British Pakistanis
برطانوی پاکستانی | |
|---|---|
 Distribution by local authority in the 2011 census. | |
| Total population | |
 United Kingdom: 1,662,286 – 2.5% (2021) England: 1,570,285 – 2.8% (2021) Scotland: 72,871 – 1.3% (2022) Wales: 17,534 – 0.6% (2021)Northern Ireland: 1,596 – 0.08% (2021) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| English (British and Pakistani) · Urdu · Punjabi · Pashto · Sindhi · Balochi · Brahui · Kashmiri · Khowar · Shina · Balti · others | |
| Religion | |
| Mostly Islam (92.6%) Minority Others (2.2%) 2021 census, NI, England and Wales only | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
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| British people |
|---|
| United Kingdom |
| Eastern European |
| Northern European |
| Southern European |
| Western European |
| Central Asian |
| East Asian |
| South Asian |
| Southeast Asian |
| West Asian |
| Horner African |
| Maghrebi African |
| Congo-Saharan African |
| Caribbean |
| Northern American |
| South American |
| Oceanian |
British Pakistanis or Pakistani Britons are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom with ancestral roots in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakistani-born people who have migrated to the UK and those of Pakistani origin from overseas who migrated to the UK.
The UK hosts the largest Pakistani community in Europe, with over 1.6 million people recorded in the 2021 Census. British Pakistanis are the second-largest ethnic minority group in the United Kingdom and the second-largest subgroup of British Asians. They also form one of the largest populations within the global Pakistani diaspora, comparable in size to the Pakistani community in the UAE.
Migration from regions that now form Pakistan began in small numbers during the 1950s and 1960s, facilitated by Pakistan’s membership of the Commonwealth. Many migrants were recruited to address labour shortages in industries such as textiles, steel, engineering, manufacturing, while others, including doctors, contributed to the development of the National Health Service.
The British Pakistani population has grown from around 10,000 in 1951 to over 1.6 million in 2021. The majority reside in England, with significant communities in Scotland and smaller populations in Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2021, there were 1,587,819 Pakistanis in England and Wales (2.7% of the population). Scotland recorded 72,871 (1.3%) in 2022, while Northern Ireland recorded 1,596 people (less than 0.1%).
The community is predominantly Muslim; around 93% of Pakistanis in England and Wales identified as Muslim in the 2021 Census.
While the community has historically experienced higher relative poverty rates, more recent data indicates progress in areas such as homeownership, where they have among the highest rates in England and Wales.