Brent (ⁱ/brɛnt/) is a borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Welsh Harp reservoir and the Park Royal commercial estate. The local authority is Brent London Borough Council.

Brent's population was estimated to be 339,800 as at 2021. Major districts are Kilburn, Willesden, Wembley and Harlesden, with sub-districts Stonebridge, Kingsbury, Kensal Green, Neasden, and Queen's Park. Brent has a mixture of residential, industrial and commercial land. It includes many districts of inner-city character in the east and a more distinct suburban character in the west, part of which formed part of the early 20th century Metroland developments.

Governance

The local authority is Brent Council, which is based at Brent Civic Centre in the Wembley Park area of the borough.

Greater London representation

Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Brent and Harrow constituency.

UK Parliament

The borough includes three parliamentary constituencies: Brent North, Brent Central and Hampstead and Kilburn, which includes part of the London Borough of Camden. Before the 2010 United Kingdom general election it was divided into three constituencies contained wholly within the borough – Brent South, Brent East and Brent North.

Demographics

Population pyramid of the Borough of Brent in 2021

Population
Year	Pop.	±%
1801	2,022	—
1811	2,690	+33.0%
1821	3,074	+14.3%
1831	3,991	+29.8%
1841	5,416	+35.7%
1851	5,646	+4.2%
1861	14,749	+161.2%
1871	23,852	+61.7%
1881	32,955	+38.2%
1891	67,674	+105.4%
1901	105,613	+56.1%
1911	164,833	+56.1%
1921	202,448	+22.8%
1931	248,656	+22.8%
1941	277,842	+11.7%
1951	310,457	+11.7%
1961	294,804	−5.0%
1971	280,009	−5.0%
1981	251,249	−10.3%
1991	248,569	−1.1%
2001	263,463	+6.0%
2011	311,215	+18.1%
Source: A Vision of Britain through time

In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 2,022. This rose slowly throughout the nineteenth century, as the district became built up; reaching 5,646 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased. The population took five decades to rebound to the more muted peak of the 1950s, when much industry relocated from London, further boosting the speed of the wave of new housing then built.

Brent is the most diverse locality in the UK by country of birth. It in 2019 became the only local authority with over 50% of residents, namely 52%, born abroad. Large Asian and Indian, Black African, Black Caribbean, Irish, and Eastern European communities exist. 45 per cent of the population was a minority ethnicity in the 1991 census, the most in England at the time. In 1991 17.2% were Indian, 10.2% were Black Caribbean and 9% were Irish. Brent was the only Outer London borough combining high proportions of Indian and Afro-Caribbean ethnicities.

The 2001 UK Census found that the borough had a population of 263,464 residents, of whom 127,806 were male, and 135,658 female. Of those stating a choice, 47.71% described themselves as Christian, 17.71% as Hindu, 12.26% as Muslim and 10% as having no religion. Among residents, 39.96% were in full-time employment and 7.86% in part-time employment – compared to a London average of 42.64% and 8.62%, respectively. Narrowly most residents included an owner-occupier in their household, with 23.17% of households owning their house outright, and a further 31.33% owning with a mortgage. 10.59% were in local authority housing, with a further 13.29% renting from a housing association, or other registered social landlord.

The 2021 census found that the borough has England and Wales's lowest proportion of people born in the UK, at 43.9%.

The borough of Brent is extremely ethnically diverse, having changed greatly since 1951. In the 2011 census, those who identified as White British made up 18% of the borough's population. 18% identified as other White, 5% were of mixed heritage, those of South Asian heritage comprised about 33%, those of African and Caribbean heritage about 19%, and other ethnic groups about 7%. White ethnicities were relatively high in the wards of Mapesbury (straddling Willesden Green and Cricklewood), Brondesbury Park, Queen's Park and Kilburn. Black ethnicities in highest proportion were in Stonebridge, Harlesden and Kensal Green wards. Asian ethnicities in highest proportion were in the wards of Alperton, Wembley Central and Kenton. Those who ethnically identify as BAME (Black, Asian and minority Ethnic) was as high as 86% in Wembley Central – one of the highest in London – and most other Brent wards have a majority BAME population. Queen's Park had the lowest BAME proportion, at 37.0%.

Brent has the highest proportion of Irish residents in Britain, with 4% of the population. It also has the largest Brazilian community in the UK; one of the largest Indian communities; a significant Afro-Caribbean community; and more recent Romanian, Polish and Somali communities.

Religion

As of 2011, 41.5% identified themselves as Christian, 18.6% Muslim, 17.8% Hindu and 10.6% with no religion. Brent is home of the Neasden Temple, once the largest Hindu Mandir outside India; and JFS, the largest Jewish school in Europe. There is also an Islamic school called Islamia Primary School founded by Cat Stevens.

The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Brent according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

Religion	1995 estimates		2001 census		2011 census		2021 census
Religion	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Christian	–	–	125,702	47.7	129,080	41.5	131,914	38.8
Muslim	–	–	32,290	12.3	58,036	18.6	72,574	21.4
Jewish	10,100	4.2%	6,464	2.5	4,357	1.4	3,723	1.1
Hindu	–	–	45,228	17.2	55,449	17.8	52,876	15.6
Sikh	–	–	1,738	0.7	1,709	0.5	1,530	0.5
Buddhism	–	–	2,497	0.9	4,300	1.4	3,117	0.9
Other religion	–	–	2,977	1.1	3,768	1.2	4,424	1.3
No religion	–	–	26,252	10.0	33,054	10.6	46,153	13.6
Religion not stated	–	–	20,316	7.7	21,462	6.9	23,506	6.9
Total	–	–	263,464	100.00%	311,215	100.00%	339,800	100.0%

Ethnicity

Ethnic makeup of Brent by single year ages in 2021

This table shows the stated ethnic group of respondents in the 1991 to 2021 censuses and estimates for 1966 and 1981 in Brent.

Ethnic Group	Year
	1966 estimations		1971 estimations		1981 estimations		1991 census		2001 census		2011 census		2021 census
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%

White: Total	–	92.6%	–	82%	152640	67.4%	136,150	54.8%	119,278	45.27%	112,880	36.27%	117,701	34.6%
White: British	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	76,893	29.19%	55,887	17.96%	51,611	15.2%
White: Irish	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,313	6.95%	12,320	3.96%	9,314	2.7%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	320	0.10%	237	0.1%
White: Roma	–	–	–	–	–	–							2,520	0.7%
White: Other	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	24,072	9.14%	44,353	14.25%	54,019	15.9%
Asian or Asian British: Total	–	–	–	–	39,359	17.4%	63,141	25.4%	75,874	28.80%	105,986	34.06%	111,515	32.8%
Asian or Asian British: Indian	–	–	–	–	28,238	12.5%	43,230	17.4%	48,624	18.46%	58,017	18.64%	66,157	19.5%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani	–	–	–	–	4,714	2.1%	7,565	3%	10,626	4.03%	14,381	4.62%	15,217	4.5%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi	–	–	–	–	434		758		1,184	0.45%	1,749	0.56%	2,186	0.6%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese	–	–	–	–	1,943		2,641		2,812	1.07%	3,250	1.04%	3,393	1.0%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian	–	–	–	–	4,030	1.8%	8,947	3.6%	12,628	4.79%	28,589	9.19%	24,562	7.2%
Black or Black British: Total	–	–	–	–	29,825	13.2%	41,467	16.7%	52,337	19.86%	58,632	18.84%	59,495	17.5%
Black or Black British: African	–	–	–	–	5,888	2.6%	10,305	4.1%	20,640	7.83%	24,391	7.84%	31,070	9.1%
Black or Black British: Caribbean	–	–	–	–	19,932	8.8%	25,618	10.3%	27,574	10.47%	23,723	7.62%	21,258	6.3%
Black or Black British: Other Black	–	–	–	–	4,005	1.8%	5,544	2.2%	4,123	1.56%	10,518	3.38%	7,167	2.1%
Mixed or British Mixed: Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,802	3.72%	15,775	5.07%	17,249	5.1%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,739	1.04%	4,291	1.38%	3,775	1.1%
Mixed: White and Black African	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,739	0.66%	2,820	0.91%	3,184	0.9%
Mixed: White and Asian	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,529	0.96%	3,642	1.17%	3,607	1.1%
Mixed: Other Mixed	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,795	1.06%	5,022	1.61%	6,683	2.0%
Other: Total	–	–	–	–	4,757	2.1%	7,842	3.2%	6,173	2.34%	17,942	5.77%	33,861	10%
Other: Arab	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,430	3.67%	17,924	5.3%
Other: Any other ethnic group	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,512	2.09%	15,937	4.7%
Ethnic minority: Total	–	7.4%	–	18%	73,941	32.6%	112,450	45.2%	144,186	54.73%	198,335	63.73%	222,120	65.4%

Total	–	100%	–	100%	226,581	100%	248,600	100%	263,464	100.00%	311,215	100.00%	339,821	100%

Geography

Major districts of Brent include Kilburn, Willesden and Wembley.

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb". (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).

Climate data for Borough of Brent, UK
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	8 (46)	8 (46)	10 (50)	12 (54)	15 (59)	17 (63)	19 (66)	19 (66)	17 (63)	14 (57)	11 (52)	8 (46)	13 (55)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	3 (37)	3 (37)	4 (39)	5 (41)	8 (46)	10 (50)	12 (54)	12 (54)	10 (50)	8 (46)	6 (43)	4 (39)	7 (45)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	130 (5.2)	110 (4.3)	79 (3.1)	84 (3.3)	79 (3.1)	64 (2.5)	76 (3)	89 (3.5)	89 (3.5)	140 (5.7)	150 (5.9)	150 (6.1)	1,250 (49.4)
Source: Weatherbase

Economy

Behind Tower Hamlets, Brent has the highest poverty rate in London after housing costs. It was the borough with the highest average unemployment rate in 2022 with 7%. More than one in three households live in poverty, 9% above the London average, and 14% above the England average.

Diageo has its head office in Park Royal and in Brent, on a former Guinness brewery property. The brewery was closed in 2004; it had produced beer since 1936. Diageo planned to move its head office to Brent from Central London when the lease on the Central London office expired in 2010.

Amenities and culture

The old Brent Town Hall

The new Brent Civic Centre

Education

Compulsory recycling

Recycling has been compulsory in Brent since 2008.

London Fire Brigade

Brent has three fire stations: Park Royal, Wembley and Willesden. Brent has a mixture of residential, industrial and commercial land. Wembley National Stadium is in the borough; on match days the fire safety of over 90,000 people falls to the London Fire Brigade. The Wembley station covers the largest area in the borough, 19.1 km² (7.4 sq mi). Two pumping appliances, a fire rescue unit and an aerial ladder platform are based there. Willesden, for its more typical area covered (10.5 km² (4.1 sq mi)), responded to over a thousand incidents in 2006/2007. Two pumping appliances reside there. Park Royal, with its one pumping appliance and an incident response unit covers 8.1 km² (3.1 sq mi). Within the borough, 4,105 incidents occurred in 2006/2007.

Transport

Like most of northwest London, Brent is served extensively by the London Underground. 21 tube stations are located in Brent, all served by either the Metropolitan, Jubilee, Bakerloo or Piccadilly Lines. All of them are surface level, with the exception of Kilburn Park tube station in the southeast of the borough. This number is the second highest of all London boroughs behind Westminster, which has 32 stations within its boundaries. The numerous London Underground, London Overground and National Rail stations in the borough are:

Alperton tube station
Brondesbury railway station
Brondesbury Park railway station
Dollis Hill tube station
Harlesden station
Kensal Green station
Kenton station
Kilburn tube station
Kilburn Park tube station
Kingsbury tube station
Neasden tube station
North Wembley station
Northwick Park tube station
Preston Road tube station
Queensbury tube station
Queen's Park station
South Kenton station
Stonebridge Park station
Sudbury Town tube station
Sudbury & Harrow Road railway station
Wembley Central station
Wembley Park tube station
Wembley Stadium railway station
Willesden Green tube station
Willesden Junction station

Travel to work

In March 2011, the plurality of residents aged 16–74 were not in employment, 38.9%. After that, the main forms of transport to work were:

underground, metro, light rail, tram, 18.3%;
driving a car or van, 17.4%;
bus, minibus or coach, 11.5%;
on foot, 4.6%;
train, 4.5%;
work mainly at or from home, 2.6%;
bicycle, 1.7%.

Landmarks

Wembley Stadium
Wembley Arena
Neasden Temple
Jubilee clock Harlesden
Brent Civic Centre
Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Kingsbury

Parks and open spaces

Roe Green Park
Fryent Country Park
Queen's Park
Roundwood Park
Tiverton Green
Gladstone Park
Barham Park
One Tree Hill Park
Maybank Open Space
King Edward VII Park
Harlesden Town Garden

Sport and leisure

The Borough has three Non-League football clubs:

Tokyngton Manor F.C., which plays at Spratleys Meadow.
Wembley F.C., which plays at Vale Farm stadium
South Kilburn F.C. which plays at Vale Farm stadium.

Town twinning

Brent is twinned with:

South Dublin, Leinster, Ireland

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Brent.

Individuals

Nelson Mandela: 24 June 2013.

London Borough of Brent facts for kids

Contents