Mosques in Scotland, Wales and NI: How Many and Where

How many mosques are there in Scotland? The most detailed independent count, the MuslimsInBritain.org directory, records 92 mosques in Scotland, 42 in Wales and 5 in Northern Ireland (its database was last updated on 17 February 2026). Scotland’s Census 2022 counted 119,872 Muslims, 2.2% of the population. Census 2021 counted 66,947 Muslims in Wales (2.15%) and 10,871 in Northern Ireland (about 0.6%). No official body counts mosques, so every total depends on what is counted as a mosque. Our own directory, built from OpenStreetMap, lists fewer: 60 in Scotland, 35 in Wales and 7 in Northern Ireland. We checked the seven Northern Ireland places by hand on 17 October 2026 against their own websites and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register. Treat those as listings, not a complete count.

This page is for anyone looking for a mosque in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland: newcomers, students, visitors and families who have just moved. It shows where mosques are listed, why different sources give different numbers, and where to find prayer times. We do not rank mosques or recommend one over another, and we cannot confirm a mosque’s opening hours or Friday prayer times. Always check with the mosque before you go.

Muslim population of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The three nations ran separate censuses. Scotland’s took place in 2022, a year after the census in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so the figures are not from the same year.

Nation	Census	Muslims	Share of population
Scotland	2022	119,872	2.2%
Wales	2021	66,947	2.15%
Northern Ireland	2021	10,871	about 0.6%

Scotland: the number of Muslims rose from 76,737 (1.45%) in 2011 to 119,872 in 2022, according to Scotland’s Census 2022 report on religion ↗, published on 21 May 2024. Muslims are the fourth largest group after “no religion”, Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic.

Wales: the Welsh Government’s Census 2021 bulletin ↗ rounds the figure to 67,000 (2.2%), up from 1.5% in 2011. The detailed StatsWales table ↗ gives 66,947. The largest communities are in Cardiff (33,650, or 9.29% of residents), Newport (11,280, 7.07%) and Swansea (7,694, 3.23%).

Northern Ireland: NISRA’s Census 2021 table MS-B20 ↗ records Muslims by council area. Added together they come to 10,871, of whom 5,487 live in Belfast.

Mosques in Scotland: where our directory lists them

Our Scotland mosques directory lists 60 mosques and Islamic centres. The data comes from OpenStreetMap, so some mosques are missing and some listings have no town recorded.

City or town	Mosques listed in our directory
Glasgow	11
Edinburgh	7
Dundee	5
Aberdeen	3
Livingston	2
Perth	2
Other towns, 1 each (Airdrie, Alloa, Arbroath, Ardrossan, Bathgate, Bonnyrigg, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Dunfermline, Elgin, Falkirk, Galashiels, Inverness, Kilmarnock, Stirling, Stornoway)	16
No town recorded	14
Total	60

The gap is clear when you compare cities. The MuslimsInBritain.org town list shows 39 entries for Glasgow and 21 for Edinburgh, against our 11 and 7.

Mosques in Wales and Northern Ireland

Our Wales mosques directory lists 35 mosques. Swansea does not appear as a town in the data, although some of the 15 listings without a town may be there.

City or town	Mosques listed in our directory
Newport	10
Cardiff	5
Other towns, 1 each (Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Denbigh, Rhyl, Wrexham)	5
No town recorded	15
Total	35

Cardiff has the largest Muslim population in Wales, yet our directory lists only 5 mosques there. MuslimsInBritain.org lists 20.

Our Northern Ireland mosques directory lists 3: 2 in Belfast and 1 with no town recorded.

City or town	Mosques listed in our directory
Belfast	2
Derry/Londonderry	1
Craigavon	1
Coleraine	1
Newtownards	1
Enniskillen	1
Total	7

Why mosque counts differ

There is no official register of mosques in the UK. The census asks about religion, not places of worship, so every count comes from a directory or a researcher. The numbers differ for four main reasons:

Definition. MuslimsInBritain.org separates “actual masjids” from prayer rooms, chaplaincies, hired halls and temporary premises. Counting every place available for prayer, it records 102 in Scotland, 46 in Wales and 5 in Northern Ireland.
Building type. Most mosques are converted houses, shops, churches or halls. Historic Environment Scotland, citing 2024 MuslimsInBritain.org figures, notes that only about ten of Scotland’s roughly 92 mosques are purpose-built.
Date. Counts age quickly. In 2017 MuslimsInBritain.org recorded 87 mosques in Scotland, 46 in Wales and 4 in Northern Ireland. That same year, Dr Abdul-Azim Ahmed estimated about 57 mosques in Wales ↗, “a handful more” with temporary prayer rooms.
Coverage. OpenStreetMap depends on volunteers mapping each building. Small house-mosques and rooms above shops are often missing.

So if you read “92 mosques in Scotland” in one place and a different number elsewhere, check what was counted and when.

Well-known mosques and Islamic centres

Glasgow Central Mosque

On the south bank of the Clyde in the Gorbals, the Glasgow Central Mosque opened on 18 May 1984. Historic Environment Scotland listed it at Category A in February 2025 and describes it as Scotland’s largest mosque and its first built in the Islamic architectural tradition. Scotland’s first mosque opened a few streets away, in a converted tenement on Oxford Street, in 1944. Official site: centralmosque.co.uk ↗.

Edinburgh Central Mosque

Its official name is the Mosque of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Islamic Centre of Edinburgh. Historic Environment Scotland records that it was designed in 1987 and opened in 1998. The mosque holds daily and Friday prayers and welcomes visitors. Official site: edmosque.org ↗.

Mosques in Cardiff

Cardiff’s docks are where Wales’s Muslim history began. The South Wales Islamic Centre and Noor al-Islam Mosque both descend from one of Britain’s earliest mosques, on the former Peel Street.

Belfast Islamic Centre

Founded in 1978 at 13–19 University Road, the centre says more than 800 people attend its weekly Friday prayer across two sessions. The Department for Communities part-funded its new Islamic Cultural Centre at Aldersgate House. Official site: belfastislamiccentre.org.uk ↗.

Prayer times in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Each city page has today’s times and a monthly timetable. Friday prayer follows the time of dhuhr, and mosques set their own jumu’ah times, so check with your mosque.

Scotland: Glasgow · Edinburgh · Dundee · Aberdeen
Wales: Cardiff · Newport · Swansea
Northern Ireland: Belfast

Is your mosque missing? Add or correct it

If you run or attend a mosque that is missing or listed wrongly, use add your listing. It is free. Send the name, full address, phone number and Friday prayer details. We check every submission before it goes live. To search across the UK, start from the mosques and Islamic centres directory. Moving to Scotland? Our Edinburgh guide covers the first steps.

Frequently asked questions

How many mosques are in Scotland?

MuslimsInBritain.org records 92 mosques, or 102 places for prayer if you include prayer rooms and chaplaincies. Our directory lists 60.

How many Muslims live in Scotland?

119,872, or 2.2% of the population, according to Scotland’s Census 2022.

Which city in Scotland has the most mosques?

Glasgow, in every source we checked. Edinburgh comes second.

How many mosques are in Wales?

MuslimsInBritain.org records 42 mosques. Our directory lists 35, with Newport and Cardiff listing the most.

How many mosques are in Northern Ireland?

MuslimsInBritain.org records 5. Our directory lists 3, two of them in Belfast.

Is there an official count of mosques?

No. The census counts people by religion, not places of worship.

Can I visit a mosque if I am not Muslim?

Many mosques welcome visitors; Edinburgh Central Mosque says so on its website. Contact the mosque first to agree a time.

Where can I find Friday prayer times?

From the mosque itself. Our prayer-times pages give dhuhr, which jumu’ah follows, but each mosque sets its own times.

Sources

Reviewed 7 October 2026.