British Jamaicans

British Jamaicans
Total population
Residents born in Jamaica
146,401 (2001 Census)
340,000 (2007 "Jamaica: Mapping exercise")
160,776 (2011 Census)
137,000 (2015 ONS estimate)
Population of Jamaican origin
300,000 (2007 Jamaican High Commission estimate)
Regions with significant populations
Greater London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Wolverhampton
Languages
English (British English, Jamaican English), Jamaican Patois
Religion
Majority of Christianity
Rastafari · Islam · Others
Related ethnic groups
British African-Caribbean community, British mixed-race community, Chinese Jamaicans, Jamaicans of African ancestry, Jamaican Americans, Jamaican Canadians, Jamaican Jews, Indo-Jamaicans, Jamaican Australians

British Jamaicans (or Jamaican British people) are British people who were born in Jamaica or who are of Jamaican descent.[1][2] The community is well into its third generation and consists of around 300,000 individuals, the second-largest Jamaican population, behind the United States, living outside of Jamaica.[3] The Office for National Statistics estimates that in 2015, some 137,000 people born in Jamaica were resident in the UK. The number of Jamaican nationals is estimated to be significantly lower, at 49,000 in 2015.[4]

Jamaicans have been present in the UK since the start of the 20th century; however, by far the largest wave of migration occurred after the Second World War.[3] During the 1950s, Britain's economy was suffering greatly and the nation was plagued with high labour shortages.[3] The British government looked to its overseas colonies for help and encouraged migration in an effort to fill the many job vacancies.[3] Jamaicans, alongside other Caribbean, African and South Asian groups, moved in their hundreds of thousands to the United Kingdom. Almost half of all the men who came from the Caribbean to the UK throughout the 1950s had previously worked in skilled positions or possessed excellent employment credentials.[5] The majority of Jamaicans settled in Greater London and found work in the likes of London Transport, British Rail and the NHS.[3]

  1. ^ Conway, Dennis (2005). "Transnationalism and return: 'Home' as an enduring fixture and anchor". In Potter, Robert B.; Conway, Dennis; Phillips, Joan (eds.). The Experience of Return Migration: Caribbean Perspectives. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 268. ISBN 0-7546-4329-8.
  2. ^ Dimeo, Paul (2001). "Contemporary developments in Indian football". Contemporary South Asia. 10 (2): 251–264. doi:10.1080/09584930120083846. S2CID 144793845.
  3. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference IOMHistory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2015 estimates was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ McDowell, Linda (4 October 2018). "British Library". www.bl.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2022.