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.

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 year to June 2025, approximately 898,000 people migrated to the United Kingdom, while 693,000 people migrated from the country, resulting in a net migration figure of 204,000. There have consistently been more people migrating to the United Kingdom than leaving it since 1993 when approximately 1,000 more people left the country than arrived. 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.

While the European colonization and settlement of other world regions largely began in the 16th and 17th centuries, it was not until the 19th century when the largest waves of migration began to take place. In early years, migration rates were comparatively low; in all of the Americas, the slave population actually outnumbered that of Europeans for most of the given period. Then, with the development of steam ships, intercontinental travel became more affordable and accessible to the masses, and voluntary migration from Europe rose significantly. Additionally, larger numbers of Asian migrants, especially from India and China, migrated to Australia, the Caribbean, and U.S. from the mid-1800s; although the U.S. and Australia both introduced policies that limited or prevented Asian immigration throughout most of the early 1900s. International migration between 1913 and 1950 was also comparatively low due to the tumultuous nature of the period, which involved both World Wars and the Great Depression.

Nationality of migrants. containing estimates of Long-Term International Migration, International Passenger survey and pre 1975 archived data. annual table.

In 2020, there were approximately 815,000 Polish nationals living in the United Kingdom, the most of any European Union member state. Additionally, there were 404,000 Romanians and 321,000 Irish nationals living in the UK in this year. Luxembourg was the EU member state with the fewest citizens living in the UK, at just 520 in 2019. In terms of British nationals living in the EU, Spain was the most popular destination, at almost 285,000 Britons, followed by France and Germany, which had British populations numbering 145,000 and 110,000, respectively. The EU settlement scheme After the Brexit referendum of 2016, the fate of EU citizens living in the UK, as well as that of British nationals in the EU, was suddenly unclear. Although the rights of EU citizens to remain in the UK were affirmed at various points during the Brexit negotiations, the EU settlement scheme to handle this issue wasn't launched until 2019. As of 2025, there have been almost 8.4 million applications to this scheme, with Romanian nationals being the most common nationality, at 1.8 million, followed by 1.27 million applications from Polish nationals, and 740,000 from Italian nationals. Migration still one of the top issues for voters In 2025, immigration was seen as the second most important issue for voters and was consistently ahead of many other issues in the months leading up to the UK's 2024 general election. Net migration to the UK has risen sharply since 2021, reaching 872,000 in 2022 and remaining high in 2023. Although there has been a clear decline in net migration from EU nationals since the Brexit vote, there has been a far larger increase in non-EU net migration. Despite pledging to bring immigration down, the previous Conservative government gradually lost trust on this issue with voters, with just 15 percent seeing them as the best party at dealing with immigration, one the even of the last election compared with 20 percent who thought Labour would handle it best.

Description of Data

Notes:

1. Net Migration is the difference between inflows and outflows. Inflows = people coming to Northern Ireland to live Outflows = people leaving Northern Ireland to live elsewhere

2. In general the precision of the migration estimates could be considered to be no better than to the nearest 100.

3. The estimates are produced using a variety of data sources and statistical models. Therefore small estimates should not be taken to refer to particular individuals.

4. The migration element of the components of change have been largely derived from a data source which is known to be deficient in recording young adult males and outflows from Northern Ireland. Therefore the estimates are subject to adjustment to account for this and, while deemed acceptable for their use, will not provide definitive numbers of the population in the reported groups/areas. Further information is available in the Limitations section of the statistical bulletin:

NISRA 2024 Mid-year Population Estimates webpage

Time Period

Estimates are provided for mid-2002 to mid-2024.

Methodology

The cohort-component method was used to create the population estimates for 2022. This method updates the Census estimates by 'ageing on' populations and applying information on births, deaths and migration. Further information is available at:

NISRA 2024 Mid-year Population Estimates webpage

Geographic Referencing

Population Estimates are based on a large number of secondary datasets. Where the full address was available, the Pointer Address database was used to allocate a unique property reference number (UPRN) and geo-spatial co-ordinates to each home address. These can then be used to map the address to particular geographies. Where it was not possible to assign a unique property reference number to an address using the Pointer database, or where the secondary dataset contained only postcode information, the Central Postcode Directory was used to map home address postcodes to higher geographies. A small proportion of records with unknown geography were apportioned based on the spatial characteristics of known records.

Further Information

NISRA Mid-year Population Estimates webpage

Contact: NISRA Customer Services 02890 255156 census@nisra.gov.uk Responsible Statistician: Shauna Dunlop

As part of its annual publication of Population Estimates, NISRA produces official migration estimates for Northern Ireland which reflect the estimated flows of people to and from Northern Ireland from 1 July to 30 June each year. These migration estimates are primarily based on changes observed in the Medical Card Register and detail the inflows and outflows by age and gender for those travelling to/from the rest of the UK and areas outside the UK.

Introduction

The 2023 mid-year estimate (MYE) is the current official estimate of the population for local authorities in England and Wales. Estimates are produced annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the 2023 MYE was published on 15 July 2024.

Comparison to previous MYE data

The previous MYE series (for the period 2012-2020) starts with the 2011 census estimate. Each subsequent year’s population is calculated by adding estimates of births, deaths and migration to the previous year’s population. The 2021 MYE represents a break in this series as it uses the 2021 census as its base.

The ONS revised the 2012-2020 MYE series to bring it in line with the 2021 MYE, so that comparisons could be made between between this series and the previous series. The values plotted on the chart are the revised values of the previously published estimates for 2011 to 2022, together with the estimates for 2023.

Key Points

• London’s mid-2023 population was 8.945 million
• London’s population increased by 76,300 persons compared to the previous mid-year value
• Components of change were as follows:
• 105,100 births and 53,500 deaths (natural change of 51,600)
• Net domestic migration was an outflow of 129,200
• Net international migration was an inflow of 154,100

Population Change

London’s 2023 population was 8,945,310. The first chart below shows the 2023 MYE in the context of previous estimates. There is an uptick after a temporary decrease in population which we attribute to the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://cdn.datapress.cloud/london/img/dataset/763802e7-af17-4b77-995d-44c494fb68af/2025-06-09T20%3A56%3A29/666cd938678c5361c953cb608e532416.webp" width="1152" alt="Embedded Image" />

Components of Change

Births, deaths and migration form the components of population change.

The 2023 MYE value for births was 4% lower than that in 2022, and for deaths 3% higher. The consequent value for natural change (births - deaths) was 10% lower than in 2022.

At -129,000, the value for domestic migration (migration within the UK) was nearly 3% higher than the 2022 value, so still significantly lower than the peak net outflow during the COVID-19 pandemic of -186,000. An outflow of domestic migrants from London is normal and this has been the case each year for the last two decades. This flow is partly because many international in-migrants initially settle in London before moving out to other parts of the UK. The second move in this sequence is counted as a domestic migration.

There has been a marked change in immigration since 2021. This can be attributed to the end of free movement for EU nationals, easing of travel restrictions following the COVID 19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. At over 150,000, the 2023 MYE value for London’s net international migration was more than 18% higher than 2022, and represents a considerable increase from 78,000 in 2021.

https://cdn.datapress.cloud/london/img/dataset/763802e7-af17-4b77-995d-44c494fb68af/2025-06-09T20%3A56%3A29/cb537d44954e11f7f7b7e2189ae74629.webp" width="1152" alt="Embedded Image" />

Age structure of the population

https://cdn.datapress.cloud/london/img/dataset/763802e7-af17-4b77-995d-44c494fb68af/2025-06-09T20%3A56%3A29/6d4cf55b96888dbc3aacfc1de5c664ec.webp" width="1152" alt="Embedded Image" />

Future Updates

The release of the next mid-year estimates is expected in July 2025.

The full ONS mid-year population estimates release and back series can be found on the ONS website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates.

For information relating to London’s population see the demography pages of the London Datastore: https://data.london.gov.uk/demography/ or email demography@london.gov.uk.

An in-depth review of the available evidence for population change in London since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has been produced by GLA Demography: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/population-change-in-london-during-the-pandemic.

This statistic displays the net-migration flows within Europe for startup fouders in 2017. The United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland have a positive net-migration of startup founders of ** percent, the highest in this statistic, implying it is an attractive destination for those wishing to create a startup. With a negative net-migration of **** percent, the area of Central and Eastern Europe is losing more founders to emigration than it gains through immigration.

******** ranked as the country of origin of the largest immigration group arriving into Spain in 2023, as revealed by the latest data. Over ******* people migrated from the South American country to Spain that year. The second largest group was comprised by ********* with around ******* newcomers. A matter of balance The net migration rate of Spain changed its course mainly due to the great inflow of foreigners that move to reside in the Mediterranean country. Spain’s immigration flow slowed down after the 2008 financial crisis, albeit the number of foreigners that opted to change their residence saw a significant growth in the last years. In 2023, Moroccans ranked first as the foreign nationality residing Spain, followed by people from Romania and the Colombians. Spain does not have the highest number of immigrants in Europe In recent years, the European Union confronted a rising number of refugees arriving from the Middle East and Africa. Migration figures show that Germany accommodated approximately ** million foreign-born citizens, ranking it as the country that most hosted immigrants in Europe in 2023. By comparison, Spain’s foreign population stood over ***** million, positioning the Western Mediterranean country third on the European list of foreign-born population. Unfortunately, thousands of persons have died or gone missing trying to reach Spanish territory, as more and more irregular migrants opt to use dangerous maritime routes to arrive at Southern Europe from Africa's coasts.

Among countries with the highest number of overseas Chinese on each continent, the largest Chinese diaspora community is living in Indonesia, numbering more than ten million people. Most of these people are descendants from migrants born in China, who have moved to Indonesia a long time ago. On the contrary, a large part of overseas Chinese living in Canada and Australia have arrived in these countries only during the last two decades. China as an emigration country Many Chinese people have emigrated from their home country in search of better living conditions and educational chances. The increasing number of Chinese emigrants has benefited from loosened migration policies. On the one hand, the attitude of the Chinese government towards emigration has changed significantly. Overseas Chinese are considered to be strong supporters for the overall strength of Chinese culture and international influence. On the other hand, migration policies in the United States and Canada are changing with time, expanding migration opportunities for non-European immigrants. As a result, China has become one of the world’s largest emigration countries as well as the country with the highest outflows of high net worth individuals. However, the mass emigration is causing a severe loss of homegrown talents and assets. The problem of talent and wealth outflow has raised pressing questions to the Chinese government, and a solution to this issue is yet to be determined. Popular destinations among Chinese emigrants Over the last decades, English speaking developed countries have been popular destinations for Chinese emigrants. In 2022 alone, the number of people from China naturalized as U.S. citizens had amounted to over 27,000 people, while nearly 68,000 had obtained legal permanent resident status as “green card” recipients. Among other popular immigration destinations for Chinese riches are Canada, Australia, Europe, and Singapore.