Editing Bedford (section)

==Demography==
[[File:Bedford population pyramid.svg|thumb|Population pyramid in 2021]]
Bedford is home to one of the largest concentrations of Italian immigrants in the United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census, almost 30% of Bedford's population were of at least partial Italian descent. This is mainly as a result of labour recruitment in the early 1950s by the [[London Brick Company]] from [[Southern Italy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bedford's Italian question |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/england/beds_herts_bucks/article_1.shtml |access-date=10 February 2008 |publisher=BBC – Legacies}}</ref> From 1954 to 2008 Bedford had its own Italian [[Consul (representative)|vice-consulate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bedford Italian Community |url=http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/bedford_digitisation_az_italiancommunity.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119140210/http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.digitised_resources/bedford_digitisation_az_italiancommunity.htm |archive-date=19 January 2008 |access-date=10 February 2008 |publisher=Bedfordshire Libraries}}</ref>

In addition to Italian immigrants, Bedford has also been the recipient of significant immigration from India (8.1% of Bedford's population;<ref name=ONS>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=276881&c=bedford&d=13&e=13&g=423312&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1208287590687&enc=1&dsFamilyId=1812|title=Check Browser Settings|publisher=}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=November 2023}} Indians began arriving from the late 1950s onwards from the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] area, many of whom worked at the London Brick Company), Eastern Europe (particularly in the 2000s) and Scandinavia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, Malta, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Albania, Turkey, The Middle East, East Asia, South East Asia, Africa (3% of Bedford's population is of Sub-Saharan descent<ref name=ONS />{{failed verification|date=November 2023}}<ref name=opendemocracy>http://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/matt-kennard/inside-bedford-fragile-success-story-of-muliculturalism-home-of-yarls-wood inside-bedford-fragile-success-story-of-muliculturalism-home-of-yarls-wood</ref>{{failed verification|date=November 2023}}), South America and the Caribbean, making it one of the most ethnically, racially, and linguistically diverse towns in the United Kingdom outside of London in proportion to its size.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=BedfordBID | url=http://www.comearoundtobedford.co.uk/history-of-bedford-1/4528730674 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723170321/http://www.comearoundtobedford.co.uk/history-of-bedford-1/4528730674 | url-status=dead | archive-date=23 July 2012 | title=Brief History of Bedford Town Centre | accessdate=24 June 2010 }}</ref>

At the 2011 Census, the ethnic mix of the Bedford urban area was 74.4% white, 4% mixed, 15% Asian or Asian-British, 5% Black or Black-British, and 1% "other ethnic group".<ref name="BUA">{{NOMIS2011|id=E34004993|title=Bedford Built-up Area|access-date=26 July 2019}}</ref> In terms of national identity, just over 50% identified as English only, 24% as British only and 15% only as a non-UK identity; just over 8% had a "British and other" identity.<ref name=BUA />

In 2001, Bedford was 69% Christian, 24% Irreligious, 3% Muslim, and 2% Sikh. By 2021, Bedford was 48% Christian, 40% Irreligious, 7% Muslim, and 2% Sikh.

{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+ Religious groups in Bedford (2001−2021)
! rowspan="2" |Religious group
! colspan="2" |[[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]]<ref>{{Cite web   |title=   TS030 - Religion |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/asv2htm|access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk }}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]]<ref>{{Cite web   |title=   KS209EW - Religion|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/KS209EW/view/1946157199?cols=measures|access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk }}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[2001 United Kingdom census|2001]]<ref>{{Cite web   |title=   UV015 - Religion|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2001/UV015/view/1946157199?cols=measures|access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk }}</ref>

|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}

|-
| [[Christianity in the United Kingdom|Christian]]
|   88,178
| {{Percentage |   88,178|   185,225| 2 }}

| 93,346
| {{Percentage | 93,346|    157,479| 2 }}
| 101,720
| {{Percentage | 101,720|   147,911| 2 }}
|-
| [[Islam in the United Kingdom|Muslim]]
|   13,059
| {{Percentage |   13,059|   185,225| 2 }}

|   8,610
| {{Percentage |   8,610|    157,479| 2 }}
|   4,803
| {{Percentage |   4,803|   147,911| 2 }}
|-
| [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|Sikh]]
|    4,114
| {{Percentage |    4,114|   185,225| 2 }}

|   3,336
| {{Percentage |   3,336|    157,479| 2 }}
|   2,740
| {{Percentage |   2,740|   147,911| 2 }}
|-
| [[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|Hindu]]
|    3,045
| {{Percentage |    3,045|   185,225| 2 }}

|   2,420
| {{Percentage |   2,420|    157,479| 2 }}
|   2,567
| {{Percentage |   2,567|   147,911| 2 }}
|-
| [[Buddhism in the United Kingdom|Buddhist]]
|  629
| {{Percentage |   629|   185,225| 2 }}

|   509
| {{Percentage |   509|    157,479| 2 }}
|   355
| {{Percentage |   355|   147,911| 2 }}
|-

| [[Judaism in the United Kingdom|Jewish]]
|    232
| {{Percentage |   232|   185,225| 2 }}

|   171
| {{Percentage |   171|    157,479| 2 }}
|   180
| {{Percentage |   180|   147,911| 2 }}
|-
| [[Religion in the United Kingdom|Other religion]]
|    2,014
| {{Percentage |    2,014|   185,225| 2 }}

| 1,506
| {{Percentage | 1,506|    157,479| 2 }}
|   432
| {{Percentage |   432|   147,911| 2 }}
|-
| [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|Irreligious]]
|  73,954
| {{Percentage |  73954|   185,225| 2 }}

|    47,581
| {{Percentage |    47581|    157,479| 2 }}
|    35,114
| {{Percentage |    35114|   147,911| 2 }}
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total responses
!   185,225
! {{Percentage |   185,225|   185,225| 2 }}

!   157,479
! {{Percentage |   157,479|   157,479| 2 }}
!   147,911
! {{Percentage |   147,911|    147,911| 2 }}
|-
|}