British Asians

British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British people of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with a population of 5.76 million people or 8.6% of the population identifying as Asian or Asian British in the 2021 United Kingdom census. This represented an increase from a 6.9% share of the UK population in 2011, and a 4.4% share in 2001.

Represented predominantly by South Asian ethnic groups, census data regarding birthplace and ethnicity demonstrate around a million Asian British people derive their ancestry between East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. Since the 2001 census, British people of general Asian descent have been included in the "Asian/Asian British" grouping ("Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British" grouping in Scotland) of the UK census questionnaires. Categories for British Indians, British Pakistanis, British Bangladeshis, British Chinese, British Hongkongers and other Asians have existed under an Asian British heading since the 2011 census. In British English usage, especially in less formal contexts, the term "Asian" usually refers to people who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, contrary to other Anglosphere countries such as Australia, Canada, Latin America, and the United States, where the term "Asian" usually refers to people who trace their ancestry to East and Southeast Asia.

There is a long history of migration to the United Kingdom (and its predecessor states) from across Asia. British colonies and protectorates throughout Asia brought lascars (sailors and militiamen) to port cities in Britain. Immigration of small numbers of South Asians to England began with the arrival of the East India Company to the Indian subcontinent, and the decline of the Mughal Empire, at the end of the 16th century. Between the 17th and mid-19th century, increasingly diverse lascar crews heading for Britain imported East Asians, such as Japanese and Chinese seamen, Southeast Asians, such as Malays, South Asians such as the Indians (including the people from Pakistan), Bengalis and Ceylonese and post-Suez Canal; West Asians, such as Armenians and Yemenis, who settled throughout the United Kingdom.

In particular, Indians also came to Britain for educational or economic reasons during the British Raj (with most returning to India after a few months or years) and in greater numbers as the Indian independence movement led to the partition of 1947, eventually creating the separate countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The most significant wave of Asian immigration to and settlement in the United Kingdom came following the Second World War with the resumed control of Hong Kong, the breakup of the British Empire and the independence of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and later Bangladesh, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. An influx of Asian immigrants also took place following the expulsion or flight of Indian communities (then holders of British passports) from the newly-independent Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the early 1970s.

Since the 2010s, British Asians have achieved positions of high political office; Sadiq Khan (of Pakistani descent) became Mayor of London in 2016, Rishi Sunak (of Indian descent) became the first British Asian Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in October 2022 and Humza Yousaf (also of Pakistani descent) became First Minister of Scotland in March 2023.

In Britain, the word "Asian" most frequently refers to people with ancestry from the South Asian Indian subcontinent (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans). This usage contrasts with that in the United States, where it is used primarily to refer to people of East and Southeast Asian origin.

In British English usage, the term Asian usually refers to people who trace their ancestry to South Asia, in particular the former British Raj and Ceylon (the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives). The British Sociological Association's guidelines on equality and diversity suggest that "South Asian" is more precise than "Asian" and that the latter should not be used where there is a risk of it conflating South Asians with people from elsewhere in Asia.

The Office for National Statistics uses the term "Asian / Asian British" to categorise British Indians, British Pakistanis, British Bangladeshis, British Chinese people and people of any other Asian ancestry.