Estimates for UK immigration, emigration and net migration, year ending June 2012 to year ending December 2024. These are official statistics in development. To access the most up-to-date data for each time period, please use the most recently published dataset.

In 2024, approximately 948,000 million people migrated to the United Kingdom, while 517,000 people migrated from the UK, resulting in a net migration figure of 431,000. There have consistently been more people migrating to the United Kingdom than leaving it since 1993 when the net migration figure was negative 1,000. Although migration from the European Union has declined since the Brexit vote of 2016, migration from non-EU countries accelerated rapidly from 2021 onwards. In the year to June 2023, 968,000 people from non-EU countries migrated to the UK, compared with 129,000 from EU member states. Immigration and the 2024 election Since late 2022, immigration, along with the economy and healthcare, has consistently been seen by UK voters as one of the top issues facing the country. Despite a pledge to deter irregular migration via small boats, and controversial plans to send asylum applicants to Rwanda while their claims are being processed, Rishi Sunak's Conservative government lost the trust of the public on this issue. On the eve of the last election, 20 percent of Britons thought the Labour Party would be the best party to handle immigration, compared with 13 percent who thought the Conservatives would handle it better. Sunak and the Conservatives went on to lose this election, suffering their worst defeat in modern elections. Historical context of migration The first humans who arrived in the British Isles, were followed by acts of conquest and settlement from Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, and Normans. In the early modern period, there were also significant waves of migration from people fleeing religious or political persecution, such as the French Huguenots. More recently, large numbers of people also left Britain. Between 1820 and 1957, for example, around 4.5 million people migrated from Britain to America. After World War Two, immigration from Britain's colonies and former colonies was encouraged to meet labour demands. A key group that migrated from the Caribbean between the late 1940s and early 1970s became known as the Windrush generation, named after one of the ships that brought the arrivals to Britain.

Nation of origin or destination of migrants. Estimates of Long-Term International Migration, annual table.

Migration flows to and from the UK, quarterly tables and charts.

Composition of Long-Term International Migration estimates, annual table.

This study uses the ARDL model and semi-macro data to conduct regression analysis on the relationship between immigrant share and unemployment rate and draws the following conclusions: First, overall, the increase of immigration will decrease the unemployment rate in the U.K. in the short-term; however, the long-term effect may be zero. The effect of immigration on the unemployment rate may vary subtly depending on the local economic development or population density. Specifically, in less economically developed or sparsely populated areas, an increase in the immigrant share may improve employment in the long term. Conversely, in regions with higher population density or RGDP, although immigration will improve employment in the short term, the long-term effects on employment are likely to be negative. The uploaded zip file includes the raw data folder as well as the data files for analysis. After executing the latter CSV file named post_2021_7 into EViews 10, the overall regression analysis of immigrants on the unemployment rates can be obtained by following the steps of the panel ARDL approach. The results of the analysis of the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with lower RGDP, the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with higher RGDP, the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with low population density and the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with high population density can be obtained by using the files named post_2021_7_red_rgdp_1_2, post_2021_7_green_rgdp_1_2, post_2021_7_red_pop_1_2 and post_2021_7_green_pop_1_2, separately.

Updated estimates of UK immigration, emigration and net migration year ending June 2012 to year ending June 2021.

This dataset contains information from the Office for National Statistics long-term international migration data for Wales, showing the migrant flows into and out of Wales from outside the UK, and also a net position. The data for Wales are released as part of the series of quarterly migration statistics reports produced by the Office for National Statistics, which provide more detail behind the UK data released earlier in the year.

Tool to locate the datasets of Long-Term International Migration and International Passenger Survey estimates.

Modelled estimates for UK immigration, emigration and net migration, January 2018 to December 2020.

This dataset is an analysis of the long-term migrant population of England and Wales by country of birth, passports held and other characteristics based on Census 2021.

Usual resident

A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021 was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

Country of birth

The country in which a person was born. The following country of birth classifications are used in this dataset:

• Country of birth 12a: Political groupings of countries by EU membership and geographical location for non-EU countries.
• Country of birth 190a: Individual countries. This classification includes geographical groupings for low volume countries.
• Country of birth (3 categories): These categories have been derived from country of birth 12a and include all UK countries in "Europe: United Kingdom", all EU countries in "Europe: EU countries" and all remaining countries including British Overseas territories in "Non-EU countries (including British Overseas)".

Country of birth classifications

Passports held

The country or countries that a person holds, or is entitled to hold, a passport for. Where a person recorded having more than one passport, they were counted only once, categorised in the following priority order: 1. UK passport, 2. Irish passport, 3. Other passport.

The following classifications were created for this dataset for comparability with other international migration releases:

• Passports held (4 categories): High level political groupings of passport held by EU membership and geographical location for non-EU countries.
• Passports held (12 categories): Political groupings of passport held by EU membership and geographical location for non-EU countries.
• Passports held (150 categories): Individual countries for passport held. This classification includes geographical groupings for low volume countries.

Alternate passports held classifications

Economic activity status

The economic activity status of a person on Census Day, 21 March 2021. The following classification was created for this dataset:

• Economic activity status (6 categories): These categories have been derived from the base classification to create employed, self-employed, unemployed (seeking work), economically inactive students and economically active other groups.

Students who are economically active are included in either the Employee, Self-employed, or Unemployed (Looking for work) category

Economic activity status classifications

Industry

The industry worked in for those in current employment. The following classification was used for this dataset:

• Industry (current) classification 22a

Industry classifications

The dataset deposited include 83 in-depth interviews that were conducted with refugees across the UK: Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester and London. Detailed migration histories were collected from 83 refugees living in the UK and explored issues including arrival to the UK, experiences of the dispersal process, opinions and experiences of place, integration and citizenship. There are 81 word files of individual interviews and one word file which contains the transcripts of a joint interview with two different individuals.Since 2000 the UK has operated compulsory dispersal, a policy designed to ‘spread the burden’ of housing asylum seekers who require accommodation across the UK and discourage long-term settlement in London and the South East. To enhance understanding of refugee integration in the UK, this research focuses on the onward migration decisions of those who were dispersed and later granted refugee or humanitarian protection status. To date, much of the dispersal literature has critiqued the policy and focused on the negative outcomes for individuals removed from their networks. This project fills a knowledge gap surrounding the onward migration decisions and integration outcomes of refugees who were dispersed as asylum seekers in the UK. In this two-year (2012-2014), ESRC-funded project, we mapped the geography of onward migration amongst refugees dispersed across the UK as asylum seekers. We then explored the main factors that influence refugees' decision to stay in a town or city or move on and considered how this affects the process of integration. And finally we examined policy implications for different levels of governance, service providers and the voluntary sector, in terms of the long-term impact of UK dispersal policy upon refugee onward migration and integration. The dataset deposited include 83 in-depth interviews that were conducted with refugees across the UK: Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester and London. One-third of the sample was recruited through snowballing techniques with the rest recruited through Refugee Councils, Refugee Action and several different refugee community organisations (RCOs). Interviews typically lasted one to two hours and were transcribed verbatim. Interviews were anonymous and pseudonyms are employed. In the transcripts deposited, certain data has been redacted to protect vulnerable individuals and anonymity (e.g. detailed locational information). The project Principal Investigator (Emma Stewart) had the main responsibility for the development of the dataset. The project Research Associate (Marnie Shaffer) conducted all of the in-depth interviews and transcriptions.

Nationality of migrants. Estimates of Long-Term International Migration, annual table – 6-month periods.

Natural change and migration projections.

Long term subnational population projections are an indication of the future trends in population by age over the next 25 years.

They are trend based projections, which means assumptions for future levels of births, deaths and migration are based on observed levels mainly over the previous five years. They show what the population will be if recent trends in these continue.

The projections do not take into account any future policy changes that have not yet occurred.

Data for areas within England can be obtained from this website at www.statistics.gov.uk/snpp. For further information please email snpp@ons.gsi.gov.uk or telephone 01329 444669.

The data collection contains population projections for UK ethnic groups and all local area by age (single year of age up to 100+) and sex. Included in the data set are also input data to the cohort component model that was used to project populations into the future-fertility rates, mortality rates, international migration flows and internal migration probabilities. Also included in data set are output data: Number of deaths, births and internal migrants. All data included are for the years 2011 to 2061. We have produced two ethnic population projections for UK local authorities, based on information on 2011 Census ethnic populations and 2010-2011-2012 ethnic components. Both projections align fertility and mortality assumptions to ONS assumptions. Where they differ is in the migration assumptions. In LEEDS L1 we employ internal migration rates for 2001 to 2011, including periods of boom and bust. We use a new assumption about international migration anticipating that the UK may leave the EU (BREXIT). In LEEDS L2 we use average internal migration rates for the 5 year period 2006-11 and the official international migration flow assumptions with a long term balance of +185 thousand per annum. This project aims to understand and to forecast the ethnic transition in the United Kingdom's population at national and sub-national levels. The ethnic transition is the change in population composition from one dominated by the White British to much greater diversity. In the decade 2001-2011 the UK population grew strongly as a result of high immigration, increased fertility and reduced mortality. Both the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Leeds University estimated the growth or decline in the sixteen ethnic groups making up the UK's population in 2001. The 2011 Census results revealed that both teams had over-estimated the growth of the White British population and under-estimated the growth of the ethnic minority populations. The wide variation between our local authority projected populations in 2011 and the Census suggested inaccurate forecasting of internal migration. We propose to develop, working closely with ONS as our first external partner, fresh estimates of mid-year ethnic populations and their components of change using new data on the later years of the decade and new methods to ensure the estimates agree in 2011 with the Census. This will involve using population accounting theory and an adjustment technique known as iterative proportional fitting to generate a fully consistent set of ethnic population estimates between 2001 and 2011. We will study, at national and local scales, the development of demographic rates for ethnic group populations (fertility, mortality, internal migration and international migration). The ten year time series of component summary indicators and age-specific rates will provide a basis for modelling future assumptions for projections. We will, in our main projection, align the assumptions to the ONS 2012-based principal projection. The national assumptions will need conversion to ethnic groups and to local scale. The ten years of revised ethnic-specific component rates will enable us to study the relationships between national and local demographic trends. In addition, we will analyse a consistent time series of local authority internal migration. We cannot be sure, at this stage, how the national-local relationships for each ethnic group will be modelled but we will be able to test our models using the time series. Of course, all future projections of the population are uncertain. We will therefore work to measure the uncertainty of component rates. The error distributions can be used to construct probability distributions of future populations via stochastic projections so that we can define confidence intervals around our projections. Users of projections are always interested in the impact of the component assumptions on future populations. We will run a set of reference projections to estimate the magnitude and direction of impact of international migrations assumptions (net effect of immigration less emigration), of internal migration assumptions (the net effect of in-migration less out-migration), of fertility assumptions compared with replacement level, of mortality assumptions compared with no change and finally the effect of the initial age distribution (i.e. demographic potential). The outputs from the project will be a set of technical reports on each aspect of the research, journal papers submitted for peer review and a database of projection inputs and outputs available to users via the web. The demographic inputs will be subject to quality assurance by Edge Analytics, our second external partner. They will also help in disseminating these inputs to local government users who want to use them in their own ethnic projections. In sum, the project will show how a wide range of secondary data sources can be used in theoretically refined demographic models to provide us with a more reliable picture of how the UK population is going to change in ethnic composition. Base year data (2011) are derived from the 2011 census, vital statistics and ONS migration data. Subsequent population data are computed with a cohort component model.

The purpose of this research was to find out what Polish immigrants do with the variation that exists in the English language around them. Do they attach social meanings to it? Do they pick it up and copy it? Or do they do something else? To find out, we collected and analysed language data from British-born and Polish-born adolescents living in Edinburgh and London. Polish immigrants included in the study use non-standard features of English but the patterns associated with their use are not the same as those found among UK-born adolescents. That is, Polish adolescents are not copying native speakers wholesale; they are re-interpreting variation in English. This finding has also recently been reported in work on dialect contact and long-term contact. Our project adds weight to the importance of this principle. This project investigates the phenomenon of integration among migrant pupils and aims to find out what happens to immigrants when they come to a new country. One way to examine this is by using sociolinguistic methods to study the language variety migrants acquire once they have settled in a country. To do this, the project investigates the acquisition and sociolinguistic variation of local and non-local non-standard linguistic features among pupils of Polish descent in schools in London and Edinburgh. The large group of newcomers from Poland represents a unique chance to conduct a comparative study in two locales with different local dialects. It will show how immersion in differing contexts of language variation influences migrants' speech. Sociolinguistic methods are used to document how migrant pupils speak, and compare them to a local control group of age-matched teenagers. This reveals where the linguistic features Polish pupils use come from. By studying pupils' language attitudes and the language norms they're aware of, researchers can find out about the motivations behind different patterns of language use. Attitudes may influence what linguistic features pupils use, and how they indicate through language who they are becoming. Linguistic production data were collected from 16 Polish migrants living in Edinburgh (8 males, 8 females) and 21 Polish adolescents living in London (8 males, 13 females). A comparable corpus of 21 Edinburgh and 24 London-born adolescents attending the same schools as the Polish adolescents was also collected to provide a benchmark for the types of ‘Edinburgh English’ and ‘London English’ to which these Polish adolescents are regularly exposed. Sociolinguistic face-to-face interviews were carried out between all participants and a female researcher from Edinburgh and London respectively. The primary tool used to elicit perception data was the Verbal Guise Technique (VGT). 8 university-educated females were recorded reading a short text about an animal rescue operation that was taken from Newsround (http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/default.stm). Efforts were made to match the guise recordings for voice quality and speech rate but the guises all had different accents (representing Edinburgh English, London English Received Pronunciation, Scottish Standard English, Manchester English, Birmingham English, Newcastle English and Polish English). Subjective evaluations to these 8 guises were elicited from the adolescents using a semantic differential scale.