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Iran

Overview

The story of Iranians in Britain is complex, driven by its turbulent history before, during and after the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Furthermore, these figures do not reflect the changes since 2001 brought about by fresh asylum movements in western Europe.

Half of all the people born in Iran living in Britain were resident in London in 2001, indicating the city's importance as a haven for those who fled both the former Shah and his overthrower, the Ayotollah Khomenei.

More recent arrivals of refugees and asylum seekers from the country have been spread far more widely leading to clusters in cities like Newcastle, Sheffield and Glasgow.

Concentrations of people born in Iran

Map on right shows country as if areas with roughly equal populations were the same size. So, densely populated London takes up much more space than sparsely populated Scottish Highlands.

At-a-glance

42,377 people born in Iran were resident in Britain in 2001, according to the Census.

10,000 people born in Iran came to Britain in the 10 years to 2001.

750% fewer people born in Iran lived in central London in 2001 than a decade earlier, although the figure for the capital as a whole was an increase of 21%.

1 area outside London appears in the top 20 most popular places for Iranian-born people: Cheadle Hulme in Greater Manchester.

Click column titles to sort table by that column.

Distribution of people born in Iran

	TOTAL NUMBERS			AS % OF ALL PEOPLE
Sort by: Nation/region	1991	2001	+/- %	1991	2001	+/- %
Whole of Britain	32,158	42,377	31.78	0.06	0.07	0.01

East Midlands	775	1,152	48.65	0.02	0.03	0.01
East of England	1,800	2,420	34.44	0.04	0.04	0.00
London	16,851	20,401	21.07	0.25	0.28	0.03
North East	748	1,529	104.41	0.03	0.06	0.03
North West	2,304	3,466	50.43	0.03	0.05	0.02
Scotland	911	1,588	74.31	0.02	0.03	0.01
South East	4,285	5,302	23.73	0.06	0.07	0.01
South West	1,437	1,959	36.33	0.03	0.04	0.01
Wales	652	579	-11.20	0.02	0.02	0.00
West Midlands	1,069	1,890	76.80	0.02	0.04	0.02
Yorks & Humber	1,326	2,091	57.69	0.03	0.04	0.01

Most popular areas

		TOTAL NUMBERS			AS % OF ALL PEOPLE
Area	Regions	1991	2001	+/- %	1991	2001	+/- %
Regent's Park	London	1,008	892	-11.51	1.25	1.23	-0.02
Acton	London	642	839	30.69	1.05	1.24	0.19
Finchley	London	440	837	90.23	0.75	1.15	0.40
Kensington	London	829	725	-12.55	1.60	1.15	-0.45
Golders Green	London	567	680	19.93	1.34	1.41	0.07
Colindale	London	430	643	49.53	0.73	1.09	0.36
Ealing Broadway	London	717	631	-11.99	1.47	1.18	-0.29
Hyde Park	London	839	584	-30.39	1.38	0.88	-0.50
Hammersmith	London	515	545	5.83	0.86	0.82	-0.04
Chelsea	London	540	462	-14.44	1.05	0.75	-0.30

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