What are the current Muslim population percentages in major UK cities?

1. Summary of the results

The most reliable baseline for city‑level Muslim population shares in the UK comes from the 2021 Census and subsequent compilations drawing on it; Tower Hamlets records the highest local authority share at around 39.9%, with Blackburn with Darwen (~35.0%), Newham (~34.8%), Luton (~32.9%), Redbridge (~31.3%), and Birmingham reported near 29.9% in various 2021‑based summaries ^{[1] [2]}. Several compilations and news lists that synthesise census outputs and local authority estimates place Bradford and Slough in the high‑20s to low‑30s range (commonly ~24–31%), while cities such as Leicester and Manchester show lower but still significant Muslim shares (roughly the low‑20s) ^[2]. At the national level, England and Wales registered about 6.5% Muslim in Census 2021, and London contains the largest absolute Muslim population (over a million in recent estimates), though its borough‑by‑borough shares vary widely ^{[1] [3]}. These figures come from government census tables and widely‑circulated compilations published since 2021; they represent point estimates from the last full census and aggregated local authority reporting rather than dynamic, real‑time counts ^{[1] [2]}. Where sources differ, the discrepancies are typically small and arise from rounding, local authority boundary definitions, or use of mid‑year population estimates versus raw census denominators ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

City percentage figures by themselves omit important context: absolute population counts, age structure, recent migration, and internal household distribution significantly affect how those percentages are experienced locally. For example, a borough with 35% Muslim may vary in absolute numbers from another with the same share if total population sizes differ; London’s larger population means many boroughs have substantial absolute Muslim populations even at lower percentages ^{[3] [1]}. Census data are snapshots ^[4] and may not reflect post‑2021 migration, births, or local demographic change; analysts using mid‑year estimates or local administrative data sometimes produce modestly different percentages cited in non‑government lists ^[2]. Additionally, definitions matter: some compilations use local authority areas, others use city proper boundaries or metropolitan districts, and small‑area concentrations (wards) can reach much higher localised shares, influencing service needs and representation ^{[1] [2]}. Finally, socioeconomic and linguistic diversity inside Muslim communities—UK‑born vs. overseas‑born, language proficiency, and employment patterns—are crucial for policy design but are rarely visible when only percentage shares are reported ^{[5] [6]}.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

Listing city percentages without caveats can be misused to infer rapid growth trends or to suggest uniformity across Muslim communities; that framing benefits actors who seek to portray demographic change as sweeping or threatening, or conversely to overstate political strength in a locality. Sources that present ranked “top 10” lists ^[2] may select metrics and cutoffs that emphasise concentration while downplaying absolute numbers or temporal context; such lists can serve media narratives that prioritise striking percentages over nuanced interpretation. Government census outputs ^[1] are less prone to sensationalism but can be selectively quoted: activists or commentators may cite the highest‑share boroughs (e.g., Tower Hamlets at ~39.9%) to generalise about an entire city or region, which ignores intra‑city variation and the multi‑ethnic, multilingual composition of Muslim populations ^{[1] [5]}. Conversely, omission of the census year or mixing different data vintages can produce misleading comparisons; therefore claims about “current” percentages should specify source and date to avoid conflating 2021 census shares with later estimates or different geographic units ^{[3] [2]}.