British Bangladeshi
 |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
451,529 (0.7% of UK population, 2011) 2001 – 283,063 1991 – 162,835 1981 – 64,561 |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| London, West Midlands, Greater Manchester | |
| Languages | |
| Sylheti, Bengali, British English | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Muslim (90%),
Minorities are Christian (1.5%), other religions (1.2%) and irreligious (1.5%)
|
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bengali people, British Asian |
British Bangladeshis (Bengali: ব্রিটিশ বাংলাদেশি) are people of Bangladeshi origin who reside in the United Kingdom having immigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose ancestors did so. They are also known as British Bengalis, in reference to the main ethnic group from that region. Large numbers of Bangladeshis immigrated to the UK, primarily from Sylhet, located in the north-east of the country, mainly during the 1970s. The largest concentration is in London, primarily in the east London boroughs, of which Tower Hamlets has the highest proportion. This large diaspora in London leads people in Bangladesh to refer to British Bangladeshis as "Londonis". There are also significant numbers of British Bangladeshis in Birmingham, Oldham, Luton, Burnley and Bradford, with smaller clusters in Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Rochdale, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Bangladeshis form one of the UK's largest group of people of overseas descent and are also one of the country's youngest and fastest growing communities. The 2011 UK Census recorded nearly half-a-million residents of Bangladeshi ethnicity. Bangladeshis form a largely homogeneous community. Rates of unemployment are typically high, there is overcrowding, and some health problems. British Bangladeshis have the highest overall relative poverty rate of any ethnic group in the UK with 65% of Bangladeshis living in low income households.
Bengalis had been present in Britain as early as the 19th century. The earliest records of arrivals from the region that is known today as Bangladesh (was British India) are of Sylheti cooks in London during 1873, in the employment of the East India Company, who travelled to the UK as lascars on ships to work in restaurants. Some ancestors of British Bangladeshis went to the UK before World War I. Author Caroline Adams records that in 1925 a lost Bengali man was searching for other Bengali settlers in London. These first few arrivals started the process of "chain migration" mainly from one region of Bangladesh, Sylhet, which led to substantial numbers of people migrating from rural areas of the region, creating links between relatives in Britain and the region. They mainly immigrated to the United Kingdom to find work, achieve a better standard of living, and to escape conflict. During the pre-state years, the 1950s and 1960s, Bengali men immigrated to London in search of employment. Most settled in Tower Hamlets, particularly around Spitalfields and Brick Lane. In 1971, Bangladesh (until then known as "East Pakistan") fought for its independence from Pakistan in what was known as the Bangladesh Liberation War. In the region of Sylhet, this led some people to join the Mukti Bahini, or Liberation Army.
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