Southeast Asians in the United Kingdom facts for kids

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Southeast Asians in the United Kingdom

Total population
England and  Wales only: 267,288 – 0.45% (2021) 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.
Regions with significant populations
London, Belfast, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh
Languages
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.
Religion
Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Non-religious, others
Related ethnic groups
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, but has been considered as a particular ethnic identity, including by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Southeast Asians have been studied academically as a distinct group.

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.

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.

State/Territory	England (2021)	Scotland (2022)	Wales (2021)	Northern Ireland (2021)	United Kingdom (2021/22)
Philippines	149,474	6,245	5,542	3,701	164,962
Malaysia	59,674	5,295	1,836	871	67,676
Singapore	39,637	3,725	1,287	360	45,009
Thailand	47,597	6,948	2,112	725	–
Vietnam	36,442		772	237
Indonesia	11,858		320	239
Myanmar	10,410		214	48
Brunei	4,350		163	24
Cambodia	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	England (2021)	Scotland (2022)	Wales (2021)	Northern Ireland (2021)	United Kingdom (2021/22)
Filipinos	155,996	To be published, only 2011 figures available	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.

Subgroups

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