A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
.svg) | |
 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom: 535,517 – 0.8% (2021) England: 520,092 – 0.9% (2021)[1] Scotland: 10,988 – 0.2% (2022)[2] Wales: 4,048 – 0.1% (2021)[1] Northern Ireland: 389 – 0.02% (2021)[3] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| West Midlands | 172,398 (2.90%) |
| London | 144,543 (1.64%) |
| South East | 74,348 (0.80%) |
| East Midlands | 53,950 (1.11%) |
| East | 24,284 (0.38%) |
| Languages | |
| British English • Punjabi Hindi • Urdu | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
British Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.85% of the British population (excluding Scotland) as of 2021, forming the United Kingdom's fourth-largest religious group. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, British Sikhs (excluding Scottish Sikhs) numbered 524,529, with 520,092 in England, 4,048 in Wales, and 389 in Northern Ireland.[4][5][6] The largest Sikh populations in the United Kingdom are in the West Midlands and Greater London.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 1,500 | — |
| 1951 | 7,000 | +366.7% |
| 1961 | 16,000 | +128.6% |
| 1971 | 72,000 | +350.0% |
| 1981 | 144,000 | +100.0% |
| 1991 | 206,000 | +43.1% |
| 2001 | 336,149 | +63.2% |
| 2011 | 432,429 | +28.6% |
| 2021 | 524,529 | +21.3% |
| Source: Office for National Statistics [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] | ||
History
| Part of a series on |
| Sikhism |
|---|
 |
Sikhs and Britain have a long and storied history. Decades before the last Sikh King, Duleep Singh, stepped onto British soil in the middle of the 19th century, there had been Anglo-Sikh contact as far back as the 1800s in the Punjab with his father Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Since then, even though this relationship has changed in nature many times, both communities have left a strong permanent influence on each other. For instance, in such varied parts of British society as food, language, political systems, soldiering and of course cricket, the British-Sikh relationship has given rise to many new facets of modern British and Indian society.[19]
The first permanent Sikh in Britain was Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838-1893), the last Sikh Emperor of the Imperial Sukerchakia Dynasty, from 1844 to 1849. He arrived in England in the year 1854, having been exiled from his kingdom by the East India Company. His mother, Empress Jind Kaur (1817-1863), arrived in 1860 at Kensington in Victorian London and settled permanently, after being at war with Britain for an extended period of time until the fall of the Sikh Dynasty in 1849. She was given permission by Parliament to settle on English soil.
The First Sikh Settlers started migrating from the Punjab in 1911, when the first Sikh Gurdwara was opened in London. During the start of the First and Second World Wars respectively, there was already an established Sikh presence in many parts of England. Britain's first south Asian immigrants after the war were Pakistani Muslims and Punjabi Sikhs from the Jullundur Doab. They tended to settle in midland towns such as Birmingham and Leeds, as well as in the London borough of Southall.
In 2019, Seema Malhotra MP set up the first debate in Parliament to discuss the positive contribution of the Sikh community over the last 70 years.[20]
Despite the existence of advocacy organisations like the British Sikh Report, there is very little systematic research on British Sikhs. The only major academic work that is comprehensive, systematic and a through history of the community is by Gurharpal Singh and Darshan S. Tatla, Sikhs in Britain: The Making of a Community (Zed, 2006). This work needs updating in light of the impending Census 2021 to reflect changes in the community's profile.
Demography
According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, Sikhs in England & Wales enumerated 524,140, or 0.9% of the population.[21] According to the 2017 British Sikh Report which surveys the community in the UK, 71% were born in England, followed by 15% in India, 8% in East Africa, 2% in Scotland, and 1% in Afghanistan.[22]
Politics
There are seven Sikh Lords and two Sikh MPs; Sikhs make up 0.89% of the House of Lords and 0.31% of the House of Commons, while making up 0.85% of the British population. Incumbent Sikh Lords include five Conservatives (Baron Rana of Malone in Antrim,[23][24] Baroness Verma of Leicester, Baron Suri of Ealing, Baron Ranger of Mayfair, and Baron Ranger of Northwood), one crossbencher (Baron Singh of Wimbledon) and one Labour member (Baron Sahota of Telford). Both incumbent Sikh MPs are from the Labour party (Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi of Slough and Preet Gill of Birmingham Edgbaston). The first Sikh MP was Piara Singh Khabra of Ealing Southall and the first Sikh Lord was Baron King of West Bromwich.
Education
65% percent of British Sikhs have a graduate level qualification or above. Sikhs in the 20 - 34 age group have the highest level of graduates (55%) within the Sikh community. The highest level of postgraduate qualifications of Master's degrees (22%) is in the 35 - 49 age group. Eight percent of Sikhs aged 65 and over have a PhD. The split of formal education between women and men is roughly equal, with slightly more women holding a university degree or equivalent (48% of women, 42% of men).[25]
Employment
The most popular employment sectors for British Sikhs include: Healthcare (10%), IT and Technology (8%), Teaching and Education (9%), Accountancy and Financial Management (7%), indicating that Sikhs tend to favour professional and technical employment sectors over others. Healthcare is a popular sector for all age groups. Teaching and Education is more common in the 35 - 49 and the 50 - 64 age groups than others, whereas accountancy and financial management is more popular with the 20 - 34 age group (9%) compared with 6% respectively for both the 35 - 49 and the 50 - 64 age groups. The top career choices for Sikh women are Healthcare (14%) and Teaching and Education (15%). Healthcare is also a joint second most popular choice for Sikh men along with Accountancy and Financial Management, the most popular sector being IT and Technology (13%).[26]
Integration
British Sikhs have been praised as an example of positive cultural integration in the United Kingdom, many having achieved success due to a strong cultural work ethic combined with an emphasis on the importance of the family.[27]
Wealth
Home ownership
Home ownership is very high amongst British Sikhs with 87% of households owning at least a portion of their home. Thirty percent of British Sikh households own their homes outright and only 9% rent their properties. Only 1% of British Sikhs claim Housing Benefit. This represents the highest level of private home ownership rate over any other community in the UK. In addition, half of all British Sikh families (49%) own more than one property in the UK, with a similar number (50%) owning at least one property in India, apparently indicating that property ownership is used as a top means of building assets for the future. 6% of British Sikhs own property elsewhere in Europe.[28]
Income
Relative to the national average income at approximately £40,000 before tax (according to the British Sikh Report), it found that Sikh households tend to be affluent. Two in every three British Sikh households (66%) have pre-tax incomes in excess of £40,000, and over a third (34%) have an income in excess of £80,000, giving a value for the Sikh Pound of 7.63 billion.[29]
However this data appears to be contradicted by research carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which actually states Sikhs have the second highest poverty rate in the UK, with 27% of British Sikhs living below the poverty line; this is in comparison to 18% of the population as a whole.[30]
About one in three British Sikh families (34%) own a business in the UK.[31]
Charitable giving and volunteering
_in_London.jpg)
Performing Seva (selfless service) is a basic tenet of Sikhism, and Sikhs are also expected to share at least 10 per cent of their earnings with those less fortunate and for good causes (Dasvandh).
Sixty-four percent of British Sikhs engage in some volunteering work, and 40% give between one and five hours per week on voluntary activities, including Seva at their Gurdwara, whilst more than 2% spend over 25 hours on such activities, spending about on average 200 hours per year on voluntary activities. Ninety-three percent claim to donate some money to charity every month, with 50% donating between £1 and £20 every month, and 7% donating more than £100 per month. It is estimated that Sikhs in Britain donate around £380 per year to charity on average. Taken as a whole, Sikhs in the UK are estimated to donate about £125 million to charity per annum and spend over 65 million hours each year on voluntary activities.[32]
Care of the elderly
Sikhs prefer to live in extended family households as they grow older - 61% of males and 52% of females. The second highest preference is in their own home (44% males and 41% females) and the third preference is in a retirement village (31% females and 24% males).[33]
Geographical distribution
| Local authority | Population |
|---|---|
| Sandwell | 39,252 |
| Birmingham | 33,126 |
| Wolverhampton | 31,769 |
| Ealing | 28,491 |
| Hillingdon | 26,339 |
| Hounslow | 24,677 |
| Slough | 17,985 |
| Redbridge | 17,622 |
| Coventry | 17,297 |
| Walsall | 17,148 |
| Local authority | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Wolverhampton | 12.0% |
| Sandwell | 11.5% |
| Slough | 11.3% |
| Hillingdon | 8.6% |
| Hounslow | 8.6% |
| Gravesham | 8.0% |
| Ealing | 7.8% |
| Oadby and Wigston | 7.5% |
| Walsall | 6.0% |
| Redbridge | 5.7% |
| Region | 2021[36] | 2011[37] | 2001[38] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| West Midlands | 172,398 | 2.9% | 133,681 | 2.39% | 103,870 | 1.97% |
| London | 144,543 | 1.64% | 126,134 | 1.54% | 104,230 | 1.45% |
| South East | 74,348 | 0.8% | 54,941 | 0.64% | 37,735 | 0.47% |
| East Midlands | 53,950 | 1.11% | 44,335 | 0.98% | 33,551 | 0.8% |
| East | 24,284 | 0.38% | 18,213 | 0.31% | 13,365 | 0.25% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 24,034 | 0.44% | 22,179 | 0.42% | 18,711 | 0.38% |
| North West | 11,862 | 0.16% | 8,857 | 0.13% | 6,487 | 0.1% |
| South West | 7,465 | 0.13% | 5,892 | 0.11% | 4,614 | 0.09% |
| North East | 7,206 | 0.27% | 5,964 | 0.23% | 4,780 | 0.19% |
 England
|
520,092 | 0.92% | 420,196 | 0.79% | 327,343 | 0.63% |
