IT has traditionally been viewed by many as a WASP city – overwhelmingly white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant.

But new research has shown York to be a very different city in 2010, with the ethnic minority population having more than doubled in the past decade to almost 22,000.

The research, commissioned by the York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation, also revealed there were now more than 70 different languages being spoken in the city and an estimated 800 migrant workers were currently employed in York.

The figures have been revealed in the report Mapping York’s Rapidly Changing Minority Ethnic Populations, which was published today following six months of research by Professor Gary Craig, visiting professor at the University of Durham.

Prof Craig, who lives near York, said the city’s population make-up had changed a great deal since the last census in 2001, but very little had been known about it.

He said: “This research will provide a clearer understanding and will help organisations in the city understand the local population better.

“It will also enable policy-makers and service-users to consider what needs to be done to provide better services across minority ethnic communities in York.”

Prof Craig said an increase in the number of migrant workers coming to York from Eastern Europe, foreign students coming to study at the University Of York and children born to ethnic minority people were all factors in the changing picture.

The report is expected to be useful for organisations working with and allocating funding to minority ethnic groups in York.

Local authorities throughout the country will also be able to use the report to learn from the research methods and carry out similar studies in their areas.

Anne Harrop, director of research and policy at the foundation, said: “The report highlights the huge change in the city’s population and suggests the city is much more ethnically diverse than originally assumed.

“The research will help organisations provide a more accurate, targeted, service for York’s minority ethnic groups and communities.

“We hope it will also encourage appropriate changes to be made to reflect the true make up of York and celebrate its diversity.”