Tanzanian Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Tanzania lies on the east coast of Africa and is home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti and the spice islands of Zanzibar. Swahili is the national language. Many Tanzanian Asians came to Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, and more recent arrivals include students, doctors and professionals.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 70 Birmingham residents described their ethnic group as Tanzanian; and 277 residents gave Swahili as their main language. Main language figures leave out the many bilingual residents who use English day to day, so the number who speak the language at home is higher still. Many Tanzanian-born residents are of Indian heritage, and the Swahili figure includes speakers from Kenya and other countries.

Working for Birmingham

Tanzanian residents work in healthcare, education, business, finance and IT, and Tanzanian Asian families have built successful businesses in the city. Tanzanian doctors, nurses and students contribute to Birmingham's hospitals and universities.

The city's future rests on the same things as its past: skills, enterprise and people willing to put in the hours. Whether in a hospital, a classroom, a lecture theatre, a van full of tools or a shop on a busy high street, Tanzanian residents are helping to build that future, and to make Birmingham a stronger, fairer and more welcoming city.

Culture and community life

Swahili culture, with its music, poetry and food, is at the heart of Tanzanian life. Pilau rice, chapati and coconut curries from Zanzibar are family favourites, and taarab music, a blend of African, Arab and Indian sounds, is loved by many.

Like so many of the communities that make up modern Birmingham, the Tanzanian 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.