British diaspora


The British diaspora consists of people of British ancestry and their descendants who emigrated from the United Kingdom. The largest concentrations of people of self-identified British descent in the world outside of the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories are found in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States and parts of the Caribbean. Additionally, countries with over 100,000 British expatriates include Spain, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, France, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.

History of British diaspora

Up to the 19th century

After the Age of Discovery, the various peoples of the British Isles, and especially the English, were among the earliest and by far the largest communities to emigrate out of Europe. Indeed, the British Empire's expansion during the first half of the 19th century saw an extraordinary dispersion of the British people, with particular concentrations in Australasia and North America.
The British Empire was "built on waves of migration overseas by British people", who left Great Britain, later the United Kingdom, and reached across the globe and permanently affected population structures in three continents. As a result of the British colonisation of the Americas, what became the United States was "easily the greatest single destination of emigrant British", but in what would become the Commonwealth of Australia the British experienced a birth rate higher than anything seen before, which together with continuing British immigration resulted in a huge outnumbering of indigenous Australians.
In colonies such as Southern Rhodesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jamaica, Barbados, British East Africa, and the Cape Colony, permanently resident British communities were established, and while never more than a numerical minority, these Britons exercised a dominant influence upon the culture and politics of those lands. In Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, people of British origin came to constitute the majority of the population, contributing to these states becoming integral to the Anglosphere.
The British emigrated not only to parts of the British Empire, but they went to settle in large numbers in parts of the Americas as well, particularly in the United States and with sizeable numbers to Mexico, Chile and Argentina.
The United Kingdom Census 1861 estimated the size of the overseas British to be around 2.5 million. However, it concluded that most of these were "not conventional settlers" but rather "travellers, merchants, professionals, and military personnel". By 1890, there were over 1.5 million further British-born people living in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

British diaspora today

According to The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, there were 13.1 million British nationals living abroad in 2004–05. These figures are taken from the consular annual returns from overseas posts. There is no requirement for UK citizens to register with British missions overseas, so these figures are therefore based on the most reliable information that can be obtained, e.g. from host government official statistics.
A 2006 publication from the Institute for Public Policy Research estimated that 5.5 million British-born people lived outside the United Kingdom.
In terms of outbound expatriation, in 2009 the United Kingdom had the most expatriates among developed OECD countries, with more than three million British living abroad, a figure followed by Germany and Italy. On an annual basis, emigration from Britain has stood at about 400,000 per year for the past 10 years.
Living abroad as an expatriate can affect certain rights. In particular:

List of countries and territories by population of self-reported British ancestry

Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) estimates

In 2006, the Institute for Public Policy Research, a British think tank, published a report on the British diaspora, entitled Brits Abroad. The following table lists the estimated number of British people living overseas in countries with more than 100 British people, according to the IPPR's report:
RankCountryNumber of British residents, 2006RegionGroup
1Australia1,300,000Asia PacificAnglo-Celtic Australian, Cornish Australian, English Australian, Scottish Australian, Welsh Australian
2Spain761,000EuropeBritons in Spain
3United States678,000North AmericaBritish American, Cornish American, English American, Welsh American, Scottish American, Scotch-Irish American
4Canada603,000North AmericaEnglish Canadian, Scottish Canadian, Welsh Canadian, Cornish Canadian
5Ireland291,000Europe
6India250,000South AsiaAnglo-Indian
7New Zealand215,000Asia PacificBritish New Zealander, Scottish New Zealander
8South Africa212,000AfricaBritish diaspora in Africa
9France200,000EuropeBritons in France
10Germany115,000Europe
11Portugal60,000Europe
12Cyprus59,000Europe
13UAE55,000Mid EastBritons in the United Arab Emirates
14Pakistan47,000AsiaBritons in Pakistan
15Singapore45,000Asia Pacific
16Switzerland45,000Europe
17Israel44,000Mid East
18Netherlands44,000Europe
19Thailand41,000Asia Pacific
20China 36,000Asia PacificBritons in China, Britons in Hong Kong, Shanghailander
21Turkey34,000Mid EastBritons in Turkey
22Kenya29,000Africa
23Belgium28,000Europe
24Barbados27,000Caribbean
25Saudi Arabia26,000Mid East
26Italy26,000Europe
27Jamaica25,000Caribbean
28Japan23,000Asia PacificBritons in Japan
29Sweden18,000Europe
30Greece18,000Europe
31Nigeria16,000AfricaBritish Nigerian
32Norway15,000Europe
33Egypt14,000AfricaBritons in Egypt
34Philippines14,000Asia Pacific
35Malaysia13,000Asia Pacific
36Trinidad and Tobago11,000Caribbean
37Brazil11,000South AmericaEnglish Brazilian, Scottish Brazilian
38Bahrain11,000Mid East
39Gaza & West Bank11,000Mid East
40Indonesia11,000Asia Pacific
41Denmark11,000Europe
42Bangladesh9,200Asia
43Malta9,000Europe
44Mexico8,500North AmericaBritish Mexican
45Austria8,500Europe
46Argentina8,300South AmericaEnglish Argentine, Welsh Argentine, Scottish Argentine
47Qatar8,100Mid East
48Oman7,800Mid East
49Malawi7,400AfricaBritish diaspora in Africa
50Venezuela7,200South America
51Jordan7,200Mid East
52Kuwait7,100Mid East
53Czech Republic6,800Europe
54Brunei6,400Asia Pacific
55Macao6,300Asia Pacific
56Zimbabwe6,100Africa
57Russia6,100Europe
58Ghana5,900AfricaGhanaian Britons
59Zambia5,800Africa
60Poland5,600Europe
61Tanzania5,500Africa
62Luxembourg5,500Europe
63Chile5,200South AmericaBritish Chilean, English Chilean, Scottish Chilean, Welsh Chilean
64Hungary5,200Europe
65Botswana5,000Africa
66Costa Rica4,800North America
67Peru4,600South AmericaBritish Peruvian
68Romania4,500Europe
69Sri Lanka4,400AsiaBurgher people
70Bahamas4,100Caribbean
71Vietnam3,800Asia Pacific
72Colombia3,600South America
73Libya3,600Africa
74Gibraltar3,600Europe
75Yemen3,400Mid East
76South Korea3,400Asia Pacific
77Iran2,900Mid East
78Antigua and Barbuda2,800Caribbean
79Finland2,800Europe
80Nepal2,700Asia
81Grenada2,500Caribbean
82Uganda2,500Africa
83Ecuador2,400South America
84Morocco2,400Africa
85Azerbaijan2,400Europe
86Swaziland2,300Africa
87Guyana2,200South America
88Lebanon2,200Mid East
89Syria2,200Mid East
90Belize2,000North America
91Sierra Leone2,000Africa
92Iraq2,000Mid East
93Guatemala1,900North America
94Dominica1,800Caribbean
95Netherlands Antilles1,800Caribbean
96Seychelles1,800Africa
97Namibia1,700Africa
98Mauritania1,600Africa
99Serbia-Montenegro1,600Europe
100St Lucia1,500Caribbean
101Gambia1,500Africa
102Mozambique1,400Africa
103Tunisia1,400Africa
104St Vincent/Grenadines1,300Caribbean
105Ethiopia1,300Africa
106Sudan1,300Africa
107Ivory Coast1,200Africa
108Dominican Republic1,100Caribbean
109Panama1,000North America
110British Virgin Islands1,000Caribbean
111Cambodia1,000Asia Pacific
112Honduras950North America
113North Macedonia950Europe
114Papua New Guinea940Asia Pacific
115Iceland940Europe
116Falkland Islands930South America
117Afghanistan900Asia
118Ukraine900Europe
119Croatia890Europe
120St Kitts & Nevis880Caribbean
121Bulgaria800Europe
122Kazakhstan770Asia
123Estonia750Europe
124Mauritius740Africa
125Slovakia740Europe
126Uruguay690South America
127Angola650AfricaBritish Angolans
128Algeria630Africa
129Bermuda600Caribbean
130Bosnia-Herzegovina540Europe
131Fiji500Asia Pacific
132Bolivia470South America
133Myanmar 460Asia PacificAnglo-Burmese
134Nicaragua410North America
135El Salvador390North America
136DR Congo390Africa
137Latvia370Europe
138Lesotho350Africa
139Mongolia340Asia Pacific
140Paraguay330South America
141Slovenia330Europe
142Monaco320Europe
143Cameroon300Africa
144Madagascar300AfricaBritons in Madagascar
145Lithuania290Europe
146Vanuatu270Asia Pacific
147Anguilla260Caribbean
148Senegal220Africa
149Andorra210Europe
150Tajikistan200Asia
151Georgia200Europe
152Tonga190Asia Pacific
153Albania190Europe
154Cuba160Caribbean
155Montserrat160Caribbean
156Uzbekistan130Asia
157Cayman Islands110Caribbean
158Djibouti110Africa
-Greenland<100North America
-Haiti<100Caribbean
-Puerto Rico<100Caribbean
-Turks & Caicos<100Caribbean
-US Virgin Islands<100Caribbean
-Surinam<100South America
-Benin<100Africa
-Burkina Faso<100Africa
-Cape Verde<100Africa
-Central African Republic<100Africa
-Chad<100Africa
-Congo<100Africa
-Guinea<100Africa
-Liberia<100Africa
-Niger<100Africa
-Rwanda<100Africa
-Somalia<100Africa
-St Helena<100Africa
-Togo<100Africa
-Bhutan<100Asia
-Kyrgyzstan<100Asia
-Maldives<100Asia
-Turkmenistan<100Asia
-Cook Islands<100Asia Pacific
-French Polynesia<100Asia Pacific
-Guam<100Asia Pacific
-Kiribati<100Asia Pacific
-New Caledonia<100Asia Pacific
-Norfolk Island<100Asia Pacific
-North Korea<100Asia Pacific
-Samoa<100Asia Pacific
-Solomon Islands<100Asia Pacific
-Taiwan<100Asia Pacific
-Tuvalu<100Asia Pacific
-Armenia<100Europe
-Belarus<100Europe
-Faroe Islands<100Europe
-Liechtenstein<100Europe
-Moldova<100Europe
-San Marino<100Europe

Note: A different estimate puts China ahead with a population of 3,750,000 British citizens, most of which are those in Hong Kong who have continued to possess British nationality, particularly the British nationals status, which numbered 3.4 million, through their connection with the former crown colony.