Romanians in the United Kingdom
Romanians in the United Kingdom refers to the phenomenon of Romanian people moving to the United Kingdom as citizens or non-citizen immigrants, along with British citizens of Romanian ancestry. The number of Romanian-born people resident in the UK has risen from 83,168 at the time of the 2011 Census to an estimated 427,000 in 2019.
Total population | |
---|---|
Romanian-born residents 83,168 (2011 Census) 427,000 (2019 ONS estimate) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester | |
Languages | |
English, Romanian | |
Religion | |
Romanian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Protestant, Jewish | |
Related ethnic groups | |
History, population, and settlement
The small number of Romanians that first arrived in Britain were primarily Jews fleeing persecution during the Second World War.[1] The activities of the Romanian exiles started in 1941, through the effort of individuals such as Ambassador Viorel Tilea, Major George Emil Iliescu, and legal counselor Ecaterina Iliescu. They founded the Anglo-Romanian Refugee Committee (ARRC) in 1948. The Free Romanian Orthodox Church was active in parallel to the ARRC between 1950–55, under the leadership of Father Gildau, with a Parish Committee chaired by Mihai Carciog. This later transformed into the 'Romanian Orthodox Women's Association in the UK', which, in turn, became in 1956 the British-Romanian Association - also known under its Romanian name of ACARDA ("Asociația Culturală a Românilor din Anglia") - through the initiative of a representative group of individuals from the small Romanian community, including Ion Rațiu, Horia Georgescu, George Ross, and Leonard Kirschen, Marie-Jeanne Livezeanu, Gladys Wilson, Sanda Cârciog, and Mihai Cârciog.[2]
Ion Rațiu was the President of the British-Romanian Association between 1965 - 1985, followed by Iolanda Stranescu Costide between 1985 until its closure in 1996, the organisation having fulfilled its aim to restore a democratic regime in Romania. At the time of the 2001 Census, 7,631 Romanian-born people were residing in the UK.[3] In the 2011 Census, the Romanian-born population grew to 83,168 people throughout the UK, with 79,687 in England & Wales,[4] 2,387 in Scotland,[5] and 1,094 in Northern Ireland.[6] The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that, in 2012, 101,000 Romanian-born people were resident in the UK.[7] By 2019, this estimate had risen to 427,000.[8]
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
2004 | 14,000 | — |
2005 | 17,000 | +21.4% |
2006 | 17,000 | +0.0% |
2007 | 24,000 | +41.2% |
2008 | 42,000 | +75.0% |
2009 | 59,000 | +40.5% |
2010 | 82,000 | +39.0% |
2011 | 83,168 | +1.4% |
2012 | 106,000 | +27.5% |
2013 | 136,000 | +28.3% |
2014 | 170,000 | +25.0% |
2015 | 220,000 | +29.4% |
2016 | 310,000 | +40.9% |
2017 | 390,000 | +25.8% |
2018 | 392,000 | +0.5% |
2019 | 427,000 | +8.9% |
Note: Besides for 2011 when a census of the population took place, figures are ONS estimates of the number of Romanian-born residents. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95% confidence intervals. Source: [9] |
Culture
Most Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church religion and there are several Romanian Orthodox churches throughout the UK, such as those in Aberdeen, Ballymena, Birmingham, Boston, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Caterham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Luton, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, or Poole.[11]
Notable Britons of Romanian descent
- Ikechi Anya, footballer
- Alma Cogan, singer
- Jimmy Cornell, yachtsman, bestselling author of World Cruising Routes
- Steven Berkoff, actor and author
- John Bercow, politician
- Maria Björnson, theatre designer
- Octav Botnar, businessman
- Alina Cojocaru, ballet dancer
- George Constantinescu, scientist, engineer and inventor
- Moses Gaster, scholar
- Miron Grindea, literary journalist (OBE)
- Rosemary Harris, actress
- Michael Howard, politician
- George Hurst, music conductor
- George Iacobescu, chief executive of the Canary Wharf Group (CBE)
- Flavia Kenyon, barrister
- Irina Lăzăreanu, model
- Jeff Leach, comedian
- Anamaria Marinca, actress
- Micachu, singer, songwriter and composer
- Nelly Miricioiu, opera singer
- David Mitrany, scholar
- Paul Neagu, artist
- Valentino Petrescu, mixed martial artist
- Emma Răducanu, tennis player
- Sir Roy Redgrave, army officer (KBE)
- Ion Raţiu, politician
- Constantin Silvestri, music conductor
- Peter Solley, pianist
- Martin Sorrell, businessman
- Monty Sunshine, jazz clarinetist
- Viorel Tilea, diplomat (CBE)
Gallery
- The Embassy of Romania in London.
- The Romanian Cultural Institute in Belgrave Square, London.[12]
- Romanian Cultural Institute, Open House London 2015.
References
- Cesarani, David (1994). The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841-1991. Cambridge University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-521-43434-8.
- Mazurkiewicz, Anna (2019). East Central European Migrations During the Cold War: A Handbook. De Gruyter Oldenbourg. ISBN 978-3-11-060753-6.
- "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- "2011 Census: Country of birth (expanded), regions in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- "Country of birth (detailed)" (PDF). National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- "Country of Birth – Full Detail: QS206NI". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "2012; Estimated overseas-born population resident in the United Kingdom, by country of birth (Table 1.3)". Office for National Statistics. August 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- "Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2019 to December 2019". Office for National Statistics. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95% confidence intervals.
- "Dataset: Population of the United Kingdom by Country of Birth and Nationality". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- Baciu, Paula (10 September 2018). "What brings Romanians to the streets". VoxEurop/EDJNet. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "Parohii din Regatul Unit al Marii Britanii şi al Irlandei de Nord" (in Romanian). Mitropolia Ortodoxǎ Românǎ a Europei Occidentale şi Meridionale. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- "About the Romanian Cultural Institute". AllinLondon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
External links
- The Romanian Cultural Centre in London (website)
- The Romanian Cultural Institute in London (website)
- BBC Romania 1939–2008 (in Romanian)