The study’s findings say the number of Muslims grew by 75% over the last decade, reaching 2.7 million from no more than 1.5 million in 2001. The figures indicate that one-third of Muslims in England and Wales are now aged 15 or younger, and half are under 25.
The number of Muslim children in England and Wales doubled over the past decade, meaning at least one in every 12 school pupils there is Muslim. Although more than half of all UK Muslims were born abroad, 73% of those who practice the religion said their national identity was British.
About one in every 20 British residents is Muslim. Three-quarters of the Muslim population is concentrated in London, the West Midlands, the North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber. However, 46% of Muslims live in the country’s 10% most deprived areas.
The study, conducted by the Muslim Council of Britain, predicted that by 2021 there would be nearly 300,000 Muslim teenagers in England and Wales. It said Muslim pupils make up a very high share of schoolchildren in some areas: more than 60% in Tower Hamlets, described as a Muslim concentration, and more than 80% in Birmingham. The article states that Muslims make up about 34.5% of London’s population.
The study found that racial discrimination and widespread Islamophobia against Muslims were substantial. Muslim inmates account for about 13% of prisoners in England and Wales.
The report said that while nearly half the Muslim population was born in the UK and the vast majority spoke English, about 6% were still struggling to learn the language. Some 24% of Muslims aged over 16 held degree-level qualifications, compared with 27% of the general population.
Unemployment was higher among Muslim women than among the wider population. The study found that 71% of Muslim women aged 16–24 were not working, compared with 50% of women in that age group across Britain. Among women aged 25–49, about 57% of Muslim women worked, compared with 80% of women overall.