UK net migration drops below 200,000 for first time since Covid-19 pandemic
UK net migration dropped to an estimated 171,000 last year, the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The figures for the 12 months to December are down 48% compared to the previous year (331,000), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is the first time the estimate – which is the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country – has fallen below 200,000 since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
In the year to March 2021 it stood at 132,000, at a time when travel restrictions were still in place to contain the virus and the post-Brexit immigration system had been introduced.
The continued fall in net migration is being driven by fewer people from outside the EU arriving in the UK for work, the ONS said.
Some 813,000 people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in 2025, while 642,000 are likely to have left.
The figures suggest more British nationals left the country during the 12-month period (246,000) than returned home (110,000).
It was a similar picture for nationals from “EU-plus countries” – covering the 27 members of the EU plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland – with a higher number leaving the UK (118,000) than moving to the country (76,000).
By contrast, more people from outside the EU moved to the UK in 2025 (627,000) than left (278,000).
Separate Home Office figures, also published on Thursday, show the number of asylum seekers living in hotels fell to a record low of 20,885 by the end of March, down 35% year-on-year.
The Government has committed to closing all asylum hotels as quickly as possible and by the end of the current Parliament term, which will end before July 2029 ahead of the next general election. Officials argue the latest figures suggest the plan is on track.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the figures show his Government is “delivering” on his promise to “restore control to our borders”.
Although “real progress has been made”, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said “there is still work to do”, adding: “That is why I am introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers.”
The figures come as polling suggests 49% of the public think net migration increased in the past year, despite the number dropping rapidly.
The survey by Number Cruncher Politics and think tank British Future of 3,003 adults in Great Britain found that some 16% of respondents correctly thought migration fell last year, while 51% expected it to rise again next year.
Think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research’s Marley Morris said the Government had made notable progress, but added: “The focus now should be on the parts of the system that still need fixing: tackling small boat crossings, closing remaining asylum hotels, and speeding up appeals.
“The priority should be to build a fair, well-managed immigration system that supports the economy and public services, not a race to push numbers ever lower.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp urged the Government to go further.
“Brits are leaving on a massive scale and non-EU immigration remains far too high,” he said.
“Mass immigration undermines our society and low wage immigration is bad for the economy. British families feel it in lower wages, longer waiting lists for public services and housing shortages.
“Labour must go further and reform indefinite leave to remain before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon it altogether.
“We want a small number of highly skilled migrants and no low-skilled migration at all. But sadly, Labour do not have the backbone to do any of it.”
The Refugee Council’s Jon Featonby welcomed the Government’s progress on ending the use of asylum hotels, but said families fleeing war and persecution have “almost no safe and legal way to reach the UK”.
He said: “A fair and functioning asylum system is one that restores public confidence while helping refugees rebuild their lives.
“Closing resettlement schemes and safe routes that have been a lifeline for those fleeing conflict and persecution in countries like Ukraine and Afghanistan, alongside harsh policies in the new immigration Bill, will not fix what is broken.
“Instead, they risk forcing more people into the hands of smugglers, tearing families apart, and making it harder for refugees to integrate and contribute back into the communities that welcomed them.
“If the Government wants to continue to work towards ending deadly Channel crossings, it cannot ignore the desperate need for safe routes.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub