US EditionUK net migration fell to 431,000 in 2024, almost half the 2023 total, ONS estimates
- The Office for National Statistics revealed that net migration to the UK decreased by almost 50% in 2024, with the total number dropping to around 431,000 compared to 860,000 in the previous 12-month period ending in December 2023.
- This sharp decrease followed visa rule changes introduced by the previous Conservative government and new policies unveiled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on May 12, 2024.
- The decline resulted mainly from fewer arrivals on work- and study-related visas amid a simultaneous 11% rise in emigration, particularly among work and study visa holders.
- The ONS reported that net migration over the long term has decreased by nearly half, while Interior Minister Yvette Cooper welcomed the reduction of 300,000 since the July election as a positive and significant development.
- The reduction marks the largest fall since the pandemic and is expected to support ongoing government efforts to lower immigration by up to 100,000 annual arrivals by 2029.
65 Articles
65 Articles
British net immigration contracted by half in 2024, from 860,000 to 431,000 people, according to the National Statistical Office (ONS), which provides a breath of oxygen to Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, under pressure from the far right on this sensitive issue.
Britain Records Sharp Fall in Immigration
Ten days ago, Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, vowed to take “back control of our borders,” warning that uncontrolled immigration could result in the country “becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.” On Thursday, the government estimated that net migration had dropped by almost half in 2024 compared to 2023, to 431,000, suggesting that Britain’s recent period of soaring immigration was ebbing, and perhap…
Net Migration Halves in a Year, But Still Far Higher Than Pre-Pandemic: ONS
Net migration nearly halved in the course of one year, but still remains far higher than in the previous years before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In the year to December 2024, the difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving was an estimated 431,000, down 49.9 percent from 860,000 the year before, the largest numerical drop in any 12-month period. The ONS’s di…
Ten days ago, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised “to regain control of our borders” and warned that uncontrolled immigration could cause the country to “become an island of strangers, not a nation advancing together.” On Thursday, the government estimated that net migration had fallen by almost half in 2024 compared to 2023, to 431,000, suggesting that the recent period of growing immigration in Britain was decreasing, and perhaps even…
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