African migration to the UK

African migration to the UK David Owen University of Warwick, UK

Aims of the paper • To outline trends in migration from Africa to the UK • To describe the living conditions of African migrants in the UK • To contrast migrants from different regions of Africa

Structure of paper • The data sources used • Trends over time / types of migration • Geography of Africans in the UK • Demography and socio-economic circumstances of Africans • Comparative position of Africans • Conclusion

Data sources on African migration • The main data source used for this paper was the Labour Force Survey for 2008 – a quarterly random survey of 160 thousand people (data presented is for Great Britain). This provides a wealth of information on demography and participation in the labour force. • Geographical distribution from Census of Population for 2001 • DWP National Insurance number applications; represents people coming to UK to work • Home Office UK Asylum statistics 2007 and Control of Immigration Statistics 2007

Migration trends • The LFS asks individuals the year in which they first entered the UK. This gives an indication of the migration trend, but excludes those who returned to Africa. • Migration of Black-Africans to the UK started rather later than that of Caribbean and South Asian people • Until the late 1980s, total migration was around 5000 a year. The total reached 20 thousand in a number of years in the 1990s. • The number of migrants increased rapidly at the turn of the century and remained around 30 thousand per year during this decade. • Migration from West and Central Africa increased steadily during this period. • Migration from East Africa increased rapidly in the early 1990s, afterwards falling, but increasing again after 2000. • Migration from Southern Africa was highest around the year 2000.

Year of entry to the UK of Black African-born people, 1960-2007

Asylum migration • Migration for asylum was a major factor underlying Africa migration to the UK. • The total number of asylum applications from Africa steadily increased throughout the 1990s, peaked in 2002, afterwards declining. • The peak was 30.5 thousand in 2002. • There were still 8.8 thousand applications in 2007 • There was a total of 171.5 thousand asylum applications from African principal applicants over the period 1998-2007.

Asylum migration by country • Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced wars, civil conflict and political unrest since 1990 and have been the source of asylum applications to the UK. • The bulk of asylum applications are from countries formerly colonised by the UK. • Eastern and southern Africa was the largest source of asylum applications. • The largest individual source of applications was Somalia (43 thousand), followed by Zimbabwe (21 thousand), Congo and DR Congo (both 11.5 thousand), Nigeria (9.8 thousand) and Algeria (8.3 thousand)

Asylum applications by country 1998-2007

Trends in asylum migration from the largest sources, 1997-2007 • Asylum migration started in the early 1990s in Somalia, and was still running at over 5 thousand per year in the late 1990s. It has declined since 2002. • Asylum applications from Sierra Leone and Algeria declined after 2000/2001. • Asylum migration from other countries was building up in the late 1990s. • For Zimbabwe, asylum flows peaked in 2002 at 7.7 thousand. This year also saw peak asylum flows from DR Congo. • There has been a steady flow of asylum applications (around 1000 per year) from Nigeria. • Asylum migration from Eritrea steadily increased over the period 1997-2007. Asylum applications from Sudan have also been increasing.

Trends in asylum migration from Africa,1998-2008

Migration from Africa for employment • The main sources of information on work-related migration are DWP data on National Insurance number allocations and Home Office information on work permits issued. • Over the period 2002-8, an average of 60 thousand NI numbers per annum were allocated to African nationals. • This probably overstates migration for work due to double-counting. Nevertheless, migration for work-related reasons now greatly exceeds asylum migration. • The largest number of NI numbers allocated during the financial year 2006/7 was to South Africans (17 thousand), followed by Nigerians (12.5 thousand), Ghana (5.5 thousand) and Zimbabwe (4.1 thousand).

National Insurance numbers allocated to African nationals, 2002-8

Largest National Insurance number allocations to African nationals 2006/7

Employment-related migration from Africa, 1997-2007 • The number of people from Africa with work permits permitted to settle in the UK steadily increased from 4 thousand in 1997 to 2002 to a peak of 15.7 thousand. • The numbers declined slowly after 2002, but were still 10 thousand in 2007. • This probably reflects the rapid increase in recruitment of African doctors and nurses by the NHS, since the bulk of admissions were for people working for 12 months or more. • The number of dependants admitted steadily increased, representing a third of all grants in 1997 and around two-fifths in 2007. • In addition, 2.5 thousand students from Africa (1331 males, 1179 females) were accepted onto UK higher education courses in 2007/8 (UCAS data).

Work permit holders and dependants from Africa, given leave to enter the UK 1997-2007

Regional distribution of Black-African people in England and Wales • Black-African people mainly live in the southern and eastern regions of England and Wales • Over three-quarters of Black-African people born in Africa lived in London in 2001. • Nearly half lived in Inner London. • The South-East has the second largest number of Black African people, but mainly in the larger cities and towns near London. • People form West and Central Africa are most concentrated in London, especially Inner London. • People from South and East Africa have a more geographically widespread distribution than other Africans.

Geographical distribution of Black-African people

Largest national origins • In 2008, the Black African-born population of the UK was nearly 0.5 million. • There were 6 countries from which there were 20 thousand or more Black-African migrants present in the UK in 2008; Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Kenya. • The largest single country of origin was Nigeria with 125 thousand people. • Overall, there were 855 males per thousand females among Black African-born people. • In the larger countries of origin, females strongly outnumbered males, but males were strongly in the majority in many smaller countries. • Amongst Somalis, there were 566 males per thousand females.

Countries of origin of African migrants

Age and gender structure of Black African-born people, 2008 • Predominantly younger adults • Females in the majority in most age groups; but surveys find it harder to contact males • Few older people • Few young children • Larger number of teenage children – girls strongly in majority

Age structure and geographical origins of Black-Africans • Around half of Black-Africans were aged 25-44 in 2008. • Those from West Africa tended to be older, with a smaller percentage of children and young adults and a higher percentage of older adults and pensioners. • The youngest population was from East Africa; a quarter of whom were young adults. • The percentage of children was highest for East Africans.

Family structure of African migrants • Overall, half of African migrants live in married couples and a further 6 per cent as cohabiting couples. • Just over a fifth are single, and a quarter are lone parents. • Just over three-fifths live with dependent children • East Africans are least likely to be living in married couples and most likely to be lone parents (33.1 per cent) • South Africans are most likely to be living in married couples • West Africans are most likely to be single

Labour market situation by geographical origin • The economic situation of African migrants is relatively favourable. • Male economic activity and employment rates are close to average, but the unemployment rate is relatively high. • For women, economic activity and employment rates are slightly below average and the unemployment rate is above average. • People from Southern Africa have the most favourable economic situation, with high activity and low unemployment rates • However, people from East Africa are least likely to be economically active and most likely to be unemployed.

Economic activity of African migrants by period of immigration • The economic activity rate in 2008 is much higher for migrants who arrived between 1970 and 1989 than for more recent migrants. • Those arriving in the 1990s are more likely to be economically active and in work than those who arrived after 2000 • Just over half of post-2000 migrants are in employment and an eighth of those economically active are unemployed

Economic activity of Africans by age • Economic activity rates increase with age • A high percentage of economically inactive younger people are in education • Economic activity rates are highest for people in their thirties • Men are more likley than women to be economically active

Educational qualifications of African migrants • Overall, nearly a quarter of African migrants possess a degree or equivalent qualification • A quarter have ‘other’ qualifications • An eighth have no educational qualifications • West Africans are most likely to have a degree or higher level qualification • East Africans are least likely to have a degree and least likely to have no qualifications • South Africans are most likely to have higher education or A-level equivalent qualifications – probably commensurate with associate professional (inc. nursing occupations)

Types of job held by African migrants • Women tend to do associate professional and personal service occupations • For men, the largest occupation is elementary occupations (26 per cent), followed by professional and associate professional occupations • South Africans are more likely to be concentrated in associate professional and personal service occupations than other Africans. • West Africans are most likely to work in elementary occupations

Occupations of African migrants

Conclusion • Migration from Africa to the UK has been accelerating in the last 20 years and the Black African-born population has reached 0.5 million • Economic migration is now becoming more important than asylum migration • The population is predominantly of prime economically active age, and the majority are female • The economic circumstances of the African population is relatively favourable • Africans are more likely to work in non-manual than manual occupations, but over a quarter work in elementary occupations

African migration to the UK