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British Arabs
عرب بريطانيا

Distribution by local authority in the 2011 census.
Total population
United Kingdom: 355,977 – 0.5% (2021/22 Census)  England: 320,215 – 0.6% (2021)  Scotland: 22,304 – 0.4% (2022)  Wales: 11,641 – 0.4% (2021) Northern Ireland: 1,817 – 0.1% (2021)
Regions with significant populations
London Birmingham Manchester Sheffield Glasgow Liverpool Cardiff Leeds
Languages
Arabic, British English
Religion
Predominantly Islam; (83.7%); minority follows Christianity (4.1%) and other faiths (0.7%) or are irreligious (4.8%) 2021 census, NI, England and Wales only
Related ethnic groups
Arab diaspora British Emirati Lebanese Britons British Palestinians Syrian Britons Yemeni Britons

British Arabs (Arabic: عرب بريطانيا) are British citizens of Arab descent. They share a common Arab ethnicity, culture, language and identity from different Arab countries. Arabs also come from non-Arab countries as ethnic minorities (e.g. Khuzestani Arabs and Palestinian Arabs residing in occupied Palestine).

The 2021 United Kingdom census recorded a population of 355,977 or 0.5% of the population in the United Kingdom, with about 40% of the whole population residing in Greater London. In 2005, the BBC found that the majority of Arab residents in London hailed from Egypt(North African Arab), Morocco(North African Arab) , Yemen, Lebanon, the Gulf States and Iraq. The 2011 census recorded a population of 249,911 in Great Britain, with no specific figure recorded for Northern Ireland as the Arab category was introduced later in Northern Ireland.

Overview

Census designation

"British Arabs" is used as an ethnic designation by the National Association of British Arabs. It is also employed by academics, and in the media. Unlike Black British or Asian British, the term "British Arab" was not one of those employed in government ethnicity categorisations used in the 2001 UK Census and for national statistics. As a result, community members are believed to have been under-counted in previous population estimates according to the National Association of British Arabs (NABA).

This absence of a separate "Arab" category in the UK census obliged many to select other ethnicity categories. In the late 2000s, the British government announced that an "Arab" ethnicity category would be added to the 2011 UK Census for the first time. The decision came following lobbying by the National Association of British Arabs and other Arab organizations, who argued for the inclusion of a separate "Arab" entry to accommodate under-reported groups from the Arab world.

History

19th century

Great Britain and the Arab world have engaged in commercial activities with one another since the medieval times. Yemenis began to migrate to Britain since the 1860s via Aden, the main refuelling stop in the area, and settled around the docks in the port cities of Cardiff, Liverpool, South Shields, Hull, and London.

At the end of the 19th century, Yemenis working as stokers on steamships began moving ashore and set up boarding schools in the dock area. There are now an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 Yemenis in Britain.

Early 20th century

Iraqis began settling in London in the 1930s, and the UK has had a significant Iraqi population since the 1940s. Liberal and radical dissidents in the Kingdom of Iraq sought refuge to the UK at the time. Supporters of the monarchy later sought refuge in the UK after it was overthrown in 1958.

Arab migration to the United Kingdom significantly began in the 1940s and 1960s when Egyptians and Moroccans came in search of employment, and this generally increased as the Arab world wrestled for independence from European colonialism.

Late 20th and 21st centuries

The Palestinian exoduses of 1948 and 1967 saw an influx and through the 70s and 80s. More Arabs arrived from the Gulf in the 1970s during the oil-boom era to set up businesses. Arab refugees also arrived as a result of conflicts in parts of the Arab world, such as the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990 or the instability which followed the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The United Kingdom settled approximately 20,000 Syrian refugees amid the Syrian civil war.

Demographics

British Arab population by region and country

Region / Country	2021		2011
	Number	%	Number	%
England	320,203	0.57%	220,985	0.42%
—Greater London	139,791	1.59%	106,020	1.30%
—North West	43,865	0.59%	24,528	0.35%
—West Midlands	31,790	0.53%	18,079	0.32%
—South East	29,574	0.32%	19,363	0.22%
—Yorkshire and the Humber	25,474	0.46%	21,340	0.40%
—East of England	15,639	0.25%	10,367	0.18%
—East Midlands	13,360	0.27%	9,746	0.21%
—North East	10,406	0.39%	5,850	0.23%
—South West	10,302	0.18%	5,692	0.11%
Scotland	22,304	0.41%	9,366	0.18%
Wales	11,641	0.37%	9,615	0.31%
Northern Ireland	1,817	0.10%	274	0.02%
United Kingdom	355,965	0.53%	240,240	0.38%

Population

Year of arrival (2021 census, England and Wales)

The 2021 United Kingdom census recorded a population of 355,977 or 0.5% of the population in the United Kingdom. When broken down by country, England recorded 320,215 (0.6%), Wales recorded 11,641 (0.4%) and Northern Ireland recorded 1,817 (0.1%). The equivalent census was recorded a year later in Scotland with a population of 11,641, or 0.4% of the population. The ten local authorities with the largest proportion of British Arabs were largely concentrated in Greater London: Westminster (7.56%), Brent (5.27%), Kensington and Chelsea (4.45%), Ealing (4.39%), Hammersmith and Fulham (3.02%), Manchester (2.72%), Harrow (2.39%), Kingston upon Thames (2.13%), Camden (2.10%) and Barnet (1.90%). In Wales, the highest proportion was in Cardiff at 1.83%; in Scotland, the highest concentration was in Glasgow at 1.40%; and in Northern Ireland, the highest concentration was in Belfast at 0.29%.

Including both write-in and tick-box responses, 230,556 Arabs were recorded in the 2011 Census in England, 9,989 in Wales, and 9,366 in Scotland. In NABA's own report on the 2011 Census, it adds up answers from the write-in responses that it classifies as Arab, namely "Arab", "African Arab", "White and Arab", "Moroccan", "Algerian", “Egyptian”, "North African", "Other Middle East", or "White and North African", arguing that this gives a total of 366,769 Arabs in England and Wales but noting that there may be double-counting of individuals in this total, since it is uncertain how many of these individual write-in responses are also included in the general "Arab" category.

Most British Arabs live in the Greater London area, and many are either businesspeople, recent immigrants or students. There are also sizable and long-established Yemeni Arab communities living in both Cardiff and the South Shields area near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Religion

Religion	England and Wales
	2011		2021
	Number	%	Number	%
Islam	178,195	77.27%	277,737	83.70%
No religion	11,939	5.18%	15,963	4.81%
Christianity	21,988	9.54%	13,671	4.12%
Judaism	571	0.25%	425	0.13%
Buddhism	402	0.17%	129	0.04%
Hinduism	1,060	0.46%	103	0.03%
Sikhism	509	0.22%	82	0.02%
Other religions	859	0.37%	1,419	0.43%
Not Stated	15,077	6.54%	22,314	6.72%
Total	230,600	100%	331,843	100%

Community

A diverse community, British Arabs are represented in the business and media fields, among other areas. Miladi's 2006 survey of 146 community members during the summer of 2001 reported Al-Jazeera as being the respondents' preferred news outlet. Reasons supplied for the selection included the quality of the station's programs and transmission, its discussion of current issues in the Arab world, and the possibility of giving voice to the community's concerns and positions on various matters.

Additionally, 2010 was a breakthrough year in terms of political participation. Several British Arabs ran for and/or were appointed to office as community representatives.

Notable British Arabs

• Dennis W. Sciama (1926–1999), British physicist of Syrian-descent who played a role in developing British physics after the Second World War.
• Jim Al-Khalili (British Iraqi) Professor of Theoretical Physics, author, broadcaster and presenter of science programmes on BBC radio and television.
• Zaha Hadid (British-Iraqi) architect who received the architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011 and the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize (in 2004).
• Ayman Asfari, Syrian-British billionaire, former CEO of Petrofac
• Ronald Mourad: Chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures; his parents were originally from Aleppo, Syria.
• Lowkey, (British-Iraqi), musician
• Kefah Mokbel, (British-Syrian), breast surgeon and founder of the UK charity Breast Cancer Hope.
• Mustafa Suleyman, (British-Syrian), entrepreneur and co-founder of DeepMind
• Alexander Siddig, (British-Sudanese), actor
• Ghassan Abu-Sittah (British-Palestinian), surgeon
• Potter Payper, (Algerian-British), singer and rapper.
• Rachid Harkouk, (Algerian-British), Footballer
• Zeinab Badawi, (British-Sudanese), journalist at BBC world (previously ITV and Channel 4 News).
• Shadia Mansour, (British-Palestinian), musician
• Nadia Sawalha, (British-Jordanian), television presenter, cook and actress known for her role as Annie Palmer in EastEnders.
• Kamal El-Hajji, (British-Moroccan), Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons (in 2015).
• Moe Sbihi (British-Moroccan), rower and twice Olympic medal winner.
• Saleem Haddad, writer
• Naseem Hamed, (British-Yemeni), professional boxer who held multiple featherweight world championships.
• Isabella Hammad (British-Palestinian), writer
• Bilal Hasna (British-Palestinian), actor.
• Elyes Gabel, (British-Algerian), actor in Seasons 1 and 2 of the Game of Thrones.
• Faysal Bettache, (British-Algerian), professional footballer.
• Tarik O'Regan, (British-Algerian), composer and recipient of two British Composer Awards.
• Mika (singer), (British-Lebanese), singer and songwriter.
• Amal Clooney, (British-Lebanese) barrister specialising in international law and human rights and special envoy on media freedom by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
• Peter Medawar - (British-Lebanese Father), 1960 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine.
• Layla Michelle Moran, (British-Palestinian), member of Parliament, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon.
• Eugene Cotran, (British-Palestinian), Circuit judge in England.
• Jade Thirlwall, (Egyptian/Yemeni), musician, part of Little Mix.
• Adam El-Abd, (British-Egyptian), semi-professional footballer and played Egypt national team.
• Joe El-Abd, (British-Egyptian), rugby union player.
• Khalid Abdalla, (British-Egyptian), actor and activist from Maida Vale.
• Mike Bishay, (British-Egyptian), rugby league footballer of Greek and Sri Lankan descent.
• Ben Bland, (British-Egyptian), presenter and journalist for the BBC News of Lithuanian-Jewish and Russian-Jewish descent.
• Fady Elsayed, (British-Egyptian), actor.
• Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, (British-Egyptian), former rapper
• Amir El-Masry, (British-Egyptian), actor known for The Night Manager and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
• Magdi Yacoub (British-Egyptian) Cardiothoracic surgeon, carried out UK's first heart and lung transplant in the 1980s.
• Layla Kaylif, (British-Emirati), singer
• Nemir Kirdar, Iraqi businessman

See also

• Arab diaspora
• Arabs in Europe
  • Arabs in the Netherlands
  • Arabs in Sweden
  • Arabs in France
  • Arabs in Germany
• British Arab Commercial Bank
• List of British Muslims

Notes

1. Including Judaism (0.1%), Buddhism (0.04%), Hinduism (0.03%) and Sikhism (0.02%)
2. Scotland held its census a year later after the rest of the United Kingdom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, data shown is for 2022 as opposed to 2021.

References

1. ^ "Ethnic group, England and Wales: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
2. ^ "Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion - Chart data". Scotland's Census. National Records of Scotland. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024. Alternative URL 'Search data by location' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Ethnic Group'
3. ^ "MS-B01: Ethnic group". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
4. United Kingdom census (2021). "DT-0036 - Ethnic group by religion". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
5. "RM031 Ethnic group by religion". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
6. ^ BBC. "Arabic London". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
7. ^ "Table CT0010EW 2011 Census: Ethnic group (write-in responses), local authorities in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
8. "The National Association of British Arabs". The National Association of British Arabs. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
9. Nagel, Caroline (2001). "Hidden minorities and the politics of 'race': The case of British Arab activists in London". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 27 (3): 381–400. doi:10.1080/136918301200266130. S2CID 145331530.
10. Akbar, Arifa (10 January 2004). "Kilroy was here... BBC suspends daytime host". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
11. "Population size: 7.9% from a minority ethnic group". Office for National Statistics. 13 February 2003. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
12. ^ Jalili, I.K. "Study for consideration of inclusion of 'Arab' as an ethnic group on ethnicity profile forms" (PDF). National Association of British Arabs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
13. "2011 Census Questions Published". BBC News. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
14. "Arab Population in the UK - Study for consideration of inclusion of 'Arab' as an ethnic group on future census returns". Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
15. "BBC - Religions - Islam: History of Islam in the UK". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
16. ^ Change Institute (April 2009). "The Iraqi Muslim Community in England: Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities" (PDF). London: Communities and Local Government. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
17. "UK employed 'double standards' over treatment of Ukrainian, Syrian refugees". Arab News. 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
18. "Ethnic group - England and Wales regions". Office for National Statistics. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
19. 2021/22: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland
20. "QS201EW: Ethnic Group". Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
21. United Kingdom census (2011). "Table KS201SC - Ethnic group" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2018.
22. "Ethnic Group - Full Detail: QS201NI". Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
23. 2011: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland
24. "Country of birth (extended) and ethnic group". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
25. "RM031: Ethnic group and year of arrival in the UK". www.ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
26. "Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
27. "Ethnic group (detailed): All people" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
28. "REPORT ON THE 2011 CENSUS – MAY 2013 – Arabs and Arab League Population in the UK". National Association of British Arabs. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
29. "TS021 - Ethnic group". Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
30. "Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion - Chart data". Scotland's Census. National Records of Scotland. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024. Alternative URL 'Search data by location' > 'Local Authority (CA2019)' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Ethnic Group'
31. "DC2201EW - Ethnic group and religion" (Spreadsheet). ONS. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016. Size: 21Kb.
32. "Ethnic group by religion - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
33. Miladi, Noureddine (August 2006). "Satellite TV News and the Arab Diaspora in Britain: Comparing Al-Jazeera, the BBC and CNN". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 32 (6): 947–960. doi:10.1080/13691830600761552. S2CID 192658321.
34. Tarbush, Susannah (26 April 2010). "Arab engagement in the British general and local elections". Al-Hayat. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
35. Tarbush, Susannah (17 June 2010). "Mixed results in the British general and local elections for candidates of Middle Eastern origin". Al-Hayat. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
36. Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE , Profile, University of Surrey.
37. Nonie Niesewand (March 2015). "Through the Glass Ceiling". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 22 December 2018.

External links

• National Association of British Arabs
• Arab British Centre
• British Arabs Resource Centre Broken link
• Arab British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC)
• BBC Arab London
• Reassessing what we collect website – Arab London History of Arab London with objects and images - Broken link

v t e Arab diaspora
Africa	Ghana Ivory Coast Kenya Senegal Sierra Leone
Asia	Afghanistan Afghan Arabs India Indonesia Iran Khorasan Khuzestan Japan Malaysia Pakistan Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Turkey Caucasus
Europe	North Denmark Finland Sweden United Kingdom Southeast Bulgaria Dobruja Romania Serbia South Greece Italy Malta Spain West Austria Belgium France Beur Paris Germany Berlin Netherlands Switzerland
North America	Canada Cuba El Salvador Haiti Honduras Mexico United States Detroit
Oceania	Australia New Zealand
South America	Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador El Salvador Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela

• Arab diaspora in the United Kingdom
• British people of Arab descent
• Muslim communities in Europe