On 13th May 2026 the Muslim Council of Britain launched its two-volume report, British Muslims in Numbers: A Statistical Compendium, Demographic, Education, Health & Socio-Economic Profile of Muslims in the United Kingdom with an analysis of 20-year trends and regional variations. The event held at Westminster City Hall included a presentation of key findings by Dr Miqdad Asaria, for the MCB’s Research & Documentation Committee. Among invited speakers providing a response were Professor John Denham, Director, Centre for English Identity and Politics, Southampton University, and Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Director, Islam-UK, Cardiff University. In addition to summary sections, Volume One’s contents are chapters headed ‘Demographics’, ‘Focus on Youth’, ‘Engagement in Civic Life’. The chapters in Volume Two are ‘Green Shoots of Social Mobility’, ‘Persisting Inequalities’, ‘Issues for Muslim Civil Society’,’ Conclusions, Areas for Further Research, and 2031 Census’. The Appendix provides a further analysis of 9 census variables for each of the ten regions in England and Wales, together with select local authority district-level data. The report has over 300 data tables and 250 charts.
Dr Wajid Akhter, Secretary General of the MCB, noted at the launch, “This groundbreaking British Muslims in Numbers report has been launched at a critical time post the local elections results. The report’s rigorous analysis on British Muslims plays a key role in contributing to public policy making which affect the community from health, to education, employment and civic engagement, we hope this will increase awareness about who British Muslims are within the civil society and media [. . .] This data is a starting point for wider conversations about the rich diversity, identity, growth and social equality of British Muslims and uncovers a host of issues pertinent for an inclusive way of life for most British Muslims. This report paints the most accurate and in-depth insight to our community to date which we hope will reflect the positive contributions British Muslims make and the challenges which remain to be tackled in meeting the needs of 4 million Muslims in the UK especially given the current political landscape.”
Downloadable from https://mcb.org.uk/features/muslims-in-british-census/
For MCB press release, click here.