Population size & share:

652,535 people identified as Bangladeshi in the 2021/22 UK

censuses – about 1 % of the total population

Religious profile:

Predominantly Muslim (92%) with very small minorities of other faiths or no religion

Where people live:

Almost half live in London, Tower Hamlets alone is 34.6 % Bangladeshi. Outside London the largest clusters are in Birmingham, Oldham and Luton

Housing: 

Bangladeshis have been over-represented in the social-housing sector since at least 2001 (63 % lived in social rent then; 34 % still did in 2021)

Political & public presence:

Trailblazers include Rushanara Ali (first MP of Bangladeshi origin, 2010) and Baroness Uddin (first Bangladeshi Muslim woman in the Lords). British Bangladeshis now hold a majority of council seats in Tower Hamlets

Education surge:  

Rapid improvement: by 2021/22 Bangladeshi pupils averaged 54.4 Attainment-8 points at GCSE (above the national mean) and 16.5 % earned ≥3 A grades at A-level, almost ½ of young Bangladeshis from the poorest quintile now enter university

Signature industry:

Bangladeshis run 95 % of all South-Asian (“Indian”) restaurants, the “curry industry” employs 150,000 people and adds £4.5 billion a year to the UK economy. Brick Lane/Banglatown is the symbolic hub