How has the geographic distribution of Muslims across UK regions and cities changed since 1991?
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Executive summary
The Muslim population in the UK has expanded from roughly 1.6 million at the 2001 census to about 4.0 million by 2021, making Muslims 6.0% of the UK population and concentrated heavily in England—especially London, which had roughly 15% Muslim share in 2021 and the largest absolute numbers (about 1.28 million in 2019 estimates) [1][2][3]. Growth has been fastest in large urban centres (London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford, Oldham), producing both larger city populations and denser localised communities since 1991 [4][5].
1. A quarter-century of scale: numbers and national share
Census-derived reporting and advocacy summaries show a clear upward trajectory: British Muslims numbered about 1.6 million in 2001, rose to 2.8 million in 2011 and to roughly 4.0 million in 2021—bringing the UK share to about 6.0% overall and 6.7% in England specifically [1][3]. The Muslim population grew much faster than the non‑Muslim population in the 2000s, a trend emphasised in summary accounts [3].
2. Urban concentration deepened, not dispersed
Multiple sources emphasise that the Muslim population remains concentrated in major urban centres. London holds the largest Muslim population and the highest proportion nationally, and other cities—Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford and Oldham—continue to host disproportionate Muslim communities relative to their size [4][3]. Statista’s use of ONS estimates put London at about 1.28 million Muslims in 2019, underlining the city’s centrality [2].
3. Regional distribution: where Muslims live in 2021
Reports using 2021 census material show England contains the vast majority of British Muslims (England 6.7%; Wales and Scotland around 2.2%; Northern Ireland 0.6% cited in MCB summary) and that the distribution remains strongly England‑centric [1]. Official ONS releases similarly limit fine-grained breakdowns to Great Britain datasets, but the available figures confirm the concentration in England and especially metropolitan regions [6][1].
4. Change since 1991: amplification of earlier patterns
Sources trace an accelerating change from 1991 to 2021: where small but visible Muslim communities existed in the late 20th century, they have multiplied in size and visibility in the largest cities. The pattern is not one of even spread across the country but of amplification in areas that already had Muslim populations—creating larger urban clusters and pockets with very high local concentrations [5][4].
5. Demographics driving geographic patterns
Analysts cite youthful age profiles and higher growth rates within Muslim communities as factors both for national increase and for sustained urban concentration—young families, higher birth rates in past decades and migration concentrated to labour and community networks in cities have driven this geography [3][5]. The Muslim Council of Britain’s use of 2021 census material emphasises internal diversity and socio‑economic clustering as well [7].
6. Data limits and what’s not reported
Official ONS material used in the summaries admits limitations: some ONS outputs do not break down Muslim figures below the overall category or provide consistent UK‑wide time series for every subregion [6]. Detailed ethnicity-by-Muslim breakdowns and local authority trends exist in data files (ONS xlsx) but are not fully parsed in the public summaries cited here [8]. Available sources do not mention fine-grained 1991→2021 maps for every city in this collection of documents; those specifics are not found in current reporting.
7. Competing framings and agendas in the sources
Advocacy and community organisations (Muslim Council of Britain) emphasise diversity, challenges and concentrated disadvantage in some areas, framing growth as a call for services and policy change [7]. Statistical outlets and encyclopaedic summaries stress raw growth and urban concentration without prescribing remedies [3][4]. Readers should note the MCB’s agenda to highlight both progress and needs in Muslim communities, while ONS‑based charts aim for neutral enumeration [7][2].
8. What this means for cities and policy
The consolidated pattern—rapid growth concentrated in large urban centres—implies demands on housing, schools and local services where Muslim populations cluster, and it shapes political representation and community infrastructure such as mosques [4][1]. Policymakers working from the cited data must address both the scale of change since 1991 and the uneven geography of needs [1][4].
If you want, I can extract local‑authority level changes since 1991 using the ONS files referenced (the Muslim ethnicity spreadsheet and census summaries) to map which cities saw the biggest percentage and absolute increases [8][1].