Migration: latest evidence and sources
Latest ONS estimate
Net migration fell to 171,000 in the year ending December 2025.
The provisional estimate is 48% lower than the updated YE December 2024 estimate of 331,000.
Published 21 May 2026. These figures are official statistics in development and remain subject to revision.
Latest observation
Immigration minus emigration equals net migration
- Long-term immigration
- 813,000
- Annual change -199,000
- Long-term emigration
- 642,000
- Annual change -38,000
- Net migration
- 171,000
- Annual change -160,000
What changed?
Year-on-year change
-160,000
YE December 2024 to YE December 2025
Long-term migration: ten annual observations
December year-ending estimates from the latest ONS revised time series. Components are independently rounded, so older arithmetic can differ from published net migration by up to 1,000.
YE December 2016 to YE December 2025
The interactive chart requires JavaScript. Without it, the published figures remain available in the observation table below.
Latest published values for YE December 2025: Immigration 813,000; Emigration 642,000; Net migration 171,000
Observation window: YE December 2016 to YE December 2025.
Latest published values for YE December 2025: Immigration: 813,000; Emigration: 642,000; Net migration: 171,000
Vertical axis: -115k to 1556k; bounds fitted to these observations, not zero-based.
Show observation table (10)
| Period | Observed at | Immigration | Emigration | Net migration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YE December 2016 | 2016-12-31 | 772,000 | 523,000 | 249,000 |
| YE December 2017 | 2017-12-31 | 752,000 | 544,000 | 208,000 |
| YE December 2018 | 2018-12-31 | 825,000 | 549,000 | 276,000 |
| YE December 2019 | 2019-12-31 | 788,000 | 605,000 | 184,000 |
| YE December 2020 | 2020-12-31 | 662,000 | 569,000 | 93,000 |
| YE December 2021 | 2021-12-31 | 947,000 | 480,000 | 467,000 |
| YE December 2022 | 2022-12-31 | 1,398,000 | 508,000 | 891,000 |
| YE December 2023 | 2023-12-31 | 1,441,000 | 593,000 | 848,000 |
| YE December 2024 | 2024-12-31 | 1,012,000 | 680,000 | 331,000 |
| YE December 2025 | 2025-12-31 | 813,000 | 642,000 | 171,000 |
Why it matters
Long-term migration changes the size and composition of the resident population and informs planning for housing, public services and the labour market. This estimate does not by itself explain those impacts.
Explain this number
Definition
People moving to or from the UK for 12 months or more. Net migration is long-term immigration minus long-term emigration.
Unit and geography
People · United Kingdom
How to interpret it
The year-on-year comparison uses revised estimates on the same long-term migration definition. A lower estimate means the balance between immigration and emigration narrowed.
Important caveat
The newest estimates are provisional for a year and earlier periods may be revised when methods or source data improve.
Source and date
ONS long-term international migration bulletin · Published 21 May 2026 · observation period YE December 2025
Visa and nationality tables withdrawn
The previous page mixed Home Office visa grants with ONS long-term migration estimates and labelled nationality counts as net migration without aligning their definitions, periods and denominators. Those tables remain unavailable until each measure can be reproduced separately.