Southeast Asian Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

South-East Asia stretches from Myanmar to the Philippines, and includes some of the world's most diverse and fastest-growing countries. Southeast Asians in Birmingham include nurses recruited by the NHS, Vietnamese families who arrived as refugees, and students and professionals drawn by the city's universities.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 7,230 people living in the city had been born in South-East Asia.

Working for Birmingham

Filipino nurses and carers are a mainstay of the city's hospitals and care homes, and Southeast Asian professionals work in engineering, finance, IT and research. Vietnamese, Thai and Malaysian restaurants have become favourites, and Southeast Asian students are a lively part of campus life.

Healthcare, education and the skilled trades are three of the pillars of the city's economy. The NHS is one of Birmingham's biggest employers, its universities teach tens of thousands of students, and there is steady demand for electricians, plumbers, carpenters, decorators and handymen in every neighbourhood, alongside business, transport, hospitality, retail and the city's growing digital and creative industries. People from every background keep these sectors running, and the Southeast Asian community shares in that effort.

Culture and community life

Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim and Hindu traditions are all part of Southeast Asian life, and the Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda in Edgbaston, built in the Burmese style, is one of the city's most beautiful buildings. Lunar New Year, Songkran and Hari Raya bring families together.

In a city where scores of languages are spoken, the Southeast Asian 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.