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.
2021 Census
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 (2021) (2022) 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204' (2021) Northern Ireland (2021) (2021/22) 149,474 6,245 5,542 3,701 164,962 59,674 5,295 1,836 871 67,676 39,637 3,725 1,287 360 45,009 47,597 3,425 2,112 725 53,860 36,442 1,135 772 237 38,586 11,858 1,441 320 239 13,858 10,410 392 214 48 11,064 4,350 390 163 24 4,927 1,500 66 33 27 1,626 Other Southeast Asia 15,582 99 108 – 15,789 Total 376,524 22,213 12,348 6,232 417,317
Ethnic group
Ethnic group (2021) (2022) > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204' (2021) Northern Ireland (2021) (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
See also British Asians British East and Southeast Asian East Asians in the United Kingdom Central Asians in the United Kingdom Asian Americans Asian Australians Asian Canadians Asian New Zealanders
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