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

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

1960

1962

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

North

South

East

West

Africa

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.

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Asylu

m ap

plica

tions

from

Afri

ca

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

Asylum applications 1998-2007

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000

Algeria

Angola

Burundi

Cameroon

Congo

Dem. Rep. of Congo

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Gambia

Ghana

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Liberia

Nigeria

Rw anda

Sierra Leone

Somalia

Sudan

Tanzania

Uganda

Zimbabw e

Other sub Saharan Africa

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

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Asy

lum

ap

plic

atio

ns

Algeria

Dem. Rep. of Congo

Eritrea

Nigeria

Sierra Leone

Somalia

Sudan

Zimbabw e

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

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

NI n

um

ber

s al

loca

ted

(00

0s)

Largest National Insurance number allocations to African nationals 2006/7

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000

South Africa

Nigeria

Ghana

Zimbabw e

Somalia

Kenya

Eritrea

Algeria

Tanzania

Gambia

Uganda

Egypt

Zambia

Cameroon

Morocco

Sierra Leone

Malaw i

Sudan

Congo

Libya

Ethiopia

Tunisia

Botsw ana

Cote D'ivoire

Democratic Rep of Congo

NI number allocations 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

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Dependants of w ork permit holders

Employment for less than 12 months

Employment for 12 months or more

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.

AfricaNorth Africa

West and Central Africa

South and East Africa

LONDON 77.0 57.2 83.8 69.5

Inner London 45.9 36.7 53.5 36.5

Outer London 31.1 20.6 30.3 33.0

NORTH EAST 0.6 2.2 0.5 0.7

NORTH WEST 3.5 7.3 2.8 4.2

YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER 2.3 5.1 1.4 3.3

EAST MIDLANDS 2.2 2.5 1.2 3.4

WEST MIDLANDS 2.6 3.8 1.8 3.6

EAST 3.7 4.7 2.8 4.8

SOUTH EAST 5.9 12.1 4.4 7.5

SOUTH WEST 1.4 2.9 0.8 2.0

ENGLAND 99.2 97.8 99.6 98.9

WALES 0.8 2.2 0.4 1.1

ENGLAND & WALES 300046 9527 166271 124248

Geographical distribution of Black-African people

Black African-born people2001 Census of Population

24,00012,000

2,400

North AfricaWest & Central AfricaSouth & East Africa

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

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

ALGERIA

ANGOLA

BOTSW

ANA

BURUNDI

CAMEROO

N

CHAD

CONG

O

CONG

O (D

EMOCRATI

C REPUBLI

C)

BENIN

ETHIOPIA

ERITREA

DJIBOUTI

GABO

N

GAM

BIA, T

HE

GHANA

GUIN

EA

IVO

RY CO

AST

KENYA

LIBERIA

MALI

MO

ROCCO

MO

ZAMBIQ

UE

NAMIB

IA

NIGER

NIGERIA

GUIN

EA-BIS

SAU

RWANDA

SENEGAL

SIERRA L

EONE

SOM

ALIA

SOUTH A

FRICA

ZIMBABW

E

SUDAN

SWAZIL

AND

TOGO

TUNISIA

UGANDA

EGYPT

TANZANIA

BURKINA

ZAMBIA

AFRICA N

OT O

THERWIS

E SPECIF

IED

Female

Male

Age and gender structure of Black African-born people, 2008

10000.00 8000.00 6000.00 4000.00 2000.00 0.00 2000.00 4000.00 6000.00 8000.00 10000.00

1

6

11

16

21

26

31

36

41

46

51

56

61

66

71

76

81

86

91

96A

ge

in y

ears

Male Female

• 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.

% aged0-15

% aged16-24

% aged25-44

%aged45-64

% aged65+ Total

North - - - - - 1888

South 14.6 18.2 52.5 14.0 - 64897

East 13.0 24.6 45.9 13.4 - 154217

West 9.5 12.6 50.7 22.6 4.7 276063

Africa 11.2 17.1 49.3 18.7 3.7 497064

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

North South East West Total

Single person household - 17.7 22.2 23.2 22.1

Married couple - 52.6 39.1 50.6 47.5

Cohabiting couple - - 5.6 7.1 6.2

Lone parent - 25.8 33.1 19.0 24.2

Same sex/civil partner - - - - -

Living with dependent children - 62.7 66.2 61.0 62.8

1888 64897 154217 276063 497064

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.

Males Females

Economic activity rate

Employment rate

Unemployment rate

Economic activity rate

Employment rate

Unemployment rate

North 71.7 65.2 9.1 38.7 34.5 11.0

South 87.7 84.7 3.5 79.2 75.7 4.4

East 77.5 69.3 10.5 55.9 51.1 8.6

West 83.1 75.1 9.7 69.6 65.1 6.5

Africa 80.9 74.9 7.4 65.2 61.0 6.4

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 rate Employment rate Unemployment rate

1970-1989 78.9 69.0 12.6

1990-1999 72.4 62.3 14.0

2000 onwards 61.0 53.2 12.8

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

Male

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70+

Inactive

ILO unemployed

In employment

Female

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70+

Inactive

ILO unemployed

In employment

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)

North South East West Africa

Degree or equivalent - 16.9 15.5 28.7 23.2

Higher educ - 20.1 9.1 11.4 11.8

GCE A Level or equiv - 18.3 13.3 12.8 13.6

GCSE grades A-C or equiv - 14.7 11.1 9.4 10.5

Other qualifications - 23.3 25.5 27.3 26.3

No qualification - - 24.3 9.2 13.5

Don't know - - - - -

1888 54810 131684 243917 432297

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

North South East West Africa Male Female

1: Managers and Senior Officials - - - 7.0 6.3 7.6 -

2 : Professional Occupations - - - 15.1 13.4 18.1 7.8

3 : Associate Professional and Technical Occupations - 26.9 17.9 13.0 16.2 11.4 22.0

4 : Administrative and Secretarial Occupations - - - 10.0 8.8 7.9 10.0

5 : Skilled Trades Occupations - - - 3.9 3.7 4.4 -

6 : Personal Service Occupations - 28.9 17.0 14.8 17.2 9.9 26.1

7 : Sales and Customer Service occupations - - - 7.1 8.0 5.5 11.1

8 : Process, Plant and Machine Operatives - - - 6.3 5.8 9.5 -

9 : Elementary Occupations - - 22.0 22.7 20.6 26.0 14.1

Total 1522 36567 54649 160644 253381 139720 113979

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