Bulgarians in the United Kingdom

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bulgarians in the United Kingdom
Total population
Bulgarian-born residents
5,351 (2001 Census)
103,000 (2018 ONS estimate)
Regions with significant populations
London, Birmingham, Southampton[1]
Languages
Bulgarian, English
Religion
Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Irreligion, Atheism
Related ethnic groups
Bulgarian diaspora
The London Bulgarian Choir on stage
The Plovdiv Bulgarian Café in Haringey, London

Bulgarians in the United Kingdom (Bulgarian: Българи в Обединеното кралство, romanizedBalgari v Obedinenoto kralstvo) include citizens of the United Kingdom who trace their Bulgarian ancestry. The number of Bulgarian-born people resident in the UK has risen from 5,351 at the time of the 2001 Census to an estimated 103,000 in 2018.

Since 1 January 2014, Bulgarians have freedom of movement and work in the United Kingdom as

citizens of the European Union
.

History

A true Bulgarian community in the United Kingdom was formed relatively recently as compared to Bulgarian communities in other countries in Western Europe. Few Bulgarian students enrolled at British universities before World War II; political and economic emigration was also scarce. It was only around 1944–1945 that a more apparent circle of Bulgarian political emigrants was formed in the United Kingdom.[1]

During the

2001 UK Census recorded 5,351 people born in Bulgaria.[2]

When Bulgaria joined the European Union in January 2007, the British government placed transitional restrictions on the rights of Bulgarians to move to the UK, which were subsequently extended and these transitional restrictions expired on 1 January 2014.[3] The Office for National Statistics estimates that 69,000 Bulgarian-born immigrants were resident in the UK in 2015.[4] By 2018, this estimate had risen to 103,000.[5]

Notable people

See also

References

External links