Sudanese in the United Kingdom


Sudanese in the United Kingdom including Sudanese-born immigrants to the UK and their British-born descendants are an extremely diverse national group, especially in terms of political and religious views. It is thought that the UK is home to the oldest Sudanese diaspora in the Western World, as well as one of the largest. Sudanese migrants to the UK have traditionally included professionals, business people and academics, and more recently have included asylum seekers fleeing Sudan's second civil war. Sudanese people live in many of the UK's largest cities and towns.

History and settlement

The Sudanese community in the UK is most likely the oldest in the developed world. Despite two civil wars and the war in Darfur, which decimated the Sudanese population by several million, the earliest immigrants from Sudan to the UK were not asylum seekers, but mostly professionals, business people and academics. This migration trend lasted until the late 1980s when the Sudanese government was ousted by a military coup led by Omar al-Bashir, who soon claimed presidency over Sudan.
The nature of Sudanese migration to the UK changed dramatically and has continued through to the 21st century, when several violent struggles between the Janjaweed militia and numerous rebel groups displaced millions of people, and despite an improving economy in Sudan there remains considerable civil and political unrest in the North African nation. Thousands of these displaced persons ultimately fled to the UK, amongst other countries, and claimed asylum.
Asylum applications from Sudan peaked in 1993 and again in 2004. The majority of applications in the early 1990s were accepted, with applicants either granted asylum or exceptional leave to remain, but since 1994, the majority of applications have been refused.

Demographics

Population size

According to the 2001 UK Census, a total of 10,671 people born in Sudan were living in the UK. This figure is the fifteenth highest migrant population in the UK of all African nations and fifth out of all Arab nations. The only OECD state with more Sudanese-born residents is the United States. A 2006 estimate by the International Organization for Migration suggests that between 10,000 and 25,000 Sudanese are living in London, and anywhere between 3,000 and 18,000 in Brighton. Some 4,000 to 5,000 Sudanese reside in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region, and the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are home to just over 1,000 Sudanese people each. There are also significant numbers of Sudanese dispersed across the UK in cities and towns including Dundee, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Leeds, Portsmouth, Newport, Bristol, Newcastle upon Tyne, Stoke on Trent, Leicester, Sheffield, Derby, Southampton and Nottingham.
According to the 2011 UK Census, a total of 18,381 people born in Sudan were living in the UK: 16,578 in England, 889 in Wales, 749 in Scotland and 165 in Northern Ireland.
The National Association of British Arabs categorises Sudan-born immigrants as Arabs. Based on the 2011 census data, NABA indicates that they are the eighth largest population of British Arabs by country of birth.

Notable British-Sudanese or Sudanese residing in the United Kingdom

Culture and community

Numerous community groups and organisations have been established across the UK that cater for the country's Sudanese community, from political organisations and trade unions to refugee organisations and other social and community groups. Some groups conform to and are generally based around Sudanese political parties and professional bodies such as the Umma Party and the Sudanese Doctors' Union. The Sudan Human Rights Organisation and the Sudan Organisation Against Torture are two national non-political organisations that have been set up by Sudanese in exile in the UK, and there are also refugee groups that have been set up across the UK to help new immigrants and asylum seekers to adapt to the British lifestyle and help with any other problems and issues. Besides these bodies and entities, there are a number of less informal social and culture groups that have been set up by Sudanese in the UK. Sudanese nationals in the UK are represented by the Embassy of Sudan on Cleveland Row, London, England.

Further associations