Net migration hit 710,000 in a single year
In 2022, more people arrived in Britain than left by the largest margin ever recorded. That is a city the size of Leeds — every year.
A historic spike
For most of the 1990s, net migration hovered around 50,000 a year. By the mid-2000s it had climbed to 200,000. Then in 2022, it exploded — tripling in just three years from the pandemic low.
Immigration surged to 1.2 million while emigration barely moved.
The post-Brexit irony
Brexit was supposed to bring migration under control. Instead, net migration surged to record levels — driven by non-EU routes. The new points-based system opened the door wider to the rest of the world.
Study visas dominate
In the latest year, 418,000 visas were granted for study and 277,000 for work. Family reunification (96k) and humanitarian routes (62k) made up the rest. The student visa boom has been the single largest driver.
Asylum claims surged back to 2001 levels
Applications hit 74,800 in 2022 — the highest since 2001 when 71,000 people applied. After years below 30,000, the Channel crossing crisis pushed numbers sharply higher.
More grants, but a growing gap
Grant rates have improved — 22,500 people were granted asylum in 2024, the highest on record. But applications still vastly outstrip grants, fuelling a backlog that has strained housing and public services.
Migration is now the only engine of population growth
Since 2020, more people have died in Britain than were born — natural change has turned negative. Without net migration, the population would be shrinking.
One in six residents was born abroad
The foreign-born share has nearly doubled in 20 years — from 9.3% in 2004 to 16.8% today. Meanwhile the dependency ratio has climbed to 56.5, driven almost entirely by the growing share of over-60s.