What are the main countries of origin for Muslims in London?

1. Size and citywide diversity: London leads England and Wales

Estimates put roughly 1.2–1.3 million Muslims in London in recent regional counts, making London the English region with the largest Muslim population ^[1], and London’s Muslim share is larger than the national average, with the city characterised by greater ethnic variety than the rest of the UK where South Asian origins dominate ^[2].

2. South Asian origins: Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Indians remain the largest single bloc

A plurality of London’s Muslims trace their origins to the Indian subcontinent: Bangladeshi-origin Muslims form a particularly large single ethnic group in London—constituting about 24% of the city’s Muslim population in some assessments—and Pakistanis and Indians together with other South Asian groups still represent the largest overall segment of London Muslims, reflecting migration patterns from the colonial and post‑war labour eras ^{[4] [2] [5]}.

3. East African and Middle Eastern communities: Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and other Arab origins

Alongside South Asian communities, London hosts sizeable Somali and Yemeni Muslim populations with long-established settlement in port and inner‑city areas, and there are also notable Iraqi, Lebanese and broader Arab-origin Muslim communities concentrated in Greater London; research and profiles routinely list Somalia and Yemen among the major origins for UK Muslims and highlight Arab Muslim communities clustered in London ^{[6] [4] [7]}.

4. Other significant national origins: Turkey, Nigeria and broader African and white-identified groups

London’s Muslim mosaic includes Turkish communities and multiple African-origin groups such as Nigerians and Ghanaians, and the city’s Muslim population is more ethnically mixed than the rest of Britain with substantial proportions identifying as white, black or “other” in surveys—roughly 58% south Asian, almost 20% white, and a little over 13% black in earlier city-level breakdowns—underlining the plural origins beyond the South Asian majority seen nationally ^[2].

5. Local concentrations and borough-level facts: Tower Hamlets, Newham and others

Borough-level census and community data show very large Muslim concentrations in specific areas: Tower Hamlets and Newham rank among London boroughs with the highest Muslim populations (Tower Hamlets and Newham are repeatedly listed in the top localities), and national reporting from the Muslim Council of Britain highlights Tower Hamlets and Newham each with six‑figure Muslim populations in recent census-era tallies ^{[3] [8]}.

6. Caveats, data limits and narratives: what the sources emphasise and what they omit

Public sources differ in detail and date—academic profiles and CREST reviews emphasise origins in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen and Somalia ^[6], while city profiles and mapping note a more mixed ethnic composition in London than nationally ^[2]; however, available summaries rely on a mix of census-era data, community estimates and secondary reports, so precise ranking by country of birth versus ancestral origin can shift with methodology and recent migration, and reporting often foregrounds a few high‑visibility communities (e.g., Bangladeshi in Tower Hamlets) which can obscure smaller but significant groups such as Iraqi Kurds or Nigerian Muslims ^{[2] [7]}. Alternative viewpoints include community organisations emphasising internal diversity and second‑generation British identities rather than single-country labels ^[6], and some data sources and commentators carry implicit agendas—local advocacy groups highlight growth and vibrancy ^[3] while security or migration narratives sometimes overemphasise particular origins; these tensions underline the need to pair borough‑level census tools with community research for a full picture ^{[9] [6]}.