South Asian ethnic groups in the context of "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.