MigrantoMigration trends in the UK
Europe
8.7M people from around the world have made United Kingdom their home. That's 12.6% of the country population, arriving from 35 different countries
69.2M
Population
8.7M
Immigrants
4.7M
Emigrants
+4M
Inflow
Every 8th person in the UK was born abroad
The #5 largest immigrant destination worldwide
Top corridors
The largest migration routes in the UK
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
2.9M immigrants · 3.8M emigrants
2000
- Migration accounted for 53% of the country's population growth
- The gap between arrivals and departures was cut in half
2005
- Joined the world's 10 biggest immigrant destinations
- India overtook Ireland as the largest source of new arrivals
- The country became a destination — more people arriving than leaving
- Rose into the 3 biggest countries by emigrants in Europe
2010
- Surge of immigrants from Poland — 392.9K new arrivals
- The foreign-born population passed 5M residents
- Net migration doubled — the annual surplus reached 1.4M
2015
- Slipped out of the world's 10 largest diasporas
- Roughly 1 in 10 residents was now foreign-born
2020
- Rose into the 3 biggest immigrant destinations in Europe
- Surge of immigrants from Romania — 312.7K new arrivals
Today
- Surge of immigrants from Ukraine — 240.3K new arrivals
- Since 1990: 5.8M more foreign-born residents and 928.5K more citizens living abroad
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
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