Migration Statistics Briefing: November 2010

Article

Net migration is continuing to rise, but this is largely explained by decreased net emigration by British citizens, rather than increased net immigration by non-British citizens.

Estimated net long-term immigration to the UK (the surplus of people immigrating over people emigrating) in the year to March 2010 was 215,000. This compares with 147,000 in the year to March 2009, an increase of around 45 per cent (but is still lower than the peaks of around 220,000 seen in 2005 and 2007). The increase in net immigration is due to a decrease in emigration (down 14 per cent) rather than any significant increase in immigration (up 2 per cent).

All this demonstrates the difficult task that the government has set itself in seeking to significantly reduce total net immigration, a statistical measure over which it has only limited control. The impact of changes in British migration (over which the government has no control at all) on total net migration demonstrates this very clearly.

Related items

  1. A close-up photo of a house flying an England flag from an upstairs window

    Reclaiming Britain: The nation against ethno-nationalism

    How can progressives respond to the increasing ethnonationalist narratives of the political right?
  2. Street scene in financial district, London

    Rule of the market: How to lower UK borrowing costs

    The UK is paying a premium on its borrowing costs that ‘economic fundamentals’, such as the sustainability of its public finances, cannot fully explain. 
  3. A mother and child from behind looking out of a window

    Restoring security: Understanding the effects of removing the two-child limit across the UK

    The government’s decision to lift the two-child limit marks one of the most significant changes to the social security system in a decade.