British Iraqis Explained

Group:British Iraqis
Population: Iraqi-born residents in the United Kingdom: 93,285
(2021/22 census)
: 86,229 (2021)[1]
: 3,683 (2022)[2]
: 3,164 (2021)
Northern Ireland: 209 (2021)[3]
Previous estimates:
32,236 (2001 census)
75,295 (2011 censuses for England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland combined)
58,000 (2020 ONS estimate)
Other estimates
350,000–450,000 (2007 Iraqi embassy estimate)
Popplace:London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow
Langs:Mesopotamian Arabic and British English,
also Kurdish (Sorani, Feyli and Kurmanji dialects), Turkish (Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialects), and Neo-Aramaic (Suret, and Mandaic)
Rels:Islam (Shia and Sunni), Christianity (Syriac Christianity and Eastern Catholicism), Mandaeism, Judaism

British Iraqis are British citizens who originate from Iraq.

The three main ethnicities within the British Iraqi community are Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, according to a publication by the International Organization for Migration.[4] There are also smaller Assyrian, Mandaean and Yazidi communities.[5] [6]

History

The UK has had a significant Iraqi population since the late 1940s.[7] Refugees including liberal and radical intellectuals dissatisfied with the monarchist regime moved to the UK at this time. Supporters of the monarchy subsequently fled to the UK after it was overthrown.[7] According to an International Organization for Migration mapping exercise, many settled Iraqi migrants in the UK moved for educational purposes or to seek a better life in the 1950s and 1960s. Some members of religious minorities were also forced to leave Iraq in the 1950s.[4] Other Iraqis migrated to the UK to seek political asylum during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, with large number of Kurds and Shi'a Muslims in particular migrating in the 1970s and 1980s,[8] or as a result of the instability that followed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[4]

In the six-year period between 2018 and 2023, 15,392 Iraqi nationals entered the United Kingdom by crossing the English Channel using small boats – the third most common nationality of all small boat arrivals.[9] [10]

Demographics

Population size

The 2001 UK census recorded 32,236 Iraqi-born residents.[11] The 2011 UK census recorded 70,426 Iraqi-born residents in England, 2,548 in Wales,[12] 2,246 in Scotland [13] and 75 in Northern Ireland.[14] The Office for National Statistics estimates that, as of 2020, the UK-wide figure was around 58,000.

According to estimates by the Iraqi embassy in 2007, the Iraqi population in the UK was around 350,000–450,000.[15] At the time of the Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005, the International Herald Tribune suggested that 250,000 Iraqi exiles were living in the UK, with an estimated 150,000 eligible to vote.[16]

Population distribution

According to community leaders in March 2007, there are around 150,000 Iraqis in London, 35,000 in Birmingham, 18,000 in Manchester, 8,000 in Cardiff and 5,000 in Glasgow.[15]

Ethnicity

According to the International Organization for Migration, the three largest ethnic groups in the British Iraqi community are Arabs, Iraqi Kurds and Iraqi Turkmen.[4] In particular, the Kurds form the most numerous of these ethnic groups.[4] Moreover, they also form the largest Kurdish community in the UK, exceeding the numbers from Turkey and Iran.

There are also sizeable numbers of Assyrians,[17] Armenians, Mandaeans[6] and other ethnic groups, such as Iraqi Jews, Yezidi, Shabakis and Kawliya.

According to the 2011 census, Iraqi-born England and Wales residents most commonly gave their ethnicity as Arab (39%), "any other ethnic group" (28%) and Asian (17%).[18]

Religion

Although the majority of Iraqis are Muslim (Shia and Sunni), there are also minority religions including Christians, Jews,[4] and followers of Mandaeism,[6] Yazidism, Shabakism and Yarsan.

Notable individuals

See main article: List of British Iraqis.

Notable Iraqi names in Britain include:

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Country of birth (extended) . Office for National Statistics . 28 March 2023.
  2. Web site: Table UV204 - Country of birth: Country by Country of Birth by Individuals . National Records of Scotland. 24 May 2024. '2022' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204'
  3. Web site: MS-A18: Country of birth - full detail. Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 22 September 2022. 25 May 2023.
  4. Web site: International Organization for Migration. Iraq: Mapping exercise. London. 2007. 3 July 2010. International Organization for Migration. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163637/http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_IRAQ.pdf. 16 July 2011. 5.
  5. .
  6. News: Mandaeans - a threatened religion. Angus. Crawford. BBC News. 19 October 2008. 2 October 2021.
  7. Web site: The Iraqi Muslim Community in England: Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities . Change Institute . Communities and Local Government . London . April 2009 . 3 July 2010 . 22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110923141354/http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1210510.pdf . 23 September 2011 .
  8. Book: Ansari, Humayun. Khizar Humayun Ansari. The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain since 1800. 2004. C. Hurst & Co.. 1-85065-685-1. 162–163. London.
  9. Web site: Official Statistics: Irregular migration to the UK, year ending December 2022 . gov.uk . Home Office . 23 February 2023.
  10. Web site: Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act: data tables to December 2023 . gov.uk . Home Office . 2 January 2024.
  11. Web site: Country-of-birth database . . 3 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090617032129/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls . 17 June 2009 .
  12. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-qs203ew.xls "2011 Census: QS203EW Country of birth (detailed), local authorities in England and Wales"
  13. http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2a_COB_detailed_Scotland.pdf "Country of birth (detailed)"
  14. http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census 2011_Excel/2011/QS206NI.xls "Country of Birth – Full Detail: QS206NI"
  15. .
  16. News: Iraqis far from home sign up to vote. Monica. Davey. International Herald Tribune. 19 January 2005. 3 July 2010.
  17. Web site: Assyriac: Denied in Its Own Homeland, but Accepted in England. www.bethsuryoyo.com.
  18. Web site: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_407038.pdf . 2011 Census Analysis: Ethnicity and Religion of the Non-UK Born Population in England and Wales . nationalarchives.gov.uk . . 2015-06-18 . 2016-01-05.
  19. Web site: Iraqi Community Association . Refugee Stories . Refugee Community History Project . 3 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100912065029/http://www.refugeestories.org/iraqi-community-association/ . 12 September 2010 .
  20. Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/jim-al-khalili, Profile, University of Surrey.
  21. Web site: INEED, RESPECT, TRUST - The memoir of a vision by Nemir Kirdar. Investcorp. 27 February 2019. Nemir Kirdar...now a British citizen, he was born in Iraq but left the country after the military coup of 1958.. 28 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190228070012/https://www.investcorp.com/news-and-media/article/need-respect-trust-the-memoir-of-a-vision-by-nemir-kirdar. dead.

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