Overview of the presence of Hinduism in the United Kingdom
Hindus in the United Kingdom United Kingdom: 1,066,894 – 1.6% (2021 ) England : 1,020,533 – 1.8% (2021)[1] Scotland : 29,929 – 0.6% (2022)[2] Wales : 12,242 – 0.4% (2021)[1] Northern Ireland : 4,190 – 0.2% (2021)[3] Greater London 453,034 – 5.2%[4] East Midlands 120,345 – 2.5% South East England 154,748 – 1.7% West Midlands 88,116 – 1.5% Hinduism Majority :Vaishnavism Minority :Shaivism British Sikhs and British Buddhists
Hinduism is the third largest religious group in the United Kingdom , after Christianity and Islam ; the religion is followed by around 1.7% of the total population of the nation.[6] Hindus had a presence in the United Kingdom since the early 19th century, as at the time India was part of the British Empire . Many Indians in the British Indian Army settled in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.[7] According to 2021 United Kingdom census , 1,032,775 residents (1.7%) identified themselves as Hindus.[8]
Most of the British Hindus are immigrants, mainly from India ,[9] and there are also significant number of Hindu immigrants from Sri Lanka [10] and Nepal ,[11] [12] with even smaller numbers from Afghanistan ,[13] Bangladesh ,[14] [15] and Bhutan .[16] In the recent times, due to the efforts of ISKCON , BAPS and other Hindu organisations and mass following of Yoga , Meditation and other Hindu practises, many British citizens have embraced Hinduism , including many celebrities.[17] [18]
Year
Percent
Increase
1971
0.25%
1981
0.49%
+0.24%
1991
0.69%
+0.20%
2001
0.95%
+0.26%
2011
1.32%
+0.37%
2021
1.70%
+0.38%
^ a b "Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021" . Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 29 November 2022 .
^ "Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion - Chart data" . Scotland's Census . National Records of Scotland . 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024 . Alternative URL 'Search data by location' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Religion'
^ "MS-B21: Religion" . Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency . 22 September 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023 .
^ "TS030 - Religion Edit query" . www.nomisweb.co.uk . Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics. Retrieved 29 November 2022 .
^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . media.johnwiley.com.au . Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2022 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )
^ "CT0341 2018 Census - Religion by ethnic group by main language - England and Wales" . ONS . National Archives, Government of the United Kingdom . Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2021 .
^ Tong, Junie T. (2016-04-15). Finance and Society in 21st Century China: Chinese Culture versus Western Markets . CRC Press. pp. 151–152. ISBN 978-1-317-13522-7 .
^ UK Government (27 March 2009). "Religion in England and Wales 2011" . Office of National Statistics (11 December 2012). Retrieved September 7, 2014 .
^ "UK-based Hindu groups call upon Prime Minister Boris Johnson to act against persecution of Hindus in Pakistan" . The Times of India . 13 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-10 .
^ Aspinall, Peter J. (2019-01-02). "The Sri Lankan community of descent in the UK: a neglected population in demographic and health research" . South Asian Diaspora . 11 (1): 51–65. doi :10.1080/19438192.2018.1505065 . ISSN 1943-8192 . S2CID 149483258 .
^ "From Kathmandu to Kent: Nepalis in the UK" . Himal Southasian . 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2021-06-10 .
^ Pariyar, Mitra (2020-06-01). "Caste, military, migration: Nepali Gurkha communities in Britain" . Ethnicities . 20 (3): 608–627. doi :10.1177/1468796819890138 . ISSN 1468-7968 . S2CID 214103367 .
^ Yudhvir Rana (Jan 13, 2019). "UK government to obtain inputs from Afghan Sikh and Hindu's for processing their asylum applications" . The Times of India . Retrieved 2021-06-10 .
^ "Bangla Stories - Bengali Hindu Migrant: Ashim Sen - Bradford" . www.banglastories.org . Retrieved 2021-06-10 .
^ "London Kalibari – London Kalibari" . Retrieved 2021-06-10 .
^ "The ethnic cleansing hidden behind Bhutan's happy face" . Firstpost . 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2021-06-10 .
^ Berg, Travis Vande; Kniss, Fred (2008). "ISKCON and Immigrants: The Rise, Decline, and Rise Again of a New Religious Movement" . The Sociological Quarterly . 49 (1): 79–104. doi :10.1111/j.1533-8525.2007.00107.x . ISSN 0038-0253 . JSTOR 40220058 . S2CID 146169730 .
^ "At 47%, Hinduism biggest gainer in religious conversion in Kerala" . The New Indian Express . Retrieved 2021-06-10 .