Filipino Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

The Philippines is an island nation in South-East Asia made up of more than seven thousand islands. Most Filipinos are Catholic, and English is widely spoken alongside Filipino and many regional languages. Filipino nurses have been recruited by the NHS for decades, and many have brought their families to Birmingham.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 2,708 Birmingham residents described their ethnic group as Filipino; 2,164 people living in the city had been born in the Philippines; and 787 residents gave Tagalog or Filipino as their main language. Main language figures leave out the many bilingual residents who use English day to day, so the number who speak the language at home is higher still.

Working for Birmingham

Filipino nurses, midwives, carers and healthcare assistants work in hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes across Birmingham, and their skill and compassion are widely admired. Filipinos also work in hospitality, engineering, IT and business, and community members were among the NHS staff who worked tirelessly through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Much of the work that keeps Birmingham moving happens out of sight: the night shift on a hospital ward, the early start on a building site, the plumber who fixes a boiler on a winter evening, the teaching assistant who helps a child learn to read. People from every community in the city do these jobs, and Filipino residents are part of that everyday effort to make Birmingham a better place to live.

Culture and community life

Christmas is the high point of the Filipino year, beginning with Simbang Gabi, a series of dawn masses. Filipino churches and associations are at the heart of community life, and basketball, karaoke and generous family feasts of adobo, pancit and lechon bring people together.

Like so many of the communities that make up modern Birmingham, the Filipino community shows how a city can be home to many cultures at once. Its members are proud of where they come from, and just as proud to be Brummies.