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.

In the twelve months to December 2024, approximately 948,000 people migrated to the United Kingdom, while 517,000 emigrated away from the country, resulting in a net migration figure of 431,000.

In 2024, the net migration figure for British citizens in the United Kingdom was negative 17,000, compared with negative 96,000 for citizens of European Union countries, and 544,000 for non-EU citizens.

Abstract

This dataset, a product of the Trade Team - Development Research Group, is part of a larger effort in the group to measure the extent of the brain drain as part of the International Migration and Development Program. It measures international skilled migration for the years 1975-2000.

The methodology is explained in: "Tendance de long terme des migrations internationals. Analyse à partir des 6 principaux pays recerveurs", Cécily Defoort.

This data set uses the same methodology as used in the Docquier-Marfouk data set on international migration by educational attainment. The authors use data from 6 key receiving countries in the OECD: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US.

It is estimated that the data represent approximately 77 percent of the world’s migrant population.

Bilateral brain drain rates are estimated based observations for every five years, during the period 1975-2000.

Geographic coverage

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, UK and US

Kind of data

Aggregate data [agg]

Mode of data collection

Other [oth]

This statistic shows net internal migration between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2015. Since 2009, the year following the start of the economic recession, the number of migrants leaving Northern Ireland for the rest of the UK has been higher than the number of migrants arriving.

This table contains 25 series, with data for years 1955 - 2013 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 items: Canada ...) Last permanent residence (25 items: Total immigrants; France; Great Britain; Total Europe ...).

In the first quarter of 2025, approximately 82.4 percent of people born in the European Union but living in the UK were employed, compared with 74.6 percent for the UK-born population, and 74.1 percent for people outside the EU and UK. Since 2006, the employment rate for people born in the EU has consistently been higher than UK nationals and non-EU nationals.

This dataset contains information from the Office for National Statistics internal migration data for Wales, showing the migrant flows into and out of each local authority in Wales (and Wales itself) to and from other parts of the UK, and also a net position, by sex and quinary (five-year) age group. Note that data for Wales as a whole will not be the sum of individual local authority data as moves between local authorities within Wales will not contribute to the flows into or out of Wales.

United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Balance: London data was reported at 51.000 Person th in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 82.000 Person th for 2015. United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Balance: London data is updated yearly, averaging 54.500 Person th from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2016, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 104.000 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 13.000 Person th in 1993. United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Balance: London data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G064: International Migration: By Regions .

United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Inflow: London data was reported at 156.000 Person th in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 173.000 Person th for 2015. United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Inflow: London data is updated yearly, averaging 161.000 Person th from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2016, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 206.000 Person th in 2000 and a record low of 89.000 Person th in 1992. United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Inflow: London data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.G064: International Migration: By Regions .

United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Balance: East Midlands data was reported at 17.000 Person th in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.000 Person th for 2015. United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Balance: East Midlands data is updated yearly, averaging 8.000 Person th from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2016, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.000 Person th in 2014 and a record low of -4.000 Person th in 2000. United Kingdom International Migrations: UK: Balance: East Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G064: International Migration: By Regions .

Migration in Europe in 2024 marks a return to normality after the extreme disruptions experienced in 2022. While in 2022 ******* saw the largest negative net migration balance, with almost * million of its citizens fleeing the eastern European country in the aftermath of Russia's invasion, in 2024 it is in fact the country with the largest positive net migration balance. Over **** million Ukrainians have returned to their home country from abroad, leading Poland, Romania, and Hungary to have large net migration deficits, as they were key recipient countries for Ukrainians in 2022. The other countries which experienced large positive net migration balances in 2023 are all in Western Europe, as the UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Spain all remain popular destinations for migrants.

In the past four centuries, the population of the Thirteen Colonies and United States of America has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 346 million in 2025. While the fertility rate has now dropped well below replacement level, and the population is on track to go into a natural decline in the 2040s, projected high net immigration rates mean the population will continue growing well into the next century, crossing the 400 million mark in the 2070s. Indigenous population Early population figures for the Thirteen Colonies and United States come with certain caveats. Official records excluded the indigenous population, and they generally remained excluded until the late 1800s. In 1500, in the first decade of European colonization of the Americas, the native population living within the modern U.S. borders was believed to be around 1.9 million people. The spread of Old World diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, to biologically defenseless populations in the New World then wreaked havoc across the continent, often wiping out large portions of the population in areas that had not yet made contact with Europeans. By the time of Jamestown's founding in 1607, it is believed the native population within current U.S. borders had dropped by almost 60 percent. As the U.S. expanded, indigenous populations were largely still excluded from population figures as they were driven westward, however taxpaying Natives were included in the census from 1870 to 1890, before all were included thereafter. It should be noted that estimates for indigenous populations in the Americas vary significantly by source and time period. Migration and expansion fuels population growth The arrival of European settlers and African slaves was the key driver of population growth in North America in the 17th century. Settlers from Britain were the dominant group in the Thirteen Colonies, before settlers from elsewhere in Europe, particularly Germany and Ireland, made a large impact in the mid-19th century. By the end of the 19th century, improvements in transport technology and increasing economic opportunities saw migration to the United States increase further, particularly from southern and Eastern Europe, and in the first decade of the 1900s the number of migrants to the U.S. exceeded one million people in some years. It is also estimated that almost 400,000 African slaves were transported directly across the Atlantic to mainland North America between 1500 and 1866 (although the importation of slaves was abolished in 1808). Blacks made up a much larger share of the population before slavery's abolition. Twentieth and twenty-first century The U.S. population has grown steadily since 1900, reaching one hundred million in the 1910s, two hundred million in the 1960s, and three hundred million in 2007. Since WWII, the U.S. has established itself as the world's foremost superpower, with the world's largest economy, and most powerful military. This growth in prosperity has been accompanied by increases in living standards, particularly through medical advances, infrastructure improvements, clean water accessibility. These have all contributed to higher infant and child survival rates, as well as an increase in life expectancy (doubling from roughly 40 to 80 years in the past 150 years), which have also played a large part in population growth. As fertility rates decline and increases in life expectancy slows, migration remains the largest factor in population growth. Since the 1960s, Latin America has now become the most common origin for migrants in the U.S., while immigration rates from Asia have also increased significantly. It remains to be seen how immigration restrictions of the current administration affect long-term population projections for the United States.

The majority of immigrants in Poland in 2023 were from Ukraine (******), a decrease of ** percent compared to the previous year. Immigration to Poland for different reasons In 2022, nearly ****** people immigrated to Poland for permanent residence, of which most came from Ukraine, the UK, and Germany, respectively. Furthermore, the majority of immigrants for temporary stay in Poland in 2022 were from Ukraine (****** immigrants), a decrease of *** percent compared to the previous year. In 2023, most Ukrainian citizens chose Poland as a place for economic emigration. The main reason for that choice was geographical and cultural proximity. Nearly every second respondent valued the low language barrier, and for every third person, the motivation was earnings. Poles attitudes toward Russia’s war with Ukraine In 2022, most Poles had a negative attitude toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Poles’ biggest concerns about the Russia-Ukraine war were the military threats from Russia and the impact of the war on the condition of the Polish economy. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poles proved their support for Ukrainians. One of the most common forms of support for refugees fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war to Poland was to provide blankets, food, and hygiene items. Four out of 10 Poles donated money to a charity fundraiser and volunteered in organizations.

In 2024, approximately 517,000 people emigrated from the United Kingdom, 77,000 of which were British citizens, 218,000 were EU citizens, and a further 222,000 were non-EU citizens.