Revised data has shown that far more Britons left the UK last year than previously thought, but that net migration is coming down quicker as well.
Updated figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 257,000 British nationals emigrated in the year to December 2024, more than three times the earlier figure of 77,000.
The ONS revised these numbers after updating its methodology. It also now estimates that 143,000 British nationals moved back to the UK during the same period – more than double the previous estimate of 60,000.
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This means there was a net change of -114,000 over the year, a huge increase on the initial estimate of 17,000.
The ONS’s new data also showed the peak of net migration was higher than previously thought, hitting 944,000 in the year ending March 2023.
It had previously been thought the peak was 906,000 in the year ending June 2023.
But it seems like net migration is coming down quicker than previously thought as well. For the year ending December 2024, net migration was 345,000, a significant drop on the previous estimate of 431,000.
Migration is one of the hottest issues in British politics currently, with Reform having surged to the top of the polls with their anti-immigration rhetoric.
And this week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to reform the asylum system, with the aim of making it easier to deport people and more difficult for asylum seekers to stay in the UK long-term.