Total population | |
---|---|
Iraqi-born residents in the United Kingdom: 93,285 (2021/22 census) [note 1] England: 86,229 (2021) [1] Scotland: 3,683 (2022) [2] Wales: 3,164 (2021) [1] 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) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow | |
Languages | |
Mesopotamian Arabic and British English, also Kurdish (Sorani, Feyli and Kurmanji dialects), Turkish (Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialects), and Neo-Aramaic (Suret, and Mandaic) | |
Religion | |
Islam (Shia and Sunni), Christianity (Syriac Christianity and Eastern Catholicism), Mandaeism, Judaism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Arab British, Iraqi Americans, Iraqi Australians British Assyrians, British Iranian, Lebanese British, British Jews, Turkish British
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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]
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]
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. [15]
According to estimates by the Iraqi embassy in 2007, the Iraqi population in the UK was around 350,000–450,000. [16] 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. [17]
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. [16]
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. [18]
There are also sizeable numbers of Assyrians, [19] Armenians, Mandaeans [6] and other ethnic groups, such as Iraqi Jews, Yezidi, Shabakis and Kawliya.[ citation needed ]
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%). [20]
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 Iraqi names in Britain include:
The Iraqi people are people originating from the country of Iraq.
Minorities in Iraq have been incredibly influential to the history of the country, and consist of various ethnic and religious groups. The largest minority group is the Kurds, with Turkmen following shortly after. Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Assyrians constituted a population of 1.5 million, and belonged to various different churches such as the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syriac Orthodox/Catholic Churches. Other minority groups include Armenians, Mandaeans, Baha'i, among others.
Iraqis are people who originate from the country of Iraq.
The Iraqi Turkmen, also referred to as Iraqi Turks, Turkish-Iraqis, the Turkish minority in Iraq, and the Iraqi-Turkish minority are Iraq's third largest ethnic group. They make up to 10%–13% of the Iraqi population and are native to northern Iraq. Iraqi Turkmen share ties with Turkish people, and do not identify with the Turkmen of Turkmenistan and Central Asia.
Australians in the United Kingdom, or Australian Britons, include Australians who have become residents or citizens of the United Kingdom. The largest segment of Australia's diaspora of 1 million resides in the United Kingdom.
Iraqi Americans are American citizens of Iraqi descent. As of 2015, the number of Iraqi Americans is around 145,279, according to the United States Census Bureau.
French migration to the United Kingdom is a phenomenon that has occurred at various points in history. The Norman Conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 resulted in the arrival of Normans, while in the 16th and 17th centuries Protestant Huguenots fled religious persecution to East London. Other waves are associated with monasticism, particularly post-conquest Benedictines and Cistercians, aristocracy fleeing the French Revolution, expulsion of religious orders by Third Republic France, and current expats.
Spaniards in the United Kingdom are people of Spanish descent resident in Britain. They may be British citizens or non-citizen immigrants. In the 2021 census for England and wales, 81,150 people self-identified as ethnic Spanish.
Iraqi Australians are Australian citizens who identify themselves to be Iraqi descent. Since the 1991 Gulf War, thousands of Iraqis have found refuge in Australia. The total of population is estimated to be as high as 95,000. A Considerable part of Australia's Iraqi-born population doesn't claim Iraqi ancestry with most being Assyrian.
British Arabs 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.
Iranians in the United Kingdom or British Iranians consist of people of Iranian nationality who have settled in the United Kingdom, as well as British residents and citizens of Iranian heritage. Iranians in the United Kingdom are referred to by hyphenated terms such as British-Iranians, British-Persians, Iranian-Britons, or Persian-Britons.
British Moroccans are citizens and/or residents of the United Kingdom whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in Morocco.
Czechs in the United Kingdom refers to the phenomenon of Czech people migrating to the United Kingdom from the Czech Republic or from the political entities that preceded it, such as Czechoslovakia. There are some people in the UK who were either born in the Czech lands or have Czech ancestry, some of whom descended from Jewish refugees who arrived during World War II.
Ethnic groups in the Middle East are ethnolinguistic groupings in the "transcontinental" region that is commonly a geopolitical term designating the intercontinental region comprising West Asia without the South Caucasus, and also comprising Egypt in North Africa. The Middle East has historically been a crossroad of different cultures and languages. Since the 1960s, the changes in political and economic factors have significantly altered the ethnic composition of groups in the region. While some ethnic groups have been present in the region for millennia, others have arrived fairly recently through immigration. The largest socioethnic groups in the region are Egyptians, Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azerbaijanis but there are dozens of other ethnic groups that have hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of members.
New Zealanders in the United Kingdom are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom who originate from New Zealand.
British Afghans are British citizens and non-citizen residents born in or with ancestors from, Afghanistan, part of worldwide Afghan diaspora. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that there were 79,000 people born in Afghanistan living in the UK in 2019.
Algerians in the United Kingdom are residents of the UK with ancestry from Algeria. They include Algerian-born immigrants and their British-born descendants.
Nemir Amin Kirdar was an Iraqi banker, billionaire, businessman, financier and author. As a founding father of private equity, and an economic and cultural bridge-builder, he was the founder and CEO of Investcorp, a global alternative investment group that operates in Manama, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, and Singapore. He spent much of his life in London, and held British citizenship. He was of Iraqi Turkmen background from Kirkuk.
Lithuanians in the United Kingdom include individuals born in Lithuania who have migrated to the UK, among them Lithuanian citizens of Russian descent and Polish Lithuanian citizens, as well as their British-born descendants. The 2011 UK Census recorded 95,730 Lithuanian-born residents in England, 1,353 in Wales, 4,287 in Scotland, and 7,341 in Northern Ireland. The previous, 2001 UK Census, had recorded 4,363 Lithuanian-born residents. The Office for National Statistics estimates that 144,000 Lithuanian-born immigrants were resident in the UK in 2013.
Nemir Kirdar...now a British citizen, he was born in Iraq but left the country after the military coup of 1958.