East Asians in the United Kingdom

East Asian Britons are generally viewed as a distinct ethnic group or identity,[10] and have been academically studied as such.[11] The first settlement of Chinese people in the United Kingdom dates from the early 19th century. In particular were port cities such as Liverpool and London; particularly the Limehouse area in East London. Today, most of the British Chinese are people or are descended from people who were themselves overseas Chinese when they entered the United Kingdom. The majority are from former British colonies, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and also other countries such as Vietnam. People from mainland China and Taiwan and their descendants constitute a relatively small proportion of the British Chinese community. Hong Kong people in the United Kingdom are people from Hong Kong resident in the United Kingdom, or British nationals of Hong Kong origin. At the time of the 2001 British census, 96,000 people born in Hong Kong were residing in the UK, while 2009 estimates suggest that 78,000 Hong Kong-born people are resident in the UK.

The first Japanese settled in the 1960s, mainly for business and economic purposes. In recent decades this number has been growing; including immigrants, students, and businessmen. Parts of the United Kingdom, in particular London, have significant Japanese populations; such as Golders Green and East Finchley North London. There are approximately 100,000 British Japanese, mostly settled in London and the surrounding South East.

Large numbers of South Koreans began to settle in the U.K. in the 1980s, mostly near London; the highest concentration can be found in the town of New Malden, where estimates of the South Korean population range from 8,000 to as high as 20,000 people.[12][13][14] There are also a few North Koreans; they form the ninth-largest national group of asylum seekers, with a total of 850 applicants, including 245 applications in the first seven months of the year alone, thirteen times the number in all of 2007.[15]

2021 Census

The figures below represent data collected for the 2021 United Kingdom census with the country as a reported birthplace recorded (i.e. does not include British born people of East Asian origin). The census in Scotland was delayed for a year and took place in 2022; ethnicity results for Scotland are expected to be published in late 2023 or early 2024.[16]

State/Territory	England and  Wales (2021)[17]	Scotland (2022)	Northern Ireland (2021)[18]	United Kingdom (2021/22)
China	182,375	–	4,134	–
Hong Kong	121,428	–	1,981	–
Macau	2,489	–	36	–
Japan	35,019	–	179	–
Mongolia	1,861	–	<20	–
North Korea	534	–	<20	–
South Korea	19,200	–	134	–
Taiwan	10,292	–	74	–
Total	373,198	–	6,538–6,576	–

• East Asians
  • Chinese
  • Mongolians
  • Japanese
  • Koreans
  • Hong Kongers

• Nat Wei, Baron Wei, writing for The Telegraph in 2012, described himself as the only East Asian person politically involved in Westminster.[19]

• British East and Southeast Asian
• Southeast Asians in the United Kingdom
• Asian Americans
• Asian Canadians
• Asian Australians
• Asian New Zealanders
• British Asian

• BORN ABROAD, An Immigration Map of Britain, BBC News.