Net migration: What’s happening in the UK?

2023-11-30

UK net migration hit a record 745,000 in 2022 according to recently revised figures from the Office for National Statistics.That means the numbers coming to live in the UK were almost three quarters of a million more than those leaving.Reducing the numbers of people entering the country has long been a government priority with famous promises to reduce it to “tens of thousands”. In a post-Brexit era it had been assumed that the figures would naturally decline, but that hasn’t been the case.

UK net migration hit a record 745,000 in 2022 according to recently revised figures from the Office for National Statistics.

That means the numbers coming to live in the UK were almost three quarters of a million more than those leaving.

Reducing the numbers of people entering the country has long been a government priority with famous promises to reduce it to “tens of thousands”. In a post-Brexit era it had been assumed that the figures would naturally decline, but that hasn’t been the case.

David Aaronovitch invites you into his briefing room to discover what these numbers mean for the UK.

He’s joined by: Jay Lindop, Director, Office for National Statistics, Centre for International Migration Heather Rolfe, Director of Research and Relationships at the think tank British Future. Madeline Sumption, Director of Migration Observatory, University of Oxford

Production: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight, Alex Lewis Production Co-ordinator: Jacqui Johnson + Sophie Hill Sound: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

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