How Many Muslims in the UK? 2026 Census Figures & Population Facts

How Many Muslims in the UK? 2026 Census Figures

Quick answer: As of 2026, an estimated 4.1 million Muslims live in the UK — around 6.5% of the population of England and Wales. The 2021 Census recorded 3.9 million Muslims in England and Wales; adding Scotland (~119,000), Northern Ireland (~10,000), and growth since 2021 brings the UK-wide total past 4 million. Muslims are now the UK's second-largest religious community and its fastest-growing major faith group.

On This Page

1. Population and demography (2021 Census + 2026 projections)

2. Where British Muslims live

3. A brief history of Muslims in Britain

4. Institutions Muslim communities across Britain has built

5. Practical realities of British Muslim life

6. Challenges Muslim communities across Britain faces

7. Where Muslim communities across Britain is heading

8. Frequently asked questions

British Muslims: Muslim communities across Britain in 2026

Today, Muslim communities across Britain is now the second-largest religious community in the United Kingdom, and the fastest-growing significant faith group in the country. The 2021 Census of England and Wales recorded roughly 3.9 million Muslims — around 6.5% of the population, up from 4.9% in 2011. Moreover, add Scotland (around 119,000 Muslims in the 2022 Scottish Census), Northern Ireland (around 10,000), and the growth since, and the working figure for the Britain's Muslim population in 2026 sits comfortably above 4 million.

In addition, this is a comprehensive reference to Muslim communities across Britain: who we are, where we live, how we got here, the institutions we have built, the challenges we face, and the practical questions Britain's Muslim population ask about their place in modern Britain. We wrote it for British Muslims first — but it is just as useful for anyone who wants an honest picture of the community their neighbours, colleagues and classmates belong to. Eaalim is an online institute and platform teaching Quran, Arabic and Islamic studies to Muslim families across the UK, including structured one-to-one Quran classes for UK families.

Population and demography (2021 Census + 2026 projections)

Where British Muslims live

Overall, Muslim communities across Britain is geographically concentrated. For example, around 76% live in just five regions:

London — over 1.3 million Muslims, about 15% of the city. The largest populations are in Tower Hamlets (~39%), Newham (~35%) and Redbridge (~30%). Major institutions include East London Mosque, Regent's Park Mosque (the Islamic Cultural Centre), Finsbury Park Mosque and Lewisham Islamic Centre. Families in the capital increasingly pair mosque-based weekend madrasah with online Quran classes for London families during the week.

West Midlands — around 600,000 Muslims, centred on Birmingham, where Muslims are about 30% of the population. Birmingham Central Mosque and Green Lane Mosque are the major institutions.

Yorkshire and the Humber — around 460,000 Muslims, concentrated mainly in Bradford (~31%), Leeds and Sheffield. Bradford has been the heart of the British Pakistani community since the 1960s textile-mill migration.

North West — around 470,000 Muslims, with major communities in Manchester (~15%), Oldham (~24%), Blackburn (~35%) and Bolton.

East Midlands — around 200,000 Muslims, particularly in Leicester (~24%) and Nottingham.

However, beyond these five regions, established communities exist in Cardiff (Wales), Glasgow and Edinburgh (Scotland), and Belfast (Northern Ireland). Historically smaller cities such as Cambridge, Oxford, Bristol and Brighton now have growing Muslim populations, driven largely by their universities. Eaalim renders its educational services mainly to Muslims living in western countries, especially in the United Kingdom and the USA.

A brief history of Muslims in Britain

In fact, the history of Muslims in Britain is older than most British people — Muslim or otherwise — realise. It falls into four broad stages.

The early period (8th–18th century)

Coins minted under King Offa of Mercia in the 8th century carry Arabic inscriptions, including the Islamic shahada, copied from Abbasid coins of the period. This was likely for trade rather than religious conversion, but it shows early contact. Formal relations between Tudor England and Muslim states began under Elizabeth I, who exchanged letters with the Ottoman Sultan and the Sa'di Sultan of Morocco. Small communities of Muslim sailors and traders lived in port cities such as Liverpool, Cardiff and South Shields from at least the 17th century.

The Yemeni and Somali sailor communities (19th–early 20th century)

Afterwards, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 sharply increased the number of Yemeni, Somali and Indian Muslim sailors employed by British shipping companies. Many settled in port cities and founded the earliest organised Muslim communities in modern Britain. The South Shields Yemeni community, the Cardiff (Tiger Bay) Somali community, and the Liverpool Mosque — founded in 1889 by Abdullah Quilliam, an English convert to Islam — all date from this period.

Post-war South Asian migration (1950s–1970s)

Later, the largest wave of Muslim migration to Britain came after the Second World War. Labour shortages drove it: migrants were recruited by the textile mills of Yorkshire and Lancashire, the foundries of the West Midlands, and the London transport system. They came primarily from Pakistan — especially Mirpur, in what is now Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Punjab — and from Bangladesh, especially Sylhet. By 1971 the British Pakistani population had grown from a few thousand in 1951 to over 100,000.

Family reunification and the second generation (1970s–1990s)

The 1962 and 1971 Immigration Acts restricted new economic migration but allowed family reunification. The largely male migrant communities of the 1950s and 60s became settled families. The first large second-generation cohort — born in the UK but raised in households with strong heritage ties — came of age in the 1980s and 90s.

Diversification and the 21st century

Furthermore, Furthermore, Furthermore, since 2000, the Muslim population in Britain has diversified dramatically. New arrivals include refugees and migrants from Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Sudan and across West Africa. Eastern European Muslim communities — Bosnian, Albanian, Kosovan and Turkish — have grown substantially. So has the convert community: research by Faith Matters and Cambridge University estimates around 120,000 converts in the UK, with a slight majority being women.

Institutions the British Muslim community has built

Mosques and Islamic centres

The roughly 1,800 mosques across the UK range from converted terraced houses serving 50 worshippers to architectural landmarks such as East London Mosque (capacity ~7,000) and Regent's Park Mosque (capacity ~5,000). Cambridge Central Mosque, opened in 2019, holds around 1,000 people in its main hall. The Bradford grand mosque (Suffa-Tul-Islam) and Birmingham Central Mosque are among the largest in the North and Midlands.

Schools

British Muslims have built a substantial independent school network — around 200 Muslim independent schools educating some 35,000 children, plus roughly 30 state-funded Muslim faith schools across the UK. The Association of Muslim Schools UK (AMS-UK) is the umbrella body. Saturday and weekend madrasahs run from almost every mosque, teaching basic Quran, Arabic and Islamic studies to around 250,000 children each week.

Charity

British Muslim charity is one of the most active sectors in the UK voluntary world. Major charities include Islamic Relief (founded in Birmingham in 1984, now working in 40+ countries), Muslim Aid, Penny Appeal, Human Appeal and Muslim Hands. According to Charity Commission and ICM data, British Muslims gave an estimated £150 million during Ramadan 2023 alone — placing them among the most generous per-capita givers in the country.

Higher education and academia

Major centres include the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the Cambridge Muslim College, the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (Leicester) and the Al-Mahdi Institute (Birmingham, Shia). Most large UK universities now have Islamic Studies departments and active Islamic societies (ISocs).

Media

Likewise, British Muslim media has grown substantially since 2000. Channels include Islam Channel, British Muslim TV and IQRA TV. Print and online outlets include Muslim News and The Muslim Network, alongside a fast-growing ecosystem of Muslim podcasters, YouTubers and Instagram creators serving British audiences.

Practical realities of British Muslim life

Prayer in working life

The Equality Act 2010 requires most British employers to make reasonable adjustments for religious observance. In practice this includes a quiet space for prayer where practical, and short breaks for daily ṣalah. Many UK workplaces now have dedicated prayer rooms. For Friday Jumu'ah, employees in city centres can usually reach a nearby mosque within an extended 60–90 minute lunch break.

Halal food

Today, the UK halal food market is worth over £4 billion a year. Major supermarkets stock halal-certified meat ranges, and halal restaurants are now mainstream in every major British city. Certification bodies include the Halal Food Authority (HFA) and the Halal Authority Board, among several smaller ones.

Education

Additionally, British Muslim parents have a wide range of options: state schools (with reasonable adjustments for prayer and modest uniforms), state-funded Muslim faith schools, independent Muslim schools, and home education. For most children, weekend madrasahs supplement weekday schooling with Islamic studies and Quran. Many families also add consistent weekday practice — for example, one-to-one online Qur'an lessons timed around the UK school day.

Mosque governance

Meanwhile, most UK mosques are registered charities, governed by elected committees. The denominations represented include Hanafi (predominantly South Asian), Maliki (North and West African), Shafi'i (Yemeni and Somali), Hanbali and Salafi, the Sufi traditions (particularly Barelvi and Deobandi within the South Asian community), and Shia Twelver and Ismaili communities.

Challenges the British Muslim community faces

However, an honest community guide cannot skip the difficult parts. The main challenges include:

• Islamophobia. Islamophobic incidents reported to Tell MAMA have risen substantially in recent years. British Muslim women in visible Islamic dress report harassment in public spaces.

• Educational outcomes. Despite real improvements, British Pakistani and Bangladeshi-heritage students still face attainment gaps in some areas — though the gap has narrowed substantially since the 2000s.

• Housing and employment discrimination. Multiple studies document it. Applicants with recognisably Muslim names receive measurably fewer call-backs than identical applications with non-Muslim names.

• Generational tension. Many families navigate genuine differences between first-generation parents holding heritage norms and second- or third-generation children raised in British culture.

• Internal sectarianism. Sunni–Shia, Barelvi–Deobandi and Salafi–Sufi tensions are real, and play out in mosque committees, family disputes and online debate. The maturing Muslim population in Britain is increasingly aware of the cost of these divisions.

Where the British Muslim community is heading

Looking ahead, by 2050, projections from the Pew Research Center suggest the UK Muslim population could reach 13% of the total in a high-immigration scenario, or around 9% in a more moderate one. Consequently, Muslim communities across Britain is increasingly young, increasingly British-born, and increasingly confident in articulating its own identity rather than borrowing entirely from heritage frameworks. As a result, the generation now in primary school will be the first majority-British-born Muslim generation in history.