Emirati Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Gulf, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In just a few decades it has grown into a global centre for trade, travel and finance. Emiratis in Birmingham include students and visitors, and direct flights link Birmingham Airport with Dubai.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 9,495 people living in the city had been born in Middle Eastern countries other than Iran and Iraq, a group that includes the United Arab Emirates; and 19,996 Birmingham residents described their ethnic group as Arab.

Working for Birmingham

Emirati students in Birmingham study engineering, business, medicine, law and aviation, often with government support, and return home to careers in government, energy and industry. Business links between Birmingham and the UAE, in property, construction and finance, help to create jobs in both places.

Every community that has settled in Birmingham has helped to shape it. Newcomers have filled gaps in the workforce, opened shops and restaurants, and raised children who have gone on to become the city's doctors, teachers, engineers and entrepreneurs. The Emirati community is part of that tradition of hard work and ambition, and of the city's own motto: Forward.

Culture and community life

UAE National Day on 2 December is celebrated with flags and gatherings, and Ramadan and Eid are the high points of the year. Traditional dishes include machboos, spiced rice with meat, and luqaimat, sweet dumplings, and falconry and camel racing are proud parts of Emirati heritage.

Like so many of the communities that make up modern Birmingham, the Emirati community shows how a city can be home to many cultures at once. Its members are proud of where they come from, and just as proud to be Brummies.