What was the Muslim population percentage in Birmingham during the 2011 census?
Executive summary
The 2011 Census recorded that 21.8% of Birmingham residents identified themselves as Muslim, a figure reported in multiple local and research sources [1] [2] [3]. That proportion—equivalent to about 233,923 people according to some summaries—far exceeded the England and Wales average of 4.8% recorded in the same census [2] [4].
1. Census headline: 21.8% — what the official-era summaries say
Multiple post-census summaries and local analyses state that Muslims made up 21.8% of Birmingham’s population in 2011, a number repeated by the Office for National Statistics visualisations and local government materials comparing 2011 and 2021 figures [1] [3] [2]. The figure is also reflected in independent population and city-profile pages that draw on ONS 2011 outputs [5].
2. Raw counts and context: roughly 233,923 people
Some local reports and academic briefings translate the 21.8% into an absolute count, stating there were approximately 233,923 Muslims in Birmingham in 2011, underscoring both the scale of the community and how it diverged from national averages [2]. Community organisations and local council briefings reference substantial year-on-year growth leading into the 2011 census, which is why both percentage and raw count matter for service planning [6] [7].
3. Why confusion appears: competing figures and later shifts
Confusion in secondary sources arises because later datasets and the 2021 Census show substantial change—the Muslim share in Birmingham rose to 29.9% by 2021—so some summaries or headlines conflate 2011 and 2021 percentages when discussing trends [1] [8]. Academic pieces and media sometimes quote different local estimates (for example, local studies citing “around 27%” in specific contexts or ward-level concentrations), which can be misread as citywide 2011 values rather than later estimates or area-specific figures [4].
4. How 2011 compares to national and historical baselines
The 2011 Birmingham figure (21.8%) is many times the England and Wales average of 4.8% recorded in the same census, highlighting Birmingham’s unusually high Muslim concentration among large UK cities [2] [4]. Historically, earlier censuses showed lower percentages—14.3% in 2001 for the city—so 2011 represented a continuation of growth that accelerated into the 2010s [9] [8].
5. Reliability, caveats and what the sources don’t settle
The answer above is based on ONS-derived summaries and locally produced analyses that explicitly cite 2011 census outputs [1] [2] [3]; however, not every source gives the same level of methodological detail about how respondents answered the voluntary religion question or how non-response was handled, and some local reports focus on ward-level variation rather than a single citywide percentage [10] [11]. Where sources diverge—e.g., between citywide and constituency or ward percentages—this analysis does not assert those alternative figures as the 2011 citywide rate because the cited ONS/local council materials consistently record 21.8% for 2011 [1] [2].
Conclusion: the direct answer
The 2011 Census recorded that 21.8% of Birmingham’s population identified as Muslim (about 233,923 people in some summaries), a figure documented in ONS-derived local and research outputs and repeatedly used in council and academic reporting [1] [2] [3]. Subsequent censuses show a further increase, so care is required when reading later headlines that compare 2011 and 2021 values and when encountering ward- or constituency-level percentages that are not citywide measures [1] [7].