UK net migration revised downward after major data overhaul

LONDON

Net migration to the UK last year was around 20% lower than previously thought, according to revised figures that show a faster-than-expected fall in arrivals and a much larger outflow of British citizens.

New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released on Tuesday follows a major overhaul of the UK’s migration measurement system.

Officials said most of the revisions stem from adopting labor records, which capture the movements of British nationals far more accurately than earlier surveys of passengers at ports and airports.

Under the new approach, net migration for the year ending (YE) December 2024 has been cut from a provisional 431,000 — as published this May — to 345,000, a drop of around 20%.

The revised figures also show that the UK’s recent migration peak was both higher and earlier than previously understood.

Net migration reached 944,000 in YE March 2023, compared with the earlier estimate of 906,000 for YE June 2023.

Across the four years from YE December 2021 to YE December 2024, overall net migration has been revised downward by about 97,000, even though total immigration has been revised up by 316,000.

The change is driven by a substantial increase in estimated emigration, which was raised by 413,000.

The biggest shift affects British nationals.

Updated methods indicate that many more UK citizens have been leaving the country than previously captured, pushing British net migration over the period down by 344,000.