Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom

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This article is about foreign-born groups in the United Kingdom. For ethnic groups in the United Kingdom regardless of birthplace, see Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom.

The foreign-born population of the United Kingdom includes immigrants from a wide range of countries who are resident in the United Kingdom. In the period January to December 2016, there were groups from 22 foreign countries that were estimated to consist of at least 100,000 individuals residing in the UK (people born in Poland, India, Pakistan, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Germany, Bangladesh, South Africa, China, Italy, Nigeria, Lithuania, the United States, France, Spain, the Philippines, Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Australia, Portugal, Kenya and Zimbabwe).[2]

The foreign-born population increased from about 5.3 million in 2004 to nearly 9.3 million in 2018. In the decade leading up to 2018, the number of non-EU migrants outnumbered EU migrants while the number of EU migrants increased more rapidly. EU citizens were noted to be less likely to become British citizens than non-EU migrants.[1]

Size of the foreign-born population[]

At the time of the UK census conducted in April 2001, 8.3 percent of the country's population were foreign-born.[3] This was substantially less than that of major immigration countries such as Australia (23 percent), Canada (19.3 percent) and the USA (12.3 percent).[4] In 2005, the foreign-born population was estimated at 9.1 percent, compared to a European Union average of 8.6 percent.[5] The 2011 census recorded 7,337,139 foreign-born residents in England, corresponding to 13.8 percent of the population.[6] The foreign-born population of Wales was recorded as 167,871 (5.5 percent),[7] Scotland's as 369,284 (7 percent)[8] and Northern Ireland's as 119,186 (6.6 percent),[9] making the total foreign-born population of the UK 7,993,480.[10][11] Figures for each census since 1951 are given in the table below.

A 2010 estimate for the whole of the UK shows that 4.76 million people (7.7 percent) were born outside the EU and 2.24 million (3.6 percent) were born in another EU member state.[12]

The Office for National Statistics produces annual estimates of the size of the UK population by country of birth, based on the Annual Population Survey. The estimates for 2018 show that 9.3 million people (14 percent of the usual resident population) were born abroad.[13]

Census Foreign-born
population 		Percentage increase
over previous decade 		Percentage of
total population
1951[4] 2,118,600 4.2
1961[4] 2,573,500 21.5 4.9
1971[4] 3,190,300 24.0 5.8
1981[4] 3,429,100 7.5 6.2
1991[4] 3,835,400 11.8 6.7
2001[4] 4,896,600 27.7 8.3
2011[10] 7,993,480 63.0 12.7

In January 2021, analysis by the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence suggested that there had been an "unprecedented exodus" of almost 1.3 million foreign-born people from the UK between July 2019 and September 2020, in part due to the burden of job losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic falling disproportionately on foreign-born workers. Interviews conducted by Al Jazeera suggested that Brexit may have been a more significant push factor than the pandemic.[14] Subsequent analysis of the impact of the pandemic on population statistics generated by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) suggests that "LFS-based estimates are likely to significantly overstate the change in the non-UK national population". Payroll data shows that the number of EU workers fell by 7 percent between October–December 2019 and October–December 2020.[15]

According to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford:

The different sources of data on migration and migrants in the UK are not always consistent with each other. For example, from 2017 to 2019, the estimated number of EU-born residents as measured by the Annual Population Survey declined, while the International Passenger Survey (LTIM data) estimated that the net migration of EU citizens was still positive. There are various reasons for this, including differences in how data sources define migrants; known uncertainty in the estimates, which come with margins of error; and unknown sources of error, such as that arising from the fact that not everyone agrees to participate in official surveys. This means that it is often sensible to look at the overall picture across several data sources, rather than focusing on short-term changes in a single dataset. ONS has identified several limitations in current data sources, and is currently developing new approaches to producing migration statistics to address them. This is likely to lead to substantial changes in official migration data between now and 2023. The foreign-born will include some people who are born abroad to UK citizen parents. However, it is usually still the preferred definition when using data on the migrant population, and especially change in the population over time. This is because migrants who acquire UK citizenship are excluded from data on the non-UK citizen population, and rates of naturalisation vary significantly depending on migrants’ country of origin. Moreover, data on non-UK citizens also include many UK-born children of migrants who have themselves never migrated.[16]

Countries of origin[]

The table below lists the places of birth of UK residents according to the 2001 Census, as reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.[17] The table also lists population estimates of the foreign-born population for the top 60 foreign countries of birth in the period January 2010 to December 2010, published by the Office for National Statistics.[18][19]

In 2001, the five most common foreign countries of birth were the Republic of Ireland, India, Pakistan, Germany and the United States respectively.[17] In 2010, the most common foreign countries of birth were India, Poland (up from 18th in 2001), Pakistan, the Republic of Ireland and Germany, respectively. While those born in Germany constitute one of the UK's largest foreign-born groups, many are British nationals who were born in Germany to British military personnel based there.[20][21][19] The United States dropped to eighth place behind South Africa and Bangladesh, despite growth in the size of the U.S.-born population.[18]

The period between 2001 and 2010 saw significant change in the UK's foreign-born population. In particular, the 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the European Union have led to mass migration from Poland, Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Lithuania.[18] The number of Poland-born people resident in the UK increased from 60,711 in 2001 to an estimated 532,000 in the year to December 2010, whilst the population born in Lithuania increased from 4,363 to an estimated 87,000.[18] The most significant decrease in a foreign-born population resident in the UK between 2001 and 2010 is in the number of those originating from the Republic of Ireland. Whilst 533,901 people born in the Republic of Ireland were resident in the UK in 2001, this is estimated to have declined to 405,000 by 2010.[18]

Country of birth Population (2001 census) Population (2015 UN estimate)[22] Corresponding article(s)
 United Kingdom 53,923,642 56,254,898 British people; Cornish people, English people, Manx people, Northern Irish people, Scottish people, Welsh people
 India 467,634 776,603 Indians in the United Kingdom
 Poland 60,711 703,050 Poles in the United Kingdom
 Pakistan 321,167 540,495 Pakistanis in the United Kingdom
 Republic of Ireland 537,108 503,288 Irish migration to Great Britain
 Germany 266,136 322,220 Germans in the United Kingdom
 Bangladesh 154,362 230,143 Bangladeshis in the United Kingdom
 South Africa 141,405 218,732 South Africans in the United Kingdom
 Nigeria 88,378 216,268 Nigerians in the United Kingdom
 United States 158,434 212,150 Americans in the United Kingdom
 China 51,078 182,628 Chinese in the United Kingdom
 Jamaica 146,401 172,829 Jamaicans in the United Kingdom
 Italy 107,244 151,790 Italians in the United Kingdom
 Kenya 129,633 151,073 Kenyans in the United Kingdom
 France 96,281 149,872 French in the United Kingdom
 Philippines 40,118 139,570 Filipinos in the United Kingdom
 Sri Lanka 67,938 138,752 Sri Lankans in the United Kingdom
 Australia 107,871 135,786 Australians in the United Kingdom
 Zimbabwe 49,524 132,942 Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom
 Hong Kong 96,445 119,990 Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom
 Lithuania 4,363 116,861 Lithuanians in the United Kingdom
 Somalia 43,532 110,775 Somalis in the United Kingdom
 Ghana 56,112 102,837 Ghanaians in the United Kingdom
 Turkey 54,079 100,956 Turks in the United Kingdom
 Portugal 36,555 98,967 Portuguese in the United Kingdom
 Spain 54,482 91,179 Spaniards in the United Kingdom
 Iran 42,494 91,087 Iranians in the United Kingdom
 Romania 7,631 89,402 Romanians in the United Kingdom
 Canada 72,518 86,415 Canadians in the United Kingdom
 Cyprus 77,673 84,815 Cypriots in the United Kingdom
 Iraq 32,236 80,939 Iraqis in the United Kingdom
 Malaysia 49,886 75,182 Malaysians in the United Kingdom
 Netherlands 40,438 68,489 Dutch in the United Kingdom
 Afghanistan 14,875 68,256 Afghans in the United Kingdom
 Slovakia 5,273 67,781
 New Zealand 58,286 67,276 New Zealanders in the United Kingdom
 Latvia 4,275 66,046
 Uganda 55,213 65,447 Ugandans in the United Kingdom
 Hungary 13,159 56,166 Hungarians in the United Kingdom
 Brazil 15,215 56,055 Brazilians in the United Kingdom
   Nepal 5,943 54,695 Nepalis in the United Kingdom
 Bulgaria 5,351 51,875 Bulgarians in the United Kingdom
 Thailand 16,257 47,389 Thais in the United Kingdom
 Singapore 40,474 45,351 Singaporeans in the United Kingdom
 Mauritius 27,078 45,123 Mauritians in the United Kingdom
 Russia 15,160 42,491 Russians in the United Kingdom
 Czech Republic 12,220 41,605 Czechs in the United Kingdom
 Japan 37,535 40,127 Japanese in the United Kingdom
 Greece 35,169 39,700 Greeks in the United Kingdom
 Tanzania 32,630 38,691 Tanzanians in the United Kingdom
 Saudi Arabia 8,789 36,148
 Sweden 22,525 35,055 Swedes in the United Kingdom
 Egypt 24,700 33,686 Egyptians in the United Kingdom
 Vietnam 23,347 32,429 Vietnamese in the United Kingdom
 Malta 30,178 31,758 Maltese in the United Kingdom
 Zambia 21,529 30,897
 Belgium 21,668 29,142
 Colombia 12,331 27,691 Colombians in the United Kingdom
 Algeria 10,670 26,826 Algerians in the United Kingdom
 Trinidad and Tobago 21,283 25,364 Trinidadians in the United Kingdom
 Sierra Leone 17,048 25,281 Sierra Leoneans in the United Kingdom
 Denmark 18,695 24,972
 Morocco 12,348 23,519 Moroccans in the United Kingdom
 Guyana 20,872 23,458 Guyanese in the United Kingdom
 Ukraine 11,913 23,414 Ukrainians in the United Kingdom
 Austria 19,503 21,698 Austrians in the United Kingdom
  Switzerland 16,010 21,458
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 8,569 20,971 Congolese in the United Kingdom
 Barbados 21,601 20,271 Barbadians in the United Kingdom
 Sudan 10,671 19,758 Sudanese in the United Kingdom
 Israel 11,892 19,608 Israelis in the United Kingdom
 Yemen 12,508 19,405 Yemenis in the United Kingdom
 Eritrea 6,561 19,031 Eritreans in the United Kingdom
 North Korea 22 18,697
 Norway 13,798 18,236
 Malawi 12,340 17,871
 Libya 9,141 17,684
 Lebanon 10,459 17,128 Lebanese in the United Kingdom
 Ethiopia 7,775 16,654 Ethiopians in the United Kingdom
 Angola 5,914 15,712
 Albania 2,314 14,688 Albanians in the United Kingdom
 Finland 11,322 14,325
 Kuwait 5,882 14,054
 Burma (or Myanmar) 9,924 13,064
 United Arab Emirates 5,406 12,314 Emiratis in the United Kingdom
 Gambia 3,924 12,194
 Gibraltar 11,830 11,955 Gibraltarians in the United Kingdom
 Argentina 6,796 11,339
 Cameroon 3,233 11,009
 Mexico 5,049 10,502 Mexicans in the United Kingdom
 Indonesia 6,711 10,344 Indonesians in the United Kingdom
 Grenada 9,783 10,009 Grenadians in the United Kingdom
 Syria 4,168 9,950 Syrians in the United Kingdom
 Saint Lucia 8,265 9,836
 Venezuela 3,996 9,834
 Congo 3,266 9,561
 Ecuador 3,035 9,422 Ecuadorians in the United Kingdom
 Estonia 2,005 9,361
 Croatia 6,992 9,029
 Serbia 31,244
(including Kosovo) 		9,008 Serbs in the United Kingdom
 Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) 2,794 8,535 Ivoirians in the United Kingdom
 Bosnia-Herzegovina 6,692 8,469
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7,091 8,008
 Montserrat 7,983 7,828 Montserratians in the United Kingdom
 Peru 4,066 7,787 Peruvians in the United Kingdom
 Chile 5,131 7,673 Chileans in the United Kingdom
 Dominica 6,739 6,851
 South Korea 12,310 6,767 Koreans in the United Kingdom
 Fiji 3,464 6,754 Fijians in the United Kingdom
 Tunisia 3,070 6,606
 Mozambique 3,353 6,368 Mozambicans in the United Kingdom
 Jordan 3,115 6,321
 Bahrain 4,185 6,261
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 6,519 6,067
 Brunei 2,782 5,731
 Kazakhstan 871 5,432
 Burundi 2,022 4,820
 Rwanda 2,373 4,781
 Belarus 1,154 4,734 Belarusians in the United Kingdom
 Bermuda 2,986 4,602
 Bolivia 1,143 4,046 Bolivians in the United Kingdom
 Antigua and Barbuda 3,891 3,995 Antiguans in the United Kingdom
 Seychelles 2,905 3,878
 Liberia 1,583 3,844
 Botswana 2,051 3,513
 Oman 2,024 3,432
 Moldova 455 3,417
 Georgia 551 3,388 Georgians in the United Kingdom
 Macedonia 1,285 3,170 Macedonians in the United Kingdom
 Azerbaijan 561 3,126 Azerbaijanis in the United Kingdom
 Saint Helena 2,355 2,917
 Uzbekistan 521 2,864
 Qatar 1,062 2,706
 Cuba 1,083 2,665
 Namibia 1,230 2,649
 Guinea-Bissau 381 2,572
 Guinea 265 2,529
 Slovenia 1,228 2,298
 Iceland 1,552 2,225
 Senegal 723 2,135
 Luxembourg 1,222 2,092
 Bahamas 1,797 2,071
 East Timor 1 2,008 Timorese in Northern Ireland
 Mongolia 293 1,821 Mongolians in the United Kingdom
 Armenia 589 1,790 Armenians in the United Kingdom
 Togo 553 1,743
 Swaziland 863 1,596
 Dominican Republic 523 1,485
 Uruguay 963 1,472
 Belize 1,233 1,452
 Cambodia 706 1,304
 Cape Verde N/A 1,279
 Papua New Guinea 1,057 1,199
 Kyrgyzstan 133 1,132
 Madagascar 789 1,121
 Guatemala 499 1,049
 São Tomé and Príncipe 102 1,028
 Falkland Islands 1,044 968
 El Salvador 595 948
 Cayman Islands 369 914
 Lesotho 331 851
 Paraguay 493 816
 Turkmenistan 99 784
 Costa Rica 370 777
 Panama 492 769
 Laos 464 716
 Honduras 420 683
 Benin 239 678
 Aruba 0 678
 Anguilla 498 583
 Djibouti 237 486
 Suriname 264 476
 Bhutan 86 463
 Tajikistan 101 455
 Monaco 225 430
 Mali 121 411
 Nicaragua 223 406
 Maldives 200 402
 Gabon 135 393
 Chad 183 371
 Solomon Islands 309 364
 Haiti 164 340
 Equatorial Guinea 51 312
 Tonga 143 298
 British Virgin Islands 163 292
 Burkina Faso 99 237
 Samoa 125 233
 Mauritania 28 233
 Niger 96 217
 Kiribati 179 182
 Central African Republic 312 171
 Vanuatu 135 168
 Comoros 62 154
 United States Virgin Islands 124 134
 Andorra 35 63
 Liechtenstein 23 31
 Nauru 14 30
 Taiwan 6,588 N/A
 West Bank (Palestinian territories) 2,483 N/A
 Macau 1,490 N/A
 Netherlands Antilles 1,151 N/A
 Puerto Rico 306 N/A
 Guam 61 N/A
 Turks and Caicos Islands 56 N/A
 Cook Islands 37 N/A
 American Samoa 30 N/A
 British Indian Ocean Territory 19 N/A
 Tuvalu 10 N/A
 San Marino 9 N/A
 Norfolk Island 4 N/A
 Micronesia, Federated States of 3 N/A
 Niue 3 N/A
 Pitcairn Islands 3 N/A
 Palau 3 N/A
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands 0 N/A
 Northern Mariana Islands 0 N/A
 Tokelau 0 N/A
  Vatican City 0 N/A

Institute for Public Policy Research analysis[]

In 2005 the Institute for Public Policy Research published an analysis of data from the 2001 Census, revealing the number of people included in the census who were born outside the British Isles, where they lived, and comparing this information against the 1991 Census.[21] The results were made available on the BBC website.[23] Note that this data refers to Great Britain only, rather than the whole of the UK, because of the lack of digital boundaries in the census data for Northern Ireland.[21]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Migrants in the UK: An Overview". Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2017 to December 2017". Office for National Statistics. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95% confidence intervals.
  3. ^ "Foreign-born: 1 in 12 in UK born overseas". Office for National Statistics. 15 December 2005. Archived from the original on 15 February 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Rendall, Michael; Salt, John (2005). "The foreign-born population". In Office for National Statistics (ed.). Focus on People and Migration: 2005 edition (PDF). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 131–152. ISBN 1-4039-9327-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2014.
  5. ^ Muenz, Rainer (June 2006). "Europe: Population and migration in 2005". Migration Policy Institute. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
  6. ^ Krausova, Anna; Vargas-Silva, Carlos (19 August 2014). "England: Census Profile". Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  7. ^ Krausova, Anna; Vargas-Silva, Carlos (4 March 2014). "Wales: Census Profile". Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  8. ^ Krausova, Anna; Vargas-Silva, Carlos (3 December 2013). "Scotland: Census Profile". Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  9. ^ Krausova, Anna; Vargas-Silva, Carlos (26 June 2014). "Northern Ireland: Census Profile". Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Migration in Great Britain: Census factsheet" (XLS). Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Table 13a: Foreign-born population by continent/country of birth, age and sex - Both sexes" (XLS). Office for National Statistics. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  12. ^ Vasileva, Katya (7 July 2011). "Population and social conditions: 6.5% of the EU population are foreigners and 9.4% are born abroad" (PDF). Statistics in Focus. Eurostat (34). ISSN 1977-0316. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Migrants in the UK: An Overview". Migration Observatory. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  14. ^ Child, David (15 January 2021). "'Unprecedented exodus': Why are migrant workers leaving the UK?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  15. ^ Freeman, David (23 March 2021). "Coronavirus and the impact on payroll employment: experimental analysis". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  16. ^ Vargas-Silva, Carlos; Walsh, Peter William (2 October 2020). "EU Migration to and from the UK". The Migration Observatory. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Archived from the original (XLS) on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  18. ^ a b c d e "Table 1.3: Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth, January 2010 to December 2010". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original (XLS) on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  19. ^ a b Ellis, Amy (2009). "UK resident population by country of birth" (PDF). Population Trends. 135 (135): 20–28. doi:10.1057/pt.2009.5. PMID 19391440. S2CID 11882683. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2011.
  20. ^ "Born abroad: Germany". BBC News. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2009.
  21. ^ a b c Kyambi, Sarah (2005). Beyond Black and White: Mapping new immigrant communities. London: Institute for Public Policy Research. ISBN 1-86030-284-X.
  22. ^ "Trends in International Migrant Stock: Migrants by Destination and Origin (United Nations database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2015)" (XLS). United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Introduction and figures for Britain". Born Abroad: An immigration map of Britain. BBC News. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2009.

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