[Britain's] International Migration 2005
(UK's official statistics)
Total International Migration (TIM) to/from the UK 1991-2005
In 2005, an estimated 185,000 more people entered than left the UK for at least a year. This net in-migration was lower than the 2004 estimate, but was higher than the estimates for all other years since the method to estimate Total International Migration began in 1991.
The estimated outflow from the UK of 380,000 sustained the high level of out-migration seen in recent years. This was equivalent, on average, to over 1,000 people a day leaving the UK to live abroad, over half of whom were British citizens.
Although slightly lower than the 2004 estimate, the number of people arriving to live in the UK remained high at 565,000 in 2005, an average of over 1,500 a day.
The pattern seen in recent years of net in-migration of foreign citizens and net out-migration of British citizens continued in 2005.
An estimated 198,000 British citizens migrated from the UK in 2005. Once again Australia was the most preferred destination for British citizens migrating abroad, followed by Spain and France.
Overall, an estimated 64,000 more A8 citizens migrated into the UK for at least a year than left in 2005, compared with 49,000 in 2004.
A8 citizens migrating long-term into the UK increased by over 50 per cent from 52,000 in 2004 to 80,000 in 2005. This increase can be explained by 2005 being the first full calendar year following the date of accession in May 2004 for which migration by A8 citizens could be estimated.
Long-term outflows of A8 citizens also increased notably for the first time in 2005 but trends in migration outflows will not become clear until future years. Almost 80 per cent of this outflow occurred in the second half of 2005.
In 2005, IPS estimates showed that more Polish citizens migrated into the UK for at least a year than citizens of any other foreign country. An estimated 49,000 Polish citizens migrated into the UK in 2005, almost three times the 2004 IPS estimate of 17,000.