British Nigerian

British Nigerian
Total population
Nigerian-born residents 88,378 (2001 Census) 154,000 (2009 ONS estimate)
Regions with significant populations
Throughout the United Kingdom In particular Greater London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff, Sheffield
Languages
Predominantly English, Igbo, Yoruba, Edo Others Nigerian languages
Religion
A large number of Christians and Muslims, with a few identifying themselves with Traditional beliefs

British Nigerian is a term sometimes used to describe British people of Nigerian descent.^[1]^[2] Many Nigerians and their British-born descendents live in South London. They are one of the largest Black African groups in the country.^[3]

1 History
2 Population
3 References
4 External links

History

Nigerians have formed long-established communities in London, Liverpool and other industrial cities. The earliest known Nigerian presence in London occurred over 200 years ago as a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade. Olaudah Equiano, born in what is now Nigeria, was involved in the debate that occurred in Britain over the abolition of the slave trade.^[4]

Prior to Nigeria's independence from Britain, gained in 1960, many Nigerians studied in the UK along with other countries such as France and the United States, with the majority returning to Nigeria upon completion of their studies.^[5] In the 1960s, civil and political unrest in Nigeria contributed to many refugees migrating to Britain, along with skilled workers.^[4] Nigerians migrated in larger numbers in the 1980s, following the collapse of the petroleum boom.^[5] This wave of migration has been more permanent than the pre-independence wave of temporary migration.^[5] Asylum applications from Nigerians peaked in 1995, when the repression associated with the military dictatorship of Sani Abacha was at its height.^[5]

Population

Location	Nigerian-born population (2001)^[6]
East Midlands	1,382
East of England	3,160
London	68,910
North East England	552
North West England	2,978
Scotland	1,253
South East England	4,719
South West England	1,431
Wales	588
West Midlands	1,759
Yorkshire and the Humber	1,399

The 2001 UK Census recorded 88,378 Nigerian-born people resident in the UK.^[7] More recent estimates by the Office for National Statistics put the figure at 154,000 in 2009.^[8]

A Council of Europe report gives a figure of 100,000 Nigerians in the UK but suggests that this is likely to be an underestimate since it does not include irregular migrants or children.^[9]

Education

British Nigerian pupils are one of the most successful groups academically, with 56% of black Nigerian pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, compared to 42% of black Caribbean pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C in 2005.^[10]

The figure for White British children achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C was 55% in 2005 ^[10]

Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research, based on Labour Force Survey data from 2005/06, indicated that, on average, Nigerian-born residents in the UK left full-time education at the age of 21, compared to 17.5 for the UK-born population.^[11] Of the 25 country-of-birth groups included in the study, only French-born UK residents left full-time education at a higher average age.^[11]

Distribution

The UK's largest concentration of Nigerians is found in the capital city, London. Peckham is now home to the largest overseas Nigerian community in the UK, with 7 per cent of the population of the Peckham census tract at the time of the 2001 Census having been born in Nigeria.^[6] Many of the local establishments are Yoruba owned. Nigerian churches and mosques can be found in the area. As immigrants have become assimilated, English has increasingly become the predominant language of the local Nigerian British population. The Yoruba language is declining in use in the Peckham area despite the growing Nigerian population.^[3]

Outside London and South East England, the largest Nigerian-born communities are found in the East of England and the North West.^[6]

Citizenship

Below is a table showing how many Nigerians were granted British citizenship and the right of abode in the period 1998 to 2008.

	Persons granted citizenship
1998	3,550^[12]
1999	3,481^[13]
2000	5,594^[14]
2001	6,290^[15]
2002	6,480^[16]
2003	6,300^[17]
2004	6,280^[18]
2005	6,615^[19]
2006	5,875^[20]
2007	6,030^[21]
2008	4,530^[22]