In 2024, approximately 948,000 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.

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 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.

As of the second quarter of 2025, approximately 44 percent of people in the UK thought that immigration was an important issue facing the country, compared with 45 percent in the previous quarter.

This statistic shows the last country of residence given by passengers of the HMT Empire Windrush which docked at Tilbury near London on 21 June 1948. As the statistic illustrates, most of the passengers disembarking at London gave Jamaica as their last country of residence. Post-war migration from the Caribbean to Britain is heavily associated with this particular journey, giving rise to the term 'Windrush generation'.

Over 10,500 Pakistani nationals applied for asylum in the United Kingdom in 2024, the most of any nationality. Asylum seekers from Afghanistan made up the second-highest nationality, at over 8,500.

As of September 2025, 12 percent of people in the UK thought that the Labour Party would be the best at handling immigration and asylum, compared with just five percent who felt that the Conservatives would be the best, and 36 percent who thought Reform UK would handle immigration the best.

United Kingdom UK: Net Migration data was reported at 900,000.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 990,000.000 Person for 2012. United Kingdom UK: Net Migration data is updated yearly, averaging 174,003.000 Person from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2017, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,030,075.000 Person in 2007 and a record low of -97,495.000 Person in 1982. United Kingdom UK: Net Migration data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the total number of immigrants less the annual number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens. Data are five-year estimates.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Sum;

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.

Annual mid-year data on internal migration moves for England and Wales, by local authority, region, single year of age, five-year age group and sex. Data on internal migration moves between local authorities and regions and internal migration moves into and out of each local authority in England and Wales. Also including a lookup table listing each local authority in England and Wales, the region it is located within, its local authority code and region code.

This release replaces the previous annual and quarterly publications Control of Immigration Statistics and the annual British Citizenship, following a public consultation. Each topic now has its own entry, links to these related reports can be found under the "additional links" section. There are a number of different measures that can be used to monitor numbers of people coming to the United Kingdom for study. For those students who are subject to immigration control, administrative information is available on student visas and visa extensions, as well as records of students admitted. The International Passenger Survey (IPS), run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), provides estimates of all students arriving in the UK, with the ONS migration statistics focussing on those who intend to stay for a year or more. Research into students has also been published, for example Migrant Journey Analysis that involved linking records to give a more complete picture as to what happened to a group of students over a five year period. These various statistics and research can appear to give different pictures of student immigration. Often this is because the latest data for different measures cover different time periods. In addition, they also count different aspects of the immigration process, with some showing intentions or permissions, whilst others show actual events.

There were 369,420 work visas granted in the United Kingdom in 2024, down from 613,630 in 2023, and 421,570 in 2022.

Historical dataset showing U.K. immigration statistics by year from 1960 to 2015.

Data exploring the overview of migrants in the UK labour market.

This statistic displays the amount of European Union (EU) immigrants living in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2015, by country of birth. There are approximately *** thousand Polish immigrants living in the UK, followed by Ireland and Germany at *** thousand and *** thousand respectively.

Quarterly and annual statistics relating to information on border control and visas, asylum, managed migration, and enforcement and compliance. A new format for these statistics was introduced from second quarter 2011. See separate entry under immigration statistics at: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/immigration-statistics.

Annual statistics relating to information on border control and visas, asylum, managed migration, and enforcement and compliance. Source agency: Home Office Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom