British IraqisBritish Iraqis (Arabic: ???????? ??????????) are people of Iraqi ancestry who were born or were raised in the United Kingdom. The current estimate is around 250,000, one of the biggest communities in Iraqi diaspora. Over 60 per cent of the community are situated in the Greater London, others based in Britain’s major cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Cardiff and Glasgow.
However, according to estimations by the Iraqi Embassy, the Iraqi population is around 350,000 – 450,000, although no census has ever been carried out focusing only on the Iraqi population and estimates given by the community leaders were very rough. London has a largest Iraqi community with estimations between 125,000 and 150,000 with Birmingham and Manchester following as second and third biggest cities with an Iraqi population.
HistoryIraqis have been emigrating to Britain since the 1930s. Due to the constant turmoil in Iraqi history, many have fled and since the 1970s, thousands have sought asylum in Europe and elsewhere. For around a decade, Iraqis were one of the main nationalities among asylum seekers in Europe.
Iraq was itself a part of the British Empire at one point, and Iraqi emigration to Britain had always existed; however a proportion of Iraqis settled after attending British higher educational institutes, which are highly regarded in Iraq, and thus favourable for a graduate. However, smaller numbers emigrated, due to political reasons, before the regime of Saddam Hussein came to power, and after from 1979, the latter comprising the majority of political exiles. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Iraqis residing once peacefully in Kuwait were displaced, and some found their way to the United Kingdom. The 2003 Invasion of Iraq has sparked trace emigration to the United Kingdom; other Middle-Eastern countries, such as Jordan and Egypt have received the highest volume of immigrants, which are decreasing (both in terms of emigration and exodus back to Iraq) because of the improving security situation.
DemographicsWith the Iraqi population scattered across the United Kingdom, a survey reports specific regions with a high number of Iraqis:
London (125,000)
Birmingham (35,000)
Manchester (18,000)
Cardiff (9,000)
Scotland (8,000)
Glasgow (5,000)
Derby (2,000)
Plymouth (2,000)
Community lifeThe growing Iraqi community in London has made enormous contributions to British society, for example, there are more than 6,000 medical doctors and consultants in the NHS. Other community members include school teachers and university lecturers.
It is safe to say that despite the British Iraqi 'community' being only a couple of generations old, there has been excellent integration into, and acceptance by, society on their part. Thus there has never existed any tension with any other group, ethnic or not, and so it is harder to ascertain a person of Iraqi origin because they have blended in to mainstream society. They do associate with, and are proud of, their roots, but live in harmony with neighbours and seek the 'best of both worlds'. In Britain some Iraqis have acquired British citizenship, whereas most others were born in the country.