Pacific Islander migration to the United Kingdom
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| Pacific Islanders in the United Kingdom |
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 Maurie Fa'asavalu |
| Total population |
|
Pacific Islanders in 2001
Other Oceanic in 2001
Total in 2001 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Regions: Greater London, South East England, East Midlands, East of England Cities: London, Leicester, Southampton, Salisbury, Catterick Districts: Belgrave, Portswood, Cricklewood, Heston, Greenhill |
| Languages |
| British English, Pacific English, Carolinian, Chamorro, Fijian, Hawaiian, Marshallese, Samoan, Polynesian languages, others |
| Religions |
| Christianity, others |
| Related ethnic groups |
| Pacific Islanders |
The migration of Pacific Islanders to the United Kingdom normally refers to people originating from the Caroline Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa. It does not normally refer to people from islands in the Pacific who are considered Oriental and/ or Asian (such as Filipino Britons, Malaysian Britons, Indonesian Britons, and Singaporean Britons of Malay descent although they are Austronesians). People with Pacific Islander ancestry constitute one of the UK's smallest ethnic groups.
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[edit] Background
Many of the Pacific islands are former British Colonies (and the Pitcairn Islands remain a British overseas territory) and now have English as an official language, hence the UK is a popular destination for Pacific Islander migrants. Outside of the large cities, the Pacific Islander communities are largely situated around British Army Infantry bases, where they have been recruited to work for the country for many years (Catterick and Salisbury being the best examples).
[edit] Demographics
As of the 2001 UK Census 0.10% of the British population was born on a Pacific Island (roughly 6,000 people). A slightly larger amount are of Oceanic origin, and the Pacific Islander community is surprisingly widespread. The British Pacific Islander ethnic group is a fastly growing group, as in 1991, there were no records of Pacific Islanders residing in the UK, even thought there was likely to be a small community (probarbly in London and the Army bases). According to the 2001 Census, and estimates from other sources, almost 30,000 People of Polynesian/Oceanic and in general Pacific Islander origins live in the UK. However in 2008, due to increasing immigration, and the fact that non indigenous ethnic group tend to have a younger average age than White British people, the actual numbers could be much, much higher.
These may seem small number but it is in fact extremely high in relation to the number of people who actually migrate from the Pacific. The UK has one of the world's largest Pacific Islander communities along with Oceania itself and the United States.
The most popular regions for Pacific Islanders are:
- London - 1,662
- South East England - 1,054
- East Midlands - 493
- East of England - 448
- South West England - 440
- West Midlands - 411
- Please note that the above data is only based on 2001 statistics of people born in the Pacific, and in 2008 including ancestry is likely to stand at double to triple the numbers amounts
[edit] Notable people in the United Kingdom of Pacific Islander descent
- Maurie Fa'asavalu, Rugby Union player (Samoan)
- Nifa and Nishan Hindes, Twin models (Fijian)
- Tanita Tikaram, Singer (Fijian)
- Lesley Vainikolo, English Rugby Union international (Tongan)
[edit] See also
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