Congolese (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the United Kingdom

Congolese in the United Kingdom

Total population
Democratic Republic of the Congo-born residents 8,569 Congolese-born (2001 Census)
Regions with significant populations
Greater London
Languages
French, Lingala, British English, Kikongo, Tshiluba
Religion
Christianity

Congolese in the United Kingdom are immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) living in the United Kingdom as well as their British-born descendants. The demonym Congolese can also refer to people from the Republic of Congo, of whom there are fewer living in the UK.

Despite the DRC being the fourth most populated nation in Africa, people born in the DRC are only the 18th largest group of Africans living in the UK. According to the 2001 UK Census 8,569 Congolese-born people were residing in the UK.^[1] The majority of Congolese in the United Kingdom have come as political refugees from the poverty and war stricken nation. Congolese migration to the UK is a recent phenomenon, starting in the late 1980s.^[2] Significant numbers of Congolese have been coming to the UK as refugees since the early 1990s.^[3] According to official data, larger Congolese populations are found in Belgium and France.^[1]

There are currently thought to be more than the 8,569 Congolese people recorded in the 2001 census in the UK. Some 11,000 Congolese people are estimated to reside in London, with large numbers being found in Hackney, Victoria and Tottenham, where a community of 3,000 Congolese individuals reside.^[3] In 2006, community leaders suggested that there might be 30,000 to 40,000 Congolese in the UK, though the International Organization for Migration considers these to be unreliable estimates.^[2]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls. Retrieved 4 July 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "D. R. Congo: Mapping exercise". London: International Organization for Migration. November 2006. http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_DRC.pdf. Retrieved 4 July 2010. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Taylor, Rebecca (20 June 2006). "London lives: The Congolese barber". Time Out. http://www.timeout.com/london/features/1578/London_lives-the_Congolese_barber.html. Retrieved 15 July 2009. 

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