Black Africans constituted 0.8% of the total population and 10.5% of the ethnic minority population in the 2001 Census - making them the fifth largest ethnic minority group in the UK.

Black Africans were also the fastest growing ethnic minority group, having more than doubled in size between 1991 and 2001.

Black Africans are often highly qualified academically but they suffer high levels of unemployment. In 2001/2, around one in seven Black African men was unemployed (15%) compared with 5% of white British men.

Black Africans recorded the lowest proportion of self-employment (as a percentage of all in employment), compared to other ethnic groups, at 6.7% (in 2001/2).

Nigerians and Ghanaians form the two largest communities within the black African group. Nigerians in the UK are mainly from the Yoruba and Ibo tribes. Most Ghanaians in the UK are from the Ashanti, Fanti, Ga or Ewe tribes.

However, significant numbers have arrived from Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent years, seeking asylum.

Somalia was the third most frequent country of origin for people seeking asylum in the UK in the second quarter of 2004.

Somalia has existed without a government for more than ten years, since the former Somali President, Mohammed Siad Barre, was ousted in the civil war of 1991. Since then, the country has experienced a refugee crisis due to complex inter-ethnic rivalries, clan warfare and famine.

Zimbabwe was the fourth most frequent country of origin for people seeking asylum in the UK in the second quarter of 2004. The country is currently going through tremendous economic crisis, severe food shortages and violent land reform.

Black Africans speak English and/or African tribal languages from their place of origin, such as Yoruba (Nigeria) and Twi (Ghana). However, those communities which are more recently established in the UK and/or have come to the UK seeking asylum may have lower levels of fluency in English.

A mix of religions is practised within the community, varying by country. Overall 69% of UK black Africans are Christian, while 20% are Muslim. Muslim black Africans are mainly from North and West Africa, particularly Somalia and Nigeria. For all communities, places of worship were a focus of social gatherings and networking, particularly the Ugandan, Nigerian and Ghanaian communities. For these communities, the church is the focus of a range of activities including social and educational events. Among predominately Muslim Somali community, places of worship themselves are not used for non-religions activities, but the occasion of worship is used for meeting outside and in nearby cafes.

Around three quarters (78%) of Black Africans live in London.

Black Africans form more than 10% of the population of Southwark, Newham, Lambeth and Hackney.

There are large Somali communities in London (particularly Haringay and Hackney) and Manchester, but Cardiff has the oldest and the largest British-born Somali population in the UK.

Africans also reside in growing numbers in the following areas:

The North

• Newcastle
• Liverpool
• Manchester
• Leeds
• Bradford
• Sheffield
• Doncaster

Midlands

• Nottingham
• Wolverhampton
• Coventry
• Birmingham
• Stoke-on-Trent

Hertfordshire

• St. Albans
• Milton Keynes

Bedfordshire

• Luton

The West

• Bristol
• Oxford
• Swindon

The South

• Brighton & Hove
• Reading
• Slough
• Southampton

East

• Cambridge
• Southend-on-Sea
• Essex

The black African community in the UK has a younger age profile than that of black Caribbeans, with 30% aged under 16 years (compared with 20% of black Caribbeans) and 2% aged 65 years and over (compared with 11% of black Caribbeans).

Almost half of black African households include dependent children (48%), which is lower than the figures for South Asian households, but higher than for other ethnic minority groups.

The African identity tends to vary across generations, similar to other ethnic groups:

• Older generations, and those forced to leave their family and friends, attach a great deal of importance to their African backgrounds, often have very strong ties with their hometowns and may regard themselves as temporary residents despite having lived in the UK for many years.
• The younger generation are generally much more integrated into London/British culture. They tend to describe themselves as ‘British-born Nigerian’, ‘British-born African’ and so on, and they may feel they have more in common with other British young people than with their parents’ culture.

Men and women tend to have different experiences of migration, access to services, employment, education, family roles, and adapting to life in the UK:

• in some cases, women are thought to have gained greater independence and economic freedom with increased employment and education opportunities and access to welfare benefits. There is a view that women find it easier to obtain employment then men, partly due to the greater discrimination experienced by men; and partly due to the types of jobs available to people without qualifications being in occupations associated with women, for example low paid care or cleaning based occupations which men are not used to having to accept.
• On the other hand women are more isolated and have less access to employment due to family responsibilities (particularly Somali women), language barriers or lack of qualifications. There is a concern that employed women carry a double burden of responsibility as chief carer and wage earner.
• Whilst there is evidence of men with highly skilled jobs, there are also reports that men find it very hard to obtain employment which reflects their skills, or enables them to support their families. As a consequence men suffer from loss of status and depression or have to juggle several different full and part-time jobs.