Black British people

Black British people, also referred to as Black Britons, are a group of people of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black origins.

The term Black British developed in the 1950s, referring to the migrant populations from the former British colonies in the West Indies (sometimes referred to as the Windrush Generation) and West Africa, though it had been used to describe earlier populations from West Africa.

The term black has historically had a number of applications as a racial and political label. It may also be used in a wider sociopolitical context to encompass a broader range of non-European ethnic minority populations in Britain, though this usage has become less common over time. Black British is one of several self-designation entries used in official UK ethnicity classifications, though many people still choose to self identify as British Nigerian or British Jamaican for example.

Around 3.7 per cent of the United Kingdom's population in 2021 were Black. The figures have increased from the 1991 census when 1.63 per cent of the population were recorded as Black or Black British to 1.15 million residents in 2001, or 2 per cent of the population, this further increased to just over 1.9 million in 2011, representing 3 per cent. Almost 96 per cent of Black Britons live in England, particularly in England's larger urban areas, with close to 1.2 million living in Greater London. 47.8% of the total Black British population live in London.

Terminology

The term Black British most commonly refers to Black people from the Commonwealth of Nations, such as from the British West Indies or British West Africa.