Southeast Asians in the United Kingdom explained

See also: British Asians, British East and Southeast Asian, Central Asians in the United Kingdom and East Asians in the United Kingdom.

Group:	Southeast Asians in the United Kingdom
Population:	and only: 267,288 – 0.45% (2021)^[1] Filipino – 162,138 – 0.27% (2021) Thai – 39,962 – 0.07% (2021) Vietnamese – 37,458 – 0.06% (2021) Malays – 12,872 – 0.02% (2021) Burmese – 7,514 – 0.01% (2021) Indonesians – 7,344 – 0.01% (2021) Does not include any Southeast Asians who may be in the 'Other Ethnic Group' as provided by the Office for National Statistics for the 2021 census.
Popplace:	London, Belfast, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh
Langs:	Tagalog/Filipino – 60,899 Thai – 22,966 Vietnamese – 18,518 Malay – 8,014 Number of speakers in England and Wales as a main language, of all usual residents aged 3 and over, from the 2021 census.^[2]
Rels:	Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Non-religious, others
Related-C:	Asians

Southeast Asians have lived in the United Kingdom for several centuries, arriving from Southeast Asia and primarily originating from countries and territories such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Population history

Southeast Asian is not a category used in official statistics in the United Kingdom,^[3] but has been considered as a particular ethnic identity,^{[4] [5] [6]} including by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,^[7] and Southeast Asians have been studied academically as a distinct group.^{[8] [9]}

The country had a small population of Filipinos, Singaporeans and Malaysians until the late 20th century. The number started to grow in the 1970s after the passage of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act and its amendment in 1968 which curtailed extensive rights to immigrate to the UK for Commonwealth citizens. This Act had the effect of more immigration from non-Commonwealth countries, such as the Philippines.

The 2001 UK census recorded 9,924 Burmese-born people residing in the United Kingdom.^[10]

Country of birth

The figures below represent data collected for the 2021 United Kingdom census with the country as a reported birthplace recorded (i.e. does not include British born people of Southeast Asian origin). The census in Scotland was delayed for a year and took place in 2022.^[11]

State/Territory	(2021)^[12]	(2022)^[13]	(2021)	Northern Ireland (2021)^[14]	(2021/22)
	149,474	6,245	5,542	3,701	164,962
	59,674	5,295	1,836	871	67,676
	39,637	3,725	1,287	360	45,009
	47,597	6,948	2,112	725	–
	36,442		772	237
	11,858		320	239
	10,410		214	48
	4,350		163	24
	1,500		33	27
Other Southeast Asia	15,582		108	–
Total	376,524	22,214	12,348	6,232	417,318

Ethnic group

Ethnic group	(2021)^[15]	(2022)^[16]	(2021)	Northern Ireland (2021)^[17]	(2021/22)
Filipinos	155,996	To be published, only 2011 figures available^[18]	6,142	4,449	166,587
Thai	38,279		1,683	373	40,335
Vietnamese	36,643		815	117	37,575
Malay	12,407		466	143	13,016
Burmese/Myanma	7,338		177	18	7,533
Indonesian	7,145		199	124	7,468
Total	257,808	TBC	9,482	5,224	272,514

In media

In 2008, ABS-CBN reported that acting parts in the British film industry were rare for Southeast Asian British people.^[19]

Subgroups

• Southeast Asians
  • Burmese
  • Filipinos
  • Indonesians
  • Malaysians
  • Singaporeans
  • Thais
  • Vietnamese

See also

• British Asians
• British East and Southeast Asian
• East Asians in the United Kingdom
• Central Asians in the United Kingdom
• Asian Americans
• Asian Australians
• Asian Canadians
• Asian New Zealanders

Notes and References

1. Web site: TS:002 Ethnic group (detailed) . Office for National Statistics . 30 January 2023.
2. Web site: TS024 - Main language (detailed) . Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics . 28 March 2023.
3. Who is Asian? A category that remains contested in population and health research. Peter J.. Aspinall. Journal of Public Health Medicine. 2003. 25. 2. 91–97. 10.1093/pubmed/fdg021 . 45161903 . 12848395 .
4. Book: Martin F Norden. Robert F Weir. Pop culture matters : proceedings of the 39th Conference of the Northeast Popular Culture Association. 2019. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-5275-3068-3. 195. Prevailing racist codes – be they denigrating African Americans in the United States, or Southeast Asians in Britain..
5. Book: Anna Triandafyllidou. Handbook on tolerance and cultural diversity. 2011. European University Institute. 14. Indeed people of different ethnic backgrounds may share the same religion (e.g. southeast Asians in Britain, Moroccans and Turks in the Netherlands or in Germany)..
6. Book: Raymond MacDonald. David J. Hargreaves. Dorothy Miell. Handbook of Musical Identities. 2017. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-967948-5. 535. While some ethnic minority groups may be related to recent or old migration waves (e.g., Mexicans in the USA or South East Asians in the UK), others refer to populations that gained minority status over time (e.g., the Aboriginal in Canada)..
7. Web site: The South-East Asia Diaspora in the UK. 2015. Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
8. Book: K. White. J.A. Lawrence. Morgan M. Medlock. Derri Shtasel. Nhi-Ha T. Trinh. David R. Williams. Racism and Psychiatry: Contemporary Issues and Interventions (Current Clinical Psychiatry). 2018. Racial/Ethnic Residential Segregation and Mental Health Outcomes. Humana Press. 978-3-319-90196-1. 46. The evidence for associations between residential segregation ... among Asian Americans is sparse, although studies of Southeast Asians in the UK are more common..
9. Book: David Matsumoto. David Matsumoto. Culture and Psychology. 2016. Culture and Psychological Disorders. Cengage. 978-1-305-64895-1. 307. A comparison of white British and South-east Asian British adolescent females diagnosed with anorexia.
10. Web site: XLS. Country-of-birth database. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 19 December 2016.
11. News: March 21st is Census day - but Scotland will have to wait. Kirsty. McNeill. Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights. 18 March 2021. 26 March 2023.
12. Web site: Country of birth (extended) . 12 August 2023 . www.ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics.
13. Web site: Table UV204 - Country of birth: Country by Country of Birth by Individuals . National Records of Scotland. 24 May 2024. > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204'
14. Web site: MS-A18: Country of birth - full detail . 22 September 2023. nisra.gov.uk . Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
15. Web site: TS022: Ethnic group (detailed) . Office for National Statistics . 30 January 2023.
16. Web site: Table UV201 - Ethnic group: Country by Ethnic Group by Individuals. National Records of Scotland. 24 May 2024. > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204'
17. Web site: MS-B02 Ethnic group - full detail . Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency . 30 November 2023.
18. Web site: Ethnic group (detailed) . National Records of Scotland . http://web.archive.org/web/20151223161655/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2A_Ethnicity_detailed_Scotland.pdf . 23 December 2015.
19. News: Fil-Brit 'maid' in BBC comedy show explains why she did it. Gene Alcantara. Acting jobs for southeast Asians in the United Kingdom (UK) are few and far between, so Filipino actors and actresses take what is offered when they come up. . 27 January 2008. ABS-CBN Corporation.