# Other UK cities: Cardiff, Leicester, Manchester (Somali diaspora)

> Cardiff: One of the UK's oldest Somali communities, in Butetown (Tiger Bay) and Bute Street; seamen arrived from the 1890s after the Suez Canal opened.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/diaspora/uk-other-cities/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

- **Cardiff:** One of the UK's oldest Somali communities, in Butetown (Tiger Bay) and Bute Street; seamen arrived from the 1890s after the Suez Canal opened; Masjid Noor El-Islam was founded in 1947 by Somali and Yemeni seamen; refugees, many women and children, came in the late 1980s and 1990s.

## Who lives there

- **Cardiff:** One of the UK's oldest Somali communities, in Butetown (Tiger Bay) and Bute Street; seamen arrived from the 1890s after the Suez Canal opened; Masjid Noor El-Islam was founded in 1947 by Somali and Yemeni seamen; refugees, many women and children, came in the late 1980s and 1990s. Local media cite about 10,000 people identifying as Somali, far above the ONS share, so the true size is unclear [Hyphen, 30 Oct 2024](https://hyphenonline.com/2024/10/30/in-focus-the-roots-of-cardiffs-thriving-somali-community/).
- **Leicester:** Estimates of 10,000 to 15,000 (2014). Three groups: British-born, refugees direct from Somalia, and onward migrants from EU states, mainly the Netherlands (nearly half of a study sample, arriving 2000 to 2005). About 68% lived in Spinney Hills, Stoneygate, Beaumont Leys and Charnwood; six Somali mosques in St Matthew's and Highfields [Open Society Foundations, 2014](https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/somalis-leicester-summary-20140917_0.pdf).
- **Manchester:** Centred on Moss Side, where the Greater Manchester Somali Community Association is based [OpenCharities](https://opencharities.uk/ew/1170841).

## Work and money

 Nationally 34.1% of Somalis aged 16 to 64 employed, 10.3% unemployed, 72% social renters, 58.8% overcrowded [ONS](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/articles/somalipopulationsenglandandwales/census2021). Leicester: high self-employment; barriers are unrecognised qualifications, language and discrimination; 2,076 Somali pupils in 2013 (4.27%) [OSF](https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/somalis-leicester-summary-20140917_0.pdf).

## Who serves the community

 Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government; Leicester City Council and its elected mayor; Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority; city MPs and police forces. Groups: in Cardiff the Somaliland Mental Health Support Organisation (founded 2011), Hayaat Women Trust, Foundation 4 Sport, Cardiff Bay Warriors football club (founded 2005) [Hyphen](https://hyphenonline.com/2024/10/30/in-focus-the-roots-of-cardiffs-thriving-somali-community/); in Manchester the Greater Manchester Somali Community Association (income £5,594, year to June 2025) [OpenCharities](https://opencharities.uk/ew/1170841). In 2014 Leicester had no Somali councillors and many unregistered voters [OSF](https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/somalis-leicester-summary-20140917_0.pdf). No armed-group presence. UK law bans funds to al-Shabaab.

## What the community faces now

- Oct 2024, Cardiff: gentrification of Butetown, fewer community hubs, older volunteers with no successors [Hyphen](https://hyphenonline.com/2024/10/30/in-focus-the-roots-of-cardiffs-thriving-somali-community/).
- Sept 2024, Moss Side: youth violence; North West youth-service spending down over 70% [ITV Granada](https://itv.com/news/granada/2024-09-09/the-lingering-trauma-of-moss-side-a-resilient-communitys-struggle-with-loss) (not Somali-specific).
- 2025: Manchester's Somali umbrella charity runs on about £5,600 a year [OpenCharities](https://opencharities.uk/ew/1170841).
- 2014 (latest found), Leicester: overcrowding, poor repairs, low political participation [OSF](https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/somalis-leicester-summary-20140917_0.pdf).

## Top needs

 1. Paid work and recognised skills. 2. Young volunteers to carry community work on. 3. A trusted, transparent way to send help home. 4. Civic voice and registration. 5. Shared identity across Somali and Somaliland loyalties.

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