New shock research finds round one in 5 folks residing within the UK have been born overseas – up from one in six – sparking requires an ’emergency’ census subsequent 12 months
Around one in five people living in the UK were born abroad, according to analysis – up from one in six.
The shock study last night sparked calls for an ‘emergency census’ to stop the public from being kept in the dark about the true scale of the UK’s foreign-born population.
It analysed revised immigration data published this week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and found that around 19.6 per cent of the UK’s population was born abroad.
This was up from 16 per cent recorded in the last census in 2021.
It lays bare how there was greater population growth and churn between 2021 and 2024 than previously thought after the ONS revised its statistics this week, with a net inflow of 2.9million non-British arrivals over this period.
When this was added to the existing non-British population, the number surged to 13.6million (19.6 per cent).
It means that one in every 25 people in the UK today has arrived in the last four years.
The year 2022 saw the fastest rate of population growth since 1828.
The higher proportion of non-Britons was partly driven by a spike in emigration, with 992,000 British nationals leaving between 2021 and 2024, 190 per cent more than previously thought.
This included 257,000 UK citizens who went to live abroad last year, the highest since 2021, signalling that under Labour people are leaving in their droves.
Before Labour came to power, the highest such figure was 283,000 in 2021 – when international travel reopened following the pandemic.
Karl Williams, of the CPS, said: ‘This new data shows just how significant recent population change has been. The combined effect of record inflows and the sharp rise in emigration has reshaped the country far more quickly than most people realise.
‘If decisions on housing, public services and local funding are to keep pace with these shifts, we need a precise and up-to-date picture of the population.’
Net emigration has also peaked since last year’s general election.
In the 12 months to September 2024, a net 116,000 Britons left the country. This is far higher than previously thought. By December, the net figure for the previous 12 months was 114,000. Net British emigration was just 81,000 in 2022.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Keir Starmer’s punishing tax rises are causing Britons to flee in record numbers.
‘The brightest and the best are leaving the UK for places like Dubai and Milan, leaving the rest of us to pay Labour’s higher taxes.
‘This is evidence that increasing tax too far makes people leave.’
The ONS data also revealed a historic, post-Brexit moment as migration from the EU fell below 100,000 for the first time since 2003.
