Latest UK migration statistics: Key numbers

Here are the key numbers in the latest migration figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS):

– Total net migration

Estimated net migration to the UK stood at a provisional total of 728,000 in the year to June 2024, down 20% from a revised record of 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

Net migration is the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country.

The figure for the 12 months to June 2023 has been revised upwards by 166,000 from the initial estimate of 740,000.

This is because the ONS now has more complete data for this period and has also improved how it estimates the migration behaviour of people arriving in the UK from outside EU+ countries (the European Union plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland).

A similar revision has been made for net migration in the year to December 2023, which was initially estimated to be 685,000 and is now estimated to be 866,000, an increase of 181,000.

Levels of net migration to the UK have varied sharply in recent years.

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020, when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The new estimate of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

ONS director of population statistics Mary Gregory said: “Since 2021, long-term international migration to the UK has been at unprecedented levels.

“This has been driven by a variety of factors, including the war in Ukraine and the effects of the post-Brexit immigration system. Pent-up demand for study-related immigration because of travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact.

“While remaining high by historic standards, net migration is now beginning to fall.”

– Immigration and emigration

The drop in net migration is the result of changes in the number of people immigrating to (arriving) and emigrating from (leaving) the UK.

Long-term immigration has fallen year-on-year, with an estimated 1.2 million people coming to live in the UK in the 12 months to June 2024, down from 1.3 million in the year to June 2023.

At the same time, long-term emigration has risen, with 479,000 people leaving the UK in the year to June 2024, up from 414,000 in the previous 12 months.

The fall in immigration has been driven by a drop in the number of dependants, or family members, arriving on study visas from non-EU+ countries.

This figure has fallen from 115,000 in the year to June 2023 to 80,000 in the year to June 2024, while the number of main applicants for study visas is broadly unchanged (302,000 and 295,000 respectively).

The rise in emigration has been driven by a rise in those who originally came to the UK on study-related visas and who are now reaching the end of their courses.

The majority (60%) of non-EU+ nationals who left the UK in the year to June 2024 had originally arrived for study-related reasons.

Non-EU+ nationals accounted for nearly 86% of total long-term immigration in the year to June, while EU+ nationals made up almost 10% and British nationals nearly 5%.

This is a major change from the pattern before the UK had left the European Union and also before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the year to June 2019, non-EU+ nationals accounted for just over 42% of total immigration, while EU+ nationals made up 50% and British nationals 7%.

There were 1.03 million non-EU+ nationals who came to live in the UK in the year to June, of which 82% were of working age (between 16 and 64), 17% were children and 1% were aged 65 or over.

The top five most common countries of nationality were Indian (240,000 people, down year-on-year from 268,000); Nigerian (120,000, down from 154,000); Pakistani (101,000, up from 62,000); Chinese (78,000, down from 90,000); and Zimbabwean (36,000, up from 32,000).

– Reasons for arriving

Of the 1.03 million non-EU+ nationals who arrived to live in the UK in the year to June, 417,000 came for work-related reasons: 184,000 main applicants plus 233,000 dependants.

This is up from 355,000 work-related arrivals in the previous 12 months to June 2023 (189,000 main applicants and 166,000 dependants).

By contrast, there were 375,000 non-EU+ nationals who arrived for study-related immigration in the year to June 2024 (295,000 main applicants and 80,000 dependants), down from 417,000 in the previous 12 months (302,000 main applicants and 115,000 dependants).

Non-EU+ nationals also came to live in the UK in the year to June for asylum (84,000 people, down from 91,000 in the previous 12 months), family reasons (76,000 people, down from 85,000) and humanitarian reasons (67,000 people, down from 125,000).

The steep drop in the number of people arriving for humanitarian reasons reflects large falls in those arriving under the Ukraine resettlement schemes – down from 74,000 in the year to June 2023 to 31,000 in the year to June 2024 – and the resettlement scheme for British nationals from Hong Kong – down from 48,000 to 27,000.

– Reasons for leaving

There were an estimated 479,000 people who emigrated from the UK in the year to June, 44% of whom were EU+ nationals, 39% non-EU+ nationals and 16% British nationals.

The most common reason for non-EU+ nationals leaving the UK was study-related (113,000 people, up from 91,000 in the previous 12 months).

“These figures are expected as many of the large number of students that came to the UK after Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions were lifted are now completing their studies,” the ONS said.

There has also been an increase in long-term emigration for non-EU+ nationals who originally arrived on work-related visas, up from 32,000 in the year to June 2023 to 41,000 in the year to June 2024.

The most common reason for EU+ nationals leaving the UK was work-related (92,000 people, broadly unchanged on 94,000 in the previous 12 months).