How many Thai people live in the UK? At the 2021 Census, 49,711 residents of England and Wales were born in Thailand — up from about 41,350 in 2011 and roughly 16,000 across the whole UK in 2001. Full census time-series, regional split and gender data below, compiled from ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA outputs.
Compiled & reviewed by Sunaree Ko, Founder · Source: ONS & UK census outputs
At the 2021 Census, 49,711 usual residents of England and Wales were born in Thailand, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That is the headline figure for the Thai population in the UK. Adding the most recent separate counts for Scotland and Northern Ireland (about 2,300 and 470 respectively at the 2011 Census) brings the Thailand-born UK total to roughly 52,000. The wider Thai community — including British-born people of Thai descent — is larger still. This figure is up from around 41,350 in England and Wales in 2011, and is far above the roughly 16,000 recorded UK-wide in 2001.
This is the headline table: the number of Thailand-born residents recorded at each census, by nation. The 2021 column is the most recent full count for England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland are shown at their last separately published census figures.
| Nation | 2001 Census | 2011 Census | 2021 Census |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | — | 39,784 | ~48,300* |
| Wales | — | 1,566 | ~1,400* |
| England & Wales | — | ~41,350 | 49,711 |
| Scotland | — | 2,267 | ~2,300† |
| Northern Ireland | — | 469 | ~470† |
| UK total (Thailand-born) | ~16,257 | ~44,086 | ~52,000 |
*The England & Wales 2021 total of 49,711 is the exact ONS Census 2021 figure. The England-only and Wales-only splits for 2021 are indicative (shown as "~"), apportioned from the published England & Wales total and the 2011 split. †Scotland and Northern Ireland did not run their 2021/2022 censuses on the same date as England and Wales; the figures shown are the 2011 census counts, used here as the latest separately confirmed numbers. The 2001 figure (16,257) is a UK-wide Thailand-born count. Always confirm the latest figures at ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA.
England & Wales, share of the 2021 level (49,711 = 100%), to show the growth trend across the three censuses.
Bars show each census count as a share of the 2021 England & Wales figure. The 2001 bar uses the UK-wide count, so it slightly overstates the England & Wales-only level for that year; it is shown for trend only.
The single most reliable number is the ONS Census 2021 country-of-birth count: 49,711 usual residents of England and Wales born in Thailand, as at Census Day, 21 March 2021. Country of birth is the cleanest measure of the first-generation Thai population, because it counts everyone born in Thailand regardless of current nationality. A separate Census 2021 question on ethnic group recorded about 39,962 people in England and Wales identifying with a Thai ethnic group — a smaller figure, because it excludes Thailand-born people who identify with another ethnicity and is shaped by how the question's categories are worded.
This is the number to cite in 2026, and it beats the older figures that still circulate online: many sources quote the 2011 Census (around 41,350 for England and Wales), which is now more than a decade out of date.
The Thai-born population of the UK has grown sharply over two decades. The 2001 Census recorded roughly 16,257 Thailand-born residents UK-wide. By the 2011 Census this had risen to about 44,086 across the UK (39,784 in England, 1,566 in Wales, 2,267 in Scotland and 469 in Northern Ireland). The 2021 Census then recorded 49,711 in England and Wales alone — about a 20% increase on the 2011 England-and-Wales level, and roughly three times the 2001 UK total.
Much of this long-run growth is tied to family and marriage migration from Thailand to the UK — the same route that dominates today's spouse and partner visa applications. For how those applications perform now, see our UK visa statistics for Thai nationals.
Thai residents are concentrated in London and the South East of England, with notable communities in cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, York, Bath, Glasgow and Edinburgh. A distinctive feature of the Thai diaspora is how widely scattered it is: because much migration has been through marriage and partnership rather than clustered labour migration, Thai residents are spread across many smaller towns as well as the big cities, more so than some other Asian communities.
| Area | Where Thai residents are found |
|---|---|
| London & South East | The largest concentration, including boroughs such as Ealing and Westminster |
| English cities | Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, York, Bath |
| Scotland | Glasgow and Edinburgh hold the main Scottish communities |
| Rest of the UK | Widely dispersed across smaller towns via marriage-route migration |
Distribution is descriptive, drawn from census commentary and diaspora research rather than a single ranked local-authority table. For exact local-authority counts, use the ONS Census 2021 country-of-birth tables (TS012) filtered to Thailand.
The Thai-born population of the UK is strongly female-majority, which researchers consistently link to marriage and partner migration. At the 2001 Census, around 72% of Thailand-born residents in the UK were women (slightly lower, about 68%, within London). Home Office and academic studies of Thai migration similarly found that the large majority of marriage-route migrants from Thailand were women. The precise 2021 split is indicative rather than exact on this page, but the female majority is long-established and well documented across every data source.
A large share of long-resident Thai migrants have settled permanently. Studies of Thai migration to the UK have found that the majority who naturalised as British citizens did so through marriage rather than long residence alone — consistent with the female-majority, marriage-led pattern of the diaspora. Settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) and citizenship grant numbers for Thai nationals are published separately by the Home Office and fluctuate year to year, so we treat them as indicative here rather than quoting a single precise total. For how the visa routes that feed this settlement perform today, see our UK visa statistics for Thai nationals.
All figures on this page are compiled from official UK census outputs, published free under the Open Government Licence. The headline number — 49,711 Thailand-born residents in England and Wales — comes from the ONS Census 2021 country-of-birth tables (Census Day, 21 March 2021).
Primary sources — all official and free under the Open Government Licence:
Last updated: June 2026. Next update: on the next decennial census (next UK census expected around 2031); interim ONS population estimates may revise the figure sooner. Always confirm the latest data at ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA before relying on it.
UK Visa From Thailand (2026) "Thai Population in the UK: Census Statistics". https://ukvisafromthailand.com/en/thai-population-uk-statistics — data: ONS Census 2021 (country of birth), with 2011/2001 census comparatives.
Last reviewed: June 2026. This page presents aggregate published census statistics from ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA for information only; it is not immigration advice and not a prediction of any individual application. The headline figure (49,711) is the ONS Census 2021 country-of-birth count for England and Wales; some sub-figures are indicative and marked as such. Always confirm the latest data at the official statistics agencies.
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Sunaree founded UK Visa From Thailand and compiles and reviews the guides and data on this site. We are a document-preparation and certified-translation service — not a law firm and not IAA-registered — and every figure is sourced from official statistics. Read Sunaree's full bio →