Urdu in the United Kingdom

British Urdu
برطانوی اردو
Pronunciation[ˈbəɾt̪ɑːnʋiː ˈʊrduː]
EthnicityBritish Asians
Speakers270,000 (2021)
Language codes
ISO 639-1ur
ISO 639-2urd
ISO 639-3urd
Glottologurdu1245  Urdu
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Urdu inscription on an obelisk in Barton about the First World War.

Urdu in the United Kingdom (Urdu: برطانیہ میں اردو) is the fourth most commonly spoken language. It is seen as the lingua franca for around two million British South Asians.[1] According to the 2021 census, 270,000 people (0.5% of UK residents) listed Urdu as their main language, an increase of 1,000 from 2011.[2] Ethnologue reports the total number of Urdu speakers in the UK at over 400,000.[3] Since the 1990s, the Department of Health has issued patient information (pamphlets etc.) in Urdu in conjunction with local authorities,[4] which has also led other organisations, institutions and councils to publish public information in Urdu.

  1. ^ Khan, Abdul Jamil (2006). Urdu/Hindi : an artificial divide ; African heritage, Mesopotamian roots, Indian culture & British colonialism. Algora Publ. ISBN 0-87586-437-6. OCLC 836277434.
  2. ^ "Language, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  3. ^ "Ethnologue report for United Kingdom". Ethnologue. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  4. ^ Britain, David (2007-08-23), "Map of the British Isles", Language in the British Isles, Cambridge University Press, pp. xiii–xiv, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511620782.001, ISBN 9780521794886, retrieved 2023-04-20