Where British move
4.7M British live abroad — #13 largest source of emigrants worldwide
Considering a move from the United Kingdom? — See top destinations, regional flows, and how it's changed since 1990.
Where emigrants go
The top 3 countries receive 51% of all emigrants
↑↓ — change vs 2020
| Country | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1107102 |
| United States | 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 |
| Türkiye | 40743 |
| Cyprus | 38082 |
| Isle of Man | 34715 |
| Sweden | 34445 |
| United Arab Emirates | 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 |
| Czechia | 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 Darussalam | 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
Interesting facts
Notable statistics about emigration from the United Kingdom.
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 United Kingdom 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 | United States | 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 United Kingdom