Like most major European countries, the United Kingdom has a significant
living within its borders. With the number of
could rise from 6.3 percent in 2016 to 17.2 percent by 2050. This can be partly attributed to the fact that the UK Muslim population is quite a
Characteristics of British Muslims
Inside the United Kingdom, the Muslim community is not evenly
distributed across the country with most
living in major urban centers such as London, Birmingham or Manchester. Other settlements in England such as Bradford and Oldham also have quite large Muslim populations in relation to their relatively small size. The location of the
UK’s biggest mosques by capacity reflects this. Four of the twenty largest mosques are in Bradford, including the Al-Jamia-Suffa-Tul-Islam Grand Mosque, which holds 8,000 people. Of the UK's mosques, 797 were associated with the Deobandi movement in 2017, making it the
most numerous “theme” for Britain’s mosques. As of 2018, the
employment rate for Muslim in England and Wales was estimated to be 55.4 percent, with the most common
sector for employment being in distribution, hotels and restaurants.
Islamophobia and discrimination
According to hate crime statistics collected by the UK Home Office, Muslim were the most common victims of
religious hate crime, with over three thousand Islamophobic hate crime incidents taking place in England and Wales. Many of these incidents took place in
London, which saw Islamophobic hate crime increase from
346 incidents in 2012/13, to 1.66 thousand by 2017/18. While attitudes towards British Muslims are generally positive in the United Kingdom, young people aged 18-24 are the most likely
age group to have a better impression of Muslims. Women are also slightly more likely than men to indicate they have a positive
view towards Muslims. Scotland has the highest proportion of people who have
good opinions about Muslims, followed by the UK capital, London.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
