MigrantoMigration trends in the UK
Europe
United Kingdom takes in more people than it loses: 8.7M immigrants against 4.7M emigrants. Net balance +4M — 6% of the country's population
69.2M
Population
8.7M
Immigrants
4.7M
Emigrants
+4M
Inflow
1 in 8 residents of the UK was born abroad — and 1 in 16 people born in the UK lives abroad
#5 in the world by net migration gain
Top corridors
The largest migration flows 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 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 emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
Ask Migo
Tap a question — our AI assistant answers it in chat, with real migration data
Where to live?
Score countries, regions and cities by what matters to you
Living in the UK
See the full country overview