ABSTRACT
The decennial census in 1991 recorded that there were more than 207,000 Africans in the United Kingdom. This was the first census in which people were invited to indicate their ethnic origin; in earlier censuses the only means of identifying possible ethnicity was from a person's place of birth and this did not necessarily indicate ethnic origin.1 The ethnic origin that individuals subscribe to on a census form may not in fact be a true indication of their geographical origin. Defining Africa as the place of ethnic origin and birth may be a political or emotive statement about an indirect origin by people who are 'Afro-Caribbean' or 'African-American'. The earlier census suggests the following estimated figures for Africans living in the United Kingdom: 1911-4,540, 1921-4,940, 1931-5,202, 1951-11,000. Most came from West Africa, were male, and lived mainly in London or the other major port cities of Liverpool, Bristol and Cardiff.2
