Barbadian Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Barbados is the easternmost island of the Caribbean, known for its beaches, sugar plantations and cricket. English is the official language. Many Barbadians, known as Bajans, came to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, recruited to work in hospitals, transport and industry.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 4,460 people living in the city had been born in Caribbean countries other than Jamaica, a group that includes Barbados.

Working for Birmingham

Bajans helped to staff Britain's hospitals and transport networks after the war, and their children and grandchildren work as nurses, teachers, engineers, social workers and business owners across Birmingham.

Birmingham is one of the youngest and most diverse cities in Europe, and its progress has always depended on people who chose to make it home. Its hospitals, schools and universities, its building sites, workshops, warehouses and kitchens all rely on skills brought from around the world. The Barbadian community adds its own share to that effort, and takes pride in giving back to the city that welcomed it.

Culture and community life

Crop Over, the summer festival that celebrates the end of the sugar cane harvest, is Barbados's great carnival. Cricket is a passion, and Barbados has produced some of the game's greatest players. Flying fish and cou-cou is the national dish. The singer Rihanna, one of the world's biggest stars, is from Barbados, and was named a National Hero of the country in 2021.

In a city where scores of languages are spoken, the Barbadian community adds another voice to the conversation. Its members, old and new, are helping to make Birmingham the confident, outward-looking city it wants to be.