Cliff Notes
- Net migration in the UK has halved from 860,000 to 431,000, marking the largest recorded drop for a 12-month period since the pandemic’s early stages.
- Long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in three years, with an estimated 948,000 in the year ending December 2024.
- The decline is attributed to reduced numbers of non-EU migrants and stricter visa regulations, alongside an increase in emigration.
Net migration halves in UK, new data shows
Net migration has fallen sharply in the UK, the latest official figures show.
The data, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), estimates that net migration has halved from 860,000 in the year ending December 2023 to 431,000 in the year ending December 2024.
The drop is the largest ever recorded for a 12-month period, and marks the most significant calendar-year fall in net migration since the early stages of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years.
That was estimated to be 948,000 in the year ending December 2024, down by almost a third from 1,326,000 in the previous 12 months and below a million for the first time since the 12 months to March 2022.