Somali diaspora

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The Somali civil war led to the Somali diaspora, where most of the best educated Somalis left for Northern Europe, The Middle East, and North America.

1 United Kingdom and Europe
2 United States and Canada
3 Middle East
- 3.1 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] United Kingdom and Europe

In Europe, the distribution of Somalis by country is hard to measure because Somali communities have grown so quickly in recent years. The 2001 UK census reported 43,691 Somalis, but recent estimates range between 95,000 and 250,000.^[1] In the United Kingdom, London, Sheffield, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Leicester are home to the largest concentration of Somalis. There are also significant Somali communities in the Netherlands: 21,733 (2005)^{[citation needed]}; Norway: 19,656 (2007)^[2]; Denmark: 16,564 (2006)^{[citation needed]}; Sweden: 18,342 (2006)^[3]; and Finland: 7300 ^[4].

[edit] United States and Canada

Main article: Somali American

In North America, Toronto, Minneapolis, Columbus, Ohio, Washington, DC, Ottawa, Seattle, Atlanta, and San Diego have the largest Somali populations, although they are scattered throughout the continent in small numbers. ^[5]

Between 1992 and 2005, 64,439 persons born in Somalia were admitted to the United States as refugees, which was the vast majority of total emigration from Somalia during that period. Unlike the European figures, however, this statistic does not include US-born children. (Source: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Middle East

Driven out of their home country by years of unrest, Somalis represent one of the largest immigrant communities in the United Arab Emirates. Somali businesses line the streets of the Dubai city centre, Deira. Internet cafes, hotels, coffee shops, restaurants and import-export businesses are a testimony to the Somalis' entrepreneurial spirit. Star African Air is one of three Somali-owned airlines which have headquarters in Dubai rather than in Somalia.^[6]