| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 65,414 – 1.2%(2022 Census)[1] African: 58,636 Caribbean: 2,214 Black andOther Black: 4,564 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Glasgow City | 23,743 – 3.8% |
| City of Edinburgh | 10,881 – 2.1% |
| Aberdeen City | 9,419 – 4.2% |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
PredominantlyChristianity; minorities followIslam,Irreligion,Atheism,Baháʼí Faith,Rastafari,Traditional African religions, other religions | |
| Black people |
|---|
| African diaspora |
| Asia-Pacific |
| African-derived culture |
| History |
| Race-related |
| Related topics |
Black Scottish people (also referred to asAfrican-Scottish,Afro-Scottish, orBlack Scottish) are aracial orethnic group ofScottish who are ethnically African or Black. Used in association withblack Scottish identity, the term commonly refers to Scottish ofBlack African andAfrican-Caribbean descent. The group represents approximately 1.2 percent of the total population of Scotland.[1]
The identity of Black Scottish people has evolved since the arrival ofBlack people in Scotland as early as the fifteenth century, with significant numbers arriving in the twentieth century afterWorld War II.[2] The development of a cohesiveBlack Scottish identity has progressed, withBlack African andAfro-Caribbean descent the most commonly claimed ancestry involved in the sense of identity.[3] Among other factors,[4] studies into the experiences ofScottish Somalis, who tend to be historically newer immigrant groups to the nation, have shown thatethnoreligious factors can complicate the expression of any monocultural or racial identity of Black Scottish.[5]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 6,353 | — |
| 2001 | 8,025 | +26.3% |
| 2011 | 36,178 | +350.8% |
| 2022 | 65,414 | +80.8% |
| Source:National Records of Scotland[1] | ||
| Ethnic group | 2022[1] | 2011[6] | 2001[7] | 1991[8] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Black Scottish people | 65,414 | 1.20% | 36,178 | 0.72% | 8,025 | 0.16% | 6,353 | 0.13% |
| —African | 58,636 | 29,638 | 5,118 | 2,773 | ||||
| —Black Caribbean | 2,214 | 3,430 | 1,778 | 934 | ||||
| —Other Black | 4,018 | 3,110 | 1,129 | 2,646 | ||||
 Scotland | 5,439,842 | 100% | 5,295,403 | 100% | 5,062,011 | 100% | 4,998,567 | 100% |
At the2022 census, 2,214 identified as 'Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British', 58,636 identified as falling under the broad 'African' category and 4,018 identified as falling under the 'Other Caribbean or Black' category, for a total of 65,414 making up 1.20% of the Scottish population. Migration from Africa is largely responsible for the growth in the black population in Scotland, with the African population increasing by more than 21-fold since 1991 when ethnic data was first recorded.[1]
According to the2011 UK Census, Black Scottish people (self-described as African, Caribbean, Black or any other Black background) were numbered at about 36,000. This figure indicates an increase in population of 28,000 Black Scottish since the previous UK census in 2001.[9] The group represented around 0.7% of Scotland's population, compared to 3.0% of the overall UK population.[10][11]
The2001 census recorded 1,778 Black Caribbean people, 5,118 Black African people and 1,129 people in the Black Scottish or Other Black category, for a total of 8,025 Black people in Scotland.[7]
The1991 census recorded 934Black Caribbean people, 2,773 Black African people and 2,646 people in the Black other category, for a total of 6,353 Black people in Scotland. This represented 0.13% of the total population of Scotland.[8]
The diary ofWorld War I veteran Arthur Roberts has been noted as an important historical document, for its preservation of the historical record of one of the earliest known Black Scottish soldiers.[12]
TheBritish Guiana-bornAndrew Watson is widely considered to be the world's firstassociation footballer of Black heritage (his father was White and mother Black) to play at international level.[13][14][15] He wascapped three timesfor Scotland between 1881 and 1882. Watson also played forQueen's Park, the leading Scottish club at the time, and later became their secretary. He led the team to severalScottish Cup wins, thus becoming the first player of Black heritage to win a major competition.[15]
With some brief exceptions, such as Jamaican bornGil Heron atCeltic,Walter Tull signing for Rangers, and John Walker atHearts, Black players largely disappeared from Scottish football for the next 100 years until the arrival ofMark Walters atRangers in 1988. Walters arrival at the club resulted in incidents of racial abuse.[16][17]
The Scotland national team did not call up a second player of Black heritage untilNigel Quashie (Black Ghanaian father and White English mother), made his debut againstEstonia in May 2004. He qualified to play for Scotland, due to having a grandfather from Scotland.[18] SubsequentlyCoatbridge-bornChris Iwelumo (Black father from Nigeria), has also played for Scotland. Other notable players with black heritage who were born in Scotland, or have represented Scotland, include:
The group has faced prejudice and racism in Scottish society. In aStrathclyde University survey, almost 45 percent of black Scottish reported experiencing discrimination between 2010 and 2015.[20]
At the group interviews, a video on Black Scottish Identity was selected as a focal point for discussions, as it questioned the nature of African Caribbean subjectivities in the UK.
To some, it's obvious that the two are not mutually exclusive. To others, Black Scottish identity is a contradiction in terms: either you're of this place,Scottish and therefore Scots, or Other,Black.
In the meantime, a whiteness-led categorisation of a Somali person as 'Black' would compound their racialised exclusion fromIslam and disregard their self-defined racial identity. Under the White gaze inGlasgow City, Somali people were thus subject to 'hailings' that saw them as doubly Other or as partial subjects, and extended the same categorisations to their occupations of public space.
Arthur Roberts was a Black Scottish soldier who served in theFirst World War and died in a care home inGlasgow.
Nearly 45% of respondents with a blackAfrican Caribbean heritage respondents, agreed with the statement that they had 'experienced discrimination in Scotland in the last five years'.
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