For almost 1.5 million people in the UK, 1972 is an important date to remember. It marked the single biggest influx of Ugandan Asians, and more than four decades on the impact of their arrival has helped to indelibly shape the United Kingdom.

Asians from the Indian Subcontinent make up almost 5% of the total UK population - more than 3 million out of Britain’s entire 63 million+ population. Of these 48% (1.45 million) are Indian, 38% (1.17 million) are Pakistani and 14% (0.45 million) are Bangladeshi. Since 2001, these numbers have grown by over a million people.

As more and more people are realising, the UK Asian community is often neglected, and yet has a combined spending power in the billions of pounds a year. We’re a powerhouse of economic activity, and make immense contributions in all walks of life, not just Doctors and Engineers, but Lawyers, Broadcasters, Academics and Entrepreneurs. It’s perhaps the last that’s the most significant: almost 10% of economically active Indians are self-employed with employees.

More than 95% of British Asians live in England, with the largest numbers continuing to be in london with over 980,000 residents, and then the West Midlands with almost 500,000. However, it's Leicester, Harrow, Hounslow and Brent that have the highest concentrations of British Asians, with more than 20% of residents hailing from the indian subcontinent.

We’re an extremely youthful and academic community: South Asians make up more than 9% of the UK's 0-17 year olds, and the age distribution in the South Asian community continues to be considerably younger than the nation as a whole. Almost 79% of South Asians are below 45, compared to a national average of just over 58%.

The Gujarati section of the community is particularly important, at over 200,000 households in Britain, with around 3.8 people her household. 81.7% of households own their property.