Most of the industrialized world now comprises multi-ethnic societies i.e. of people from widely varying ancestry, cultures, languages and beliefs. With globalization of trade, increasing international travel and migration the whole world is destined to become multi-ethnic, probably within the next 20 to 30 years. This poses huge challenges for medical and social scientists, doctors, nurses, public health practitioners, health care managers and policy-makers. They have to meet social, ethical, legal and policy obligations to deliver evidence-based health care of equal quality and effectiveness to ethnic minority groups. To achieve this, they need a solid understanding of the underlying concepts of race and ethnicity and how these are applied to achieve robust and meaningful health statistics, workable health policies, effective health care systems, and better health for ethnic minority populations. They also need to have a high level of awareness of how things can go wrong; particularly taking into account the history of racism that permeates many societies to this day. This book lays the foundation for those wishing to acquire this knowledge.