Census shows 39 per cent of Muslims live in most deprived areas in England and Wales

‘Communities cannot continue to be left in cycles of poor social mobility,’ Muslim Council of Britain says

The Muslim population in England and Wales is now 6.5 per cent, new census shows (AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly 40 per cent of the Muslim population live in the most deprived areas of England and Wales, according to analysis of census data.

It found nearly half a million more Muslims reside in the poorest fifth areas than a decade ago.

The Muslim Council of Britain, who ran the analysis, urged policymakers to take action to avoid communities being “left in cycles of poor social mobility”.

The Office for National Statistics published its data on the latest census - which takes place every 10 years - for England and Wales on Monday. This provides the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in the country.

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It found changes to the religion make-up of the country, with the proportion identifying as Christian falling below 50 per cent for the first time on record.

The percentage who said they had no religion jumped from around a quarter in the previous 2011 census to over a third last year.

There were also increases in the proportion who described themselves as Muslim - up from 4.9 per cent to 6.5 per cent. This was a rise of around 1.2 million.

The ONS gave population estimates for local authority districts. The Muslim Council of Britain looked at the data and found 40 per cent of the Muslim population were living in the most deprived fifth of them.

Zara Mohammed, the council’s general secretary, said: “The last decade has seen more second and third generation Muslims, confident of our faith and place in society, contributing immensely to the economic recovery and vitality of our nation.”

”There are, of course, areas of concern, particularly where many Muslim communities disproportionately impacted by deprivation. There is especially worrying given the concern on access to opportunity and inclusion.

“Policy-makers now need to address these concerns, communities cannot continue to be left in cycles of poor social mobility. Young people cannot have a bright future if they do not have the best opportunities available to them.”

Earlier this month, a Muslim Census poll found around one in five British Muslims have had to use food banks since summer last year due to the cost of living crisis.