bradford's 36 yarn merchants were German, along with 31 of the 63 piece merchants in the city. Thousands of Italians joined them, and after 1945 Jewish émigrés, Poles, Ukrainians, Latvians, Estonians, Hungarians, Yugoslavians, Byelorussians, Lithuanians, Austrians and Germans added to the District's ethnic mix and found work in the textile mills.
During the 1950s Asian and Afro-Caribbean immigrants arrived in Bradford from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, East Africa, Dominica, Jamaica, Barbados and smaller islands, including St. Lucia and St. Kitts.
Changes in the immigration laws, and large-scale population displacements in their home countries encouraged many Asian men to bring their families to Bradford, and by 1987 and estimated 64,000 had settled in the District.
An international city with a strong cosmopolitan feel, the legacy of the early immigrants has created a unique culture full of surprises and choices which has become one of the city's key strengths.
In Bradford, you can sample foods from across Eastern Europe and Asia and shop for fine silks in local stores. The music, art and culture of a multitude of nations creates a vibrant and dynamic social scene second to none.
The international feel of the city is also apparent in its strong links with Europe and its thriving exports to the EU and beyond.
Today Bradford's traditions of innovations and imagination continue. Bradford people have shifted the District's economic base from a narrow dependence on textiles and engineering to a broader based economy in which today's high technology and service sector industries, such as finance and exports, now stand alongside the traditional manufacturing sector. Bradford's population is increasing and it is estimated that it will continue to increase in the foreseeable future.
By the year 2011 it is estimated that there will be 523,850 residents in the District; an increase of 8% over the 1995 total of 483,600. Bradford is one of the few metropolitan districts in the country to be experiencing a rise in population.
The ethnic minority population in Bradford accounts for approximately 18% (87,150) of the District's total population. The vast majority of the ethnic minority population is of Asian origin, 75,050, or 86% of the ethnic minority population. A further 7% (5,950) are of Afro-Caribbean origin. By the year 2011 it is estimated that the District's ethnic minority population, which is growing, will form 26% of the district's total population.
A proud multi-cultural society with a bright future, Bradford is an international city harnessing a wealth of global talent.
