Liverpool (Somali diaspora)

Liverpool's Somali community began with seamen who settled near the docks before 1960 (Hirsi, University of Minnesota, 2026). Its main community charity registered in 1989, as refugees began to arrive (OpenCharities, charity 702142). Census 2021 counted 1,877 people who wrote "Somali" or "Somalilander" (Nomis, Census 2021 TS022).

The wider seamen story is told in The first Somalis abroad: seamen and traders.

How many Somalis live in Liverpool?

The census gives several counts:

• Somali or Somalilander write-ins: 1,877, or 0.4% of 486,095 residents (Nomis, TS022). Of these, 690 wrote "Somalilander", 37%, one of the highest shares in England (same table).
• Born in Somalia: 1,072 (Nomis, Census 2021 TS012).
• Main language Somali: 542 residents aged 3 and over (Nomis, Census 2021 TS024).

For arrivals by decade and passports across England and Wales, see United Kingdom.

Where in Liverpool do Somalis live?

Census 2021 ward counts, Somali and Somalilander together (Nomis, TS022 by ward):

• Princes Park: 1,169
• Picton: 232
• Riverside: 80
• Kensington and Fairfield: 71

So six in ten live in one ward, Princes Park, in Liverpool 8. The Liverpool Somali Community Centre stands on Granby Street, L8 (OpenCharities, charity 702142).

How did Somalis come to Liverpool?

Seamen, 1920s to 1950s. Somalis settled in dockside districts across Britain, including Liverpool, Newport, Sheffield and South Shields (Hirsi, 2026). One fireman from British Somaliland reached Liverpool in 1937, where elders gave him a coat and a bed (same study). He brought his wife from Somaliland in the early 1950s, and the family later moved to Cardiff (same study).

Liverpool's dock district then housed people from Somalia, Sierra Leone and Yemen, Hirsi writes. In 1956 the Minister of Labour told Parliament that Somali seamen's unemployment had risen in Liverpool, unlike other ports (Hansard, HC Deb 19 April 1956).

The Somali Club. Clubs in Liverpool 8 were often set up by immigrant seamen (Nerve, Summer 2009). The Somali Club stood on Parliament Street, and a photograph marks its end in 1983 (same article). It also appears in a list of Liverpool 8's African clubs (Writing on the Wall, 2025).

Refugees, from the late 1980s. The Liverpool Somali Community registered as a charity in November 1989 (OpenCharities). In 2004 a Home Office minister named a Toxteth project serving refugees from the Somali and Yemeni communities (Hansard, Westminster Hall, 11 February 2004). For why people left, see Why and how Somalis left.

Do Somalis in Liverpool have work?

No Liverpool-only Somali employment rate has been published. Across England and Wales in 2021, 10.3% of Somalis aged 16 to 64 were unemployed, against 4.4% overall (ONS, 4 October 2023). 72.0% rented social housing (same article).

The community centre gives advice on benefits, housing, jobs and schooling (OpenCharities). Its income was £30,416 in the year to March 2025 (same record).

Who speaks for Somalis in Liverpool?

Elected office. Councillor Rahima Farah (Labour) won Toxteth ward in May 2023, the first Somali Muslim woman on Liverpool City Council (About Islam, 2023). In November 2024 she won the Community Champion award at the national LGIU and CCLA Cllr Awards (Liverpool Express, 21 November 2024).

Community groups.

• Liverpool Somali Community (charity 702142), registered 1989, runs elders' meals, dementia support and youth work (OpenCharities).
• Granby Somali Women's Group, founded in 1994 (National Lottery Heritage Fund).
• Liverpool Somali Cultural and Heritage Association, funded in 2003 for cultural work in Toxteth (National Lottery Heritage Fund).
• Somali History Project, funded in 2004 to keep a record of people from the Horn of Africa in Liverpool (National Lottery Heritage Fund).

What do Somalis in Liverpool face now?

• Small and concentrated: six in ten live in Princes Park ward (Nomis, TS022 by ward).
• Elders' care: the community centre's main listed work is meals and dementia support for elders (OpenCharities).
• Housing, 2021: 58.8% of Somali households in England and Wales were overcrowded, against 8.4% overall (ONS, 2023).
• Health, 2024: Councillor Farah's award cited her work on health inequality and opportunities for young people (Liverpool Express, 2024).

How is Liverpool tied to home?

In 2009 the Granby Somali Women's Group received £49,800 to record oral histories of the links between Britain and Somaliland (National Lottery Heritage Fund). The project produced a booklet in Somali for older people, video blogs and a website (same record). For money sent home, see Life after leaving.

What else has been reported?

• The Somali Club: a photo caption in Nerve magazine dates "the end of the Somali Club" on Parliament Street to 1983 (Nerve 14, Summer 2009). Who founded and ran it is not recorded in sources found.

Related pages

• The first Somalis abroad: seamen and traders
• Cardiff (Somali diaspora)
• Manchester (Somali diaspora)
• United Kingdom (Somali diaspora)
• Other UK cities (Somali diaspora)
• Why and how Somalis left

Sources

1. Hirsi, I. "The First Somali Diaspora: A Transnational History of Migration, Race, and Colonialism." PhD dissertation, University of Minnesota, 2026. conservancy.umn.edu. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. ONS via Nomis. Census 2021 TS022, Ethnic group (detailed), local authorities and Liverpool wards. nomisweb.co.uk · wards. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. ONS via Nomis. Census 2021 TS012, Country of birth: Somalia. nomisweb.co.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. ONS via Nomis. Census 2021 TS024, Main language (detailed), Liverpool. nomisweb.co.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. Office for National Statistics. "Somali populations, England and Wales: Census 2021." 4 October 2023. ons.gov.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. UK Parliament, Hansard. "Somali Seamen," HC Deb 19 April 1956 vol 551 cc1149-50; "Somali Community in the UK," Westminster Hall, HC Deb 11 February 2004 vol 417 cc420-8WH. api.parliament.uk · api.parliament.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. Palmer, D. "The Changing Club Scene of Liverpool 8." Nerve 14, Summer 2009. catalystmedia.org.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Writing on the Wall. "Small Talk" (introduction, Stephen Small), 2025. writingonthewall.org.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. OpenCharities. Liverpool Somali Community, charity 702142. opencharities.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. About Islam. "Meet first Somali female Muslim councilor elected in Liverpool." 2023. aboutislam.net. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Liverpool Express (Liverpool City Council). "Council leader and Toxteth councillor both scoop national awards." 21 November 2024. liverpoolexpress.co.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. National Lottery Heritage Fund. Project records: "Celebrating Somali community roots in Liverpool" (2009); Liverpool Somali Cultural and Heritage Association (2003); Somali History Project (2004). heritagefund.org.uk · heritagefund.org.uk · heritagefund.org.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
13. Nerve magazine, issue 14. "The Changing Club Scene of Liverpool 8". Summer 2009. https://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/archive/issues/nerve14/l8_club_scene.php. Checked 2026-11-12.