UK Migration Hits New Record

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest 591,000 people migrated to the UK in 2006 while some 400,000 people moved overseas. The figures ONS figures show that because so many people emigrated the rate of population growth in the UK has been the lowest for three years.

Just over half of those leaving were British according to the report. The figures show that the pattern of long-term massive movements of people in and out of the UK appear to be continuing.

On emigration, the ONS said 41,000 more people had left the UK in 2006 than in the previous year. Of those, 185,000 were British. Some 15,000 of those leaving the UK after living here for at least one year were people from the eight Eastern European nations to have joined the EU in 2004.

However, immigration flows also continued to break records. Some 591,000 people from around the world came to live in the UK for at least a year in 2006 - up from 563,000 in 2005.

Just over 80,000 of these were people were British citizens who had been living abroad. Of the remaining, 167,000 were from inside the European Union, and 201,000 from Commonwealth nations.

The ONS figures suggest that overall 191,000 more people came to live in the UK than left in 2006 - down from 204,000 in 2005 and 244,000 in 2004.

The most popular destinations for the British citizens who were leaving were Australia and New Zealand, Spain, France and the US.