MigrantoBritish Diaspora
4.7M British live abroad — the #13 largest diaspora in the world
Where emigrants go
The top 3 countries receive 51% of all emigrants
↑↓ — change vs 2020
| Country | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1107102 |
| USA | 894789 |
| Canada | 427526 |
| Spain | 294986 |
| Ireland | 293559 |
| New Zealand | 254524 |
| Poland | 184964 |
| France | 163042 |
| Thailand | 116582 |
| Italy | 67246 |
| Netherlands | 62657 |
| South Africa | 55144 |
| Malta | 54739 |
| Romania | 48738 |
| Switzerland | 48706 |
| Bangladesh | 45091 |
| Turkey | 40743 |
| Cyprus | 38082 |
| Isle of Man | 34715 |
| Sweden | 34445 |
| UAE | 27318 |
| Israel | 26577 |
| Portugal | 23725 |
| Denmark | 23607 |
| Belgium | 22271 |
| Norway | 22172 |
| Japan | 19617 |
| Greece | 19156 |
| Hong Kong | 19063 |
| Hungary | 17771 |
| Bulgaria | 16476 |
| Egypt | 15793 |
| Austria | 13841 |
| China | 13630 |
| Zimbabwe | 13101 |
| Kuwait | 10889 |
| Czech Republic | 10153 |
| Slovakia | 9987 |
| Libya | 8159 |
| Finland | 7604 |
| Qatar | 7210 |
| Lithuania | 6975 |
| Luxembourg | 6507 |
| Brazil | 6230 |
| Gibraltar | 5793 |
| India | 5693 |
| Jamaica | 4909 |
| Mexico | 4322 |
| Bermuda | 3963 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3784 |
| Panama | 3695 |
| Malaysia | 3522 |
| Latvia | 3418 |
| Chile | 2912 |
| Iceland | 2804 |
| Bahrain | 2748 |
| Cayman Islands | 2614 |
| Barbados | 2560 |
| Taiwan | 2528 |
| Brunei | 2397 |
| Bahamas | 2259 |
| Zambia | 2100 |
| Argentina | 2014 |
| Namibia | 1907 |
| Colombia | 1873 |
| Ghana | 1782 |
| Indonesia | 1753 |
| Papua New Guinea | 1626 |
| Venezuela | 1621 |
| Philippines | 1532 |
| Morocco | 1418 |
| Botswana | 1388 |
| Estonia | 1322 |
| Falkland Islands | 1299 |
| Peru | 1250 |
| Andorra | 1206 |
| Sri Lanka | 1205 |
| Russia | 1200 |
| Bolivia | 1121 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 1076 |
| Malawi | 1055 |
| Tanzania | 1025 |
| British Virgin Islands | 1023 |
| Serbia | 927 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 843 |
| Slovenia | 839 |
| Algeria | 810 |
| Costa Rica | 751 |
| Saint Lucia | 735 |
| Uruguay | 698 |
| Ecuador | 694 |
| Dominica | 659 |
| Croatia | 598 |
| Guyana | 586 |
| Dominican Republic | 543 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 521 |
| Belize | 512 |
| Mauritius | 462 |
| Anguilla | 450 |
| Belarus | 448 |
| Guadeloupe | 378 |
| Fiji | 355 |
| Cameroon | 327 |
| Saint Helena | 323 |
| North Korea | 315 |
| Tajikistan | 314 |
| Seychelles | 300 |
| Guatemala | 262 |
| Paraguay | 199 |
| Martinique | 168 |
| Liberia | 166 |
| Moldova | 156 |
| Faroe Islands | 146 |
| Sierra Leone | 131 |
| Maldives | 118 |
| Vanuatu | 117 |
| Mongolia | 111 |
| Montserrat | 106 |
| Cook Islands | 106 |
| Honduras | 105 |
| Cambodia | 103 |
| Montenegro | 101 |
| El Salvador | 92 |
| French Polynesia | 84 |
| Nicaragua | 76 |
| Liechtenstein | 70 |
| Puerto Rico | 67 |
| Uganda | 62 |
| Sint Maarten | 56 |
| Cape Verde | 55 |
| Eritrea | 43 |
| Curaçao | 38 |
| Bhutan | 37 |
| Solomon Islands | 37 |
| Georgia | 34 |
| Cuba | 22 |
| Samoa | 19 |
| Greenland | 14 |
| Kiribati | 7 |
| Guinea | 6 |
By destination region
Europe is the leading destination region at 32%
1.5M
1.4M
1.3M
233.6K
153.6K
105.6K
53.1K
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Interesting facts
Notable statistics about emigration from the UK.
Poland is the fastest-growing major destination
Emigration to Poland has increased by 340% since 2015, rising from 42K to 185K in 9 years.
Top emigration destinations have shifted significantly since 1990
7 new countries have entered the top 20 destinations: Poland, Thailand, Malta — Poland rose from outside the top 20 to rank #7.
The share of emigrants going to Europe has grown since 1990
The share of emigrants going to Europe has shifted from 14.6% to 31.8% since 1990.
A significant share of the population lives abroad
1 in 15 residents of the UK has emigrated — 4.7M out of 69.2M, representing 6.9% of the population.
How emigration changed over time
Total emigrant population by year
| Year | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 3814732 |
| 1995 | 3904504 |
| 2000 | 3908223 |
| 2005 | 4180002 |
| 2010 | 4479106 |
| 2015 | 4524105 |
| 2020 | 4649914 |
| 2024 | 4743231 |
Top destinations over time
Emigration to the 5 largest destination countries
| Year | Australia | USA | Canada | Spain | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1119737 | 803592 | 728715 | 63615 | 174509 |
| 1995 | 1154167 | 888840 | 665958 | 80794 | 187615 |
| 2000 | 1128760 | 847673 | 614122 | 101178 | 239615 |
| 2005 | 1118630 | 826320 | 584084 | 234133 | 282759 |
| 2010 | 1185773 | 848418 | 562869 | 318319 | 288432 |
| 2015 | 1206060 | 860900 | 533650 | 292177 | 278827 |
| 2020 | 1171185 | 883111 | 474286 | 285911 | 285496 |
| 2024 | 1107102 | 894789 | 427526 | 294986 | 293559 |
Fastest-changing destinations
How emigration to each country has changed since the selected year
United Kingdom as an emigration source
Share of immigrants in each country who originate from the UK
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
Frequently asked questions
Where do British move to?
Most British have moved to Australia, USA and Canada — these three countries account for about 51% of all British living abroad.
How many British live abroad?
Around 4.7M British live abroad, making it the #13-largest emigrant population in the world.
What share of the population of the UK lives abroad?
About 7% of the population of the UK lives abroad — that's 4.7M out of a total population of 69.2M.
How has emigration from the UK changed over the past decade?
Over the past decade, the emigrant population from the UK has changed from 4.5M to 4.7M people, a change of about 5%.
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