Nearly half of Britain’s Muslim population is under the age of 25, according to a major new report released by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), highlighting the community’s growing demographic and social influence across the UK.
The two-volume, 400-page report, titled “British Muslims in Numbers“, was unveiled at Westminster City Hall and draws on the 2021 censuses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, alongside Scotland’s 2022 census. The study examines demographic, social and economic trends among British Muslims over the past two decades.
The report found there are now around 4 million Muslims living in the UK, accounting for approximately 6 percent of the population. England has the largest share with 3.8 million Muslims, followed by Scotland with 120,000, Wales with 67,000 and Northern Ireland with 11,000.
Researchers said Muslims make up 6.5 percent of the population in England and Wales, with a median age of 27 — 13 years younger than the national average.
MCB says report comes at crucial time
Dr Wajid Akhter, a British doctor and community leader serving as secretary general of the MCB, described the report as timely following recent local election results.
“This groundbreaking British Muslims in Numbers report has been launched at a critical time post the local election results,” he said.
“The report’s rigorous analysis on British Muslims plays a key role in contributing to public policymaking that affects the community, from health to education, employment and civic engagement.”
He added that the findings reflected both the positive contributions of British Muslims and the challenges still facing many communities across the country.
Young and diverse population
The report found that Britain’s Muslim population remains concentrated in urban areas, with London home to around 1.3 million Muslims. Cardiff has 34,000 Muslims, Glasgow 49,000 and Belfast 5,500.
Researchers said British Muslims represent a broad range of ethnic backgrounds. Around 66 percent identify as Asian, 11 percent as Black and 6 percent as White. The report also recorded small numbers of Gypsy, Irish Traveller and Roma Muslims.
Pakistani Muslims form the largest ethnic group within Britain’s Muslim population, followed by Bangladeshi, African and Arab communities, according to the report.
The study highlighted the relatively young age profile of Muslims in Britain. Around 46 percent are under the age of 25, compared with 29 percent of the wider UK population. Muslims also account for 10 percent of all school-age children in the country, while only 5 percent are over 65, compared with 19 percent nationally.
Researchers described the younger demographic as a potential “demographic dividend” that could help ease pressures linked to Britain’s ageing population and labour shortages.
Education gains and economic challenges
The report also pointed to persistent economic inequality. It found that 40 percent of Muslims in England live in the country’s most deprived local authority districts, despite those areas accounting for only 20 percent of the wider population. Researchers said the figure has remained unchanged for two decades, suggesting limited social mobility.
The MCB estimated that around 400,000 children live in local authority districts with both high Muslim populations and high levels of deprivation.
Home ownership among Muslims remains below the national average at 41.5 percent, compared with 63 percent nationally. The report also found that 10.3 percent of Muslim households are lone-parent households with dependent children, higher than the national average of 6.9 percent.
Educational attainment among Muslims has improved steadily over the last 20 years. Among Muslims aged 16 to 24, the proportion holding degree-level qualifications increased from 11 percent in 2001 to 21 percent in 2021.
The report also found that employment among Muslim women rose from 20 percent in 2001 to 31 percent in 2021. It said greater workforce participation could be supported through improved childcare provision and adult social care resources.
While the proportion of Muslims working in higher professional occupations has risen to 6.5 percent, the figure remains below the national average of 9 percent, which the report suggested may reflect the presence of a “glass ceiling”.
Political influence and health outcomes
The report examined the growing political significance of younger Muslim voters, particularly amid discussions over lowering the voting age to 16.
Last year, the Labour government proposed reducing the voting age to 16, although the measure still requires parliamentary approval.
Researchers estimated that lowering the voting age could add around 150,000 more Muslim voters to the electorate.
The report further projected that by 2029 there could be 49 parliamentary constituencies where the Muslim voting-age population exceeds the winning margin recorded in the 2024 general election by at least 10,000 votes.
On health outcomes, Muslims were generally more likely than the wider population to report being in “very good or good health”, largely due to their younger age profile. However, older Muslims were found to experience poorer health outcomes than older people in the general population.
In the foreword, Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray praised the report as an important contribution to research on Islam and Muslim communities in Britain.
The report also examined political engagement, estimating that by 2029 there could be 49 parliamentary constituencies where the Muslim voting-age population exceeds the winning margin recorded in the 2024 general election by at least 10,000 votes.
The MCB cautioned against treating Muslim voters as a single voting bloc, noting that political priorities among Muslim communities remain diverse.
