Manchester (Somali diaspora)

Manchester's Somali community is centred on Moss Side, and most of it arrived as refugees from the 1990s onward (Big Issue, 6 September 2024). Census 2021 counted 7,653 people who wrote "Somali" or "Somalilander", 1.4% of the city (Nomis, Census 2021 TS022).

How many Somalis live in Manchester?

The census gives several counts:

• Somali or Somalilander write-ins: 7,653 of 551,929 residents, of whom 836 wrote "Somalilander" (Nomis, TS022).
• ONS share: Manchester holds 4.0% of the 176,645 people in England and Wales who identified as Somali (ONS, 4 October 2023).
• Born in Somalia: 4,272 (Nomis, Census 2021 TS012).
• Main language Somali: 2,415 residents aged 3 and over (Nomis, Census 2021 TS024).

Nearby towns add more. Bolton counted 2,077 Somali or Somalilander residents, with 921 in Rumworth ward (Nomis, TS022; Nomis, wards).

Where in Manchester do Somalis live?

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

• Moss Side: 2,797, the most of any ward in England and Wales
• Ardwick: 753
• Hulme: 710
• Whalley Range: 661
• Fallowfield: 470
• Cheetham: 369
• Longsight: 321

Claremont Road is Moss Side's main shopping street (VICE, 7 January 2019). Shops on Claremont and Princess Roads sell prayer rugs and money transfers, and advertise flights to Nairobi, Hargeisa and Mogadishu (Hyphen, 15 December 2022).

How did Somalis come to Manchester?

Before 1991. Somali seamen settled in British ports from the 19th century, and some moved inland when shipping work declined; see The first Somalis abroad. Plaza Cafe on Upper Brook Street, Longsight, ran from the 1970s to 1990 and was one of Manchester's first Somali-owned businesses (Hyphen, 2022).

Refugees, 1990s. After war began in Somalia, about 6,000 Somali refugees settled in Manchester, many in Moss Side (Big Issue, 2024). In the early 1990s, eight refugee community groups, one of them Somali, founded the Manchester Refugee Support Network (Archives Hub).

Onward from Europe, 2000s. Over half of Manchester's Somalia-born residents arrived in 2001 to 2010 (ONS Census 2021, year of arrival, Manchester):

• Before 1981: 24
• 1981 to 1990: 146
• 1991 to 2000: 1,086
• 2001 to 2010: 2,266
• 2011 to 2021: 752

Some came after years in mainland Europe. One Moss Side musician's family fled to Denmark during the war, and he came to the UK in 2001 (VICE, 2019). In 2021, 426 of Manchester's Somalia-born residents held a passport from a smaller EU country (ONS Census 2021, passports held, Manchester). See Leicester for this onward move.

Do Somalis in Manchester have work?

No Manchester-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, 2023).

Business is visible. Two people behind a 2019 Somali heritage exhibition estimated that about 70% of Claremont Road businesses were Somali-owned (VICE, 2019). Somali cafés and restaurants have helped turn Moss Side into a food destination (Hyphen, 2022).

Papers are mostly settled. In 2021, 3,350 of 4,272 Somalia-born residents held a UK passport, and 300 held none (ONS Census 2021, passports held, Manchester). See Refugee papers and status.

Who speaks for Somalis in Manchester?

Elected office. Councillor Mahadi Hussein Sharif Mahamed (Labour) has represented Moss Side since May 2019, with a term to May 2027 (Manchester City Council). The Big Issue describes him as Manchester's first Somali councillor (Big Issue, 2024).

Charities.

• Somali Adult Social Care Agency (SASCA) (charity 1143949), on Princess Road, Moss Side, supports Somali elders with welfare advice, interpreting and hospital visits (Charity Commission). Founded in 2007, it sees 350 to 400 people a week, its trustees told the Big Issue (Big Issue, 2024).
• Greater Manchester Somali Community Association (charity 1170841) acts as an umbrella for Somali groups and plans a Somali youth centre (Charity Commission).

Culture. "See My Dunya", a 2019 film and photography exhibition on Manchester's Somali community, showed at HOME and Central Library (VICE, 2019).

What do Somalis in Manchester face now?

• 2024, funding: SASCA faced closure after the city council cut its core funding, then won a £217,000 National Lottery grant for three years (Big Issue, 2024).
• 2024, calm: the Big Issue credited strong community organising, begun when Somali refugees arrived in the 1990s, for Moss Side's calm during unrest that summer (Big Issue, 2024).
• 2025 to 2026, small groups: the umbrella association reported income of £5,594 for the year to June 2025 and filed late (Charity Commission).
• Housing, 2021: 58.8% of Somali households in England and Wales were overcrowded, and 72.0% rented social housing (ONS, 2023).

How is Manchester tied to home?

Moss Side shops sell flights to Hargeisa and Mogadishu and offer money-transfer services (Hyphen, 2022). Somali was the main language of 2,415 residents in 2021 (Nomis, TS024). For money sent home, see Life after leaving.

Related pages

• United Kingdom (Somali diaspora)
• Other UK cities (Somali diaspora)
• Leicester (Somali diaspora)
• Sheffield (Somali diaspora)
• Liverpool (Somali diaspora)
• Birmingham (Somali diaspora)
• Why and how Somalis left

Sources

1. ONS via Nomis. Census 2021 TS022, Ethnic group (detailed), local authorities, all wards and Manchester wards. nomisweb.co.uk · all wards · Manchester wards. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. ONS via Nomis. Census 2021 TS012, Country of birth: Somalia. nomisweb.co.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. ONS via Nomis. Census 2021 TS024, Main language (detailed), Manchester. nomisweb.co.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. ONS. Census 2021 custom datasets: Somalia-born residents of Manchester by year of arrival and by passports held. Year of arrival · Passports. 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. Big Issue. "Riots are not inevitable – just ask the people of Manchester's Moss Side." 6 September 2024. bigissue.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. VICE. "How Manchester's Somali community helped to transform Moss Side." 7 January 2019. vice.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Hyphen. "Moss Side — from no-go zone to culinary hotspot." 15 December 2022. hyphenonline.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
9. Archives Hub. "Manchester Refugee Support Network archive" (catalogue description). archiveshub.ac.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
10. Manchester City Council. "Councillor Mahadi Hussein Sharif Mahamed" (member profile). democracy.manchester.gov.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
11. Charity Commission for England and Wales. Somali Adult Social Care Agency, charity 1143949. register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.
12. Charity Commission for England and Wales. Greater Manchester Somali Community Association, charity 1170841. register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Checked 2026-11-12.