Immigration to the UK reached record levels in recent years – but the number of Brits choosing to emigrate has been drawing increasing attention lately.
In November 2025 we released long-term international migration estimates which prompted speculation about whether record numbers of British people are leaving the UK. But it is not correct to say that our migration statistics show a recent rise in emigration of British nationals. Instead, changes to the way we estimate Brits moving into and out of the UK have made a previously incomplete picture more accurate.
In this article we explain what our latest long-term international migration figures actually tell us about how many British nationals are moving abroad, and what we do – and do not – know about where they are going.
Emigration of British nationals is stable – but fewer are arriving in the UK
The number of British nationals emigrating (leaving to live abroad for at least a year) has been broadly stable in recent years.
An estimated 246,000 left the UK in the year ending December 2025 (the most recent period), slightly lower than the 257,000 who are estimated to have left the previous year. Our estimates for 2025 are provisional however, and may be revised up or down as more complete information becomes available.
We have also seen a drop in the number of Brits immigrating to the UK (arriving to live long-term), from 140,000 in 2024 to 110,000 in 2025. This has widened the gap between those leaving and arriving. When more people leave than arrive, it is known as negative net migration. Around 136,000 more Brits left than arrived in 2025.
Emigration of British nationals has been broadly stable recently - but remains lower than in September 2021
Long-term international migration into and out of the UK, year ending June 2021 to year ending December 2025
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Notes:
- Estimates between year ending March 2025 and December 2025 are provisional
Our What is international migration and how do we estimate it? article explains more about why measuring migration is a complex task, and why we revise provisional data as time goes on.
We used to underestimate British emigration – so our methods have changed
We define a long-term emigrant as a person who moves out of the UK for 12 months or longer, in line with the United Nations definition. Estimating British emigration is difficult – British nationals do not require a visa to leave or enter the UK, and millions regularly travel internationally for holidays and other short-term trips which do not count as emigration.
Our estimates previously relied on our International Passenger Survey (IPS), which asked a sample of people at major air and sea ports and the Channel Tunnel to tell us about their travel plans and how long they planned to be away. But evidence from the Census strongly suggested this was underestimating the number of Brits moving long-term into and out of the country.
In November 2025 we published our first early (provisional) estimates for migration in the years ending March and June 2025, using a new and improved method. This uses Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) records to check when British nationals start or stop interacting with the tax, benefits or education system, to estimate arrivals to and exits from the UK. We also revised our existing time series back to June 2021, again using the new method.
For instance, using IPS data we had previously estimated that 77,000 British nationals emigrated out of the UK in the year ending December 2024. With our new method, we have been able to revise that to 257,000, a difference of 180,000.
This does not mean 180,000 more Brits suddenly left the UK. We just now have a clearer idea of the true number that do emigrate each year. The significant change in our methods means we cannot compare our improved estimates with those from before June 2021.
Estimated migration levels to and from the UK are higher after applying improved methods
Long-term international migration of British nationals into and out of the UK, year ending June 2012 to year ending December 2025
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Notes:
- Estimates between year ending March 2025 and December 2025 are provisional
Are more young Brits leaving the UK?
In November 2025 we also released data showing around two-thirds of British nationals who emigrated in the year ending March 2025 were aged between 16 and 34.
Because our new estimates for overall British emigration were higher than they had been before, some may have misinterpreted this to mean that a record number of young Brits were leaving the UK.
However, before November 2025, we had not produced an age breakdown for British emigration since 2019. Given this, and the fact our new estimates cannot be compared to these much older estimates, it would not be accurate to say the figures showed record emigration of young Brits.
In our latest estimates, which we published in May 2026, we have now created a time series of migration by age group, for between the years ending December 2022 and December 2025.
This shows emigration of British nationals in the 16 to 24 and 25 to 34 age groups has been relatively stable – and declined slightly in 2025. However, the level of negative net migration is most significant in these groups, with around 75,000 more people leaving than arriving in 2025. This gap has grown every year since 2022. This may suggest young Brits who move abroad for work are staying for longer periods, or that students who study overseas are then staying for work.
Around the world, people who move countries are typically younger working-age adults, according to United Nations data for 2020. The vast majority of foreign nationals who immigrate to the UK are also younger working-age adults, according to our long-term migration estimates, most commonly aged 16 to 24.
The gap between those leaving and arriving has grown fastest for 25- to 34-year-olds
Long-term international migration of British nationals into and out of the UK by age group, year ending December 2022 to year ending December 2025
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Notes:
- Estimates between year ending March 2025 and December 2025 are provisional
Knowing where and why British nationals are moving abroad is difficult
We do not produce estimates on how many British nationals are living abroad or where they are. We cannot carry out high-quality surveys overseas, or access the administrative data foreign governments hold about their populations.
The United Nations (UN) maintains a global migrant stock database and estimates at least 4.8 million people born in Britain were living overseas in 2024. But the data are not complete. Over 70 countries were not included that year, including many home – or likely home – to sizeable British populations, such as Germany, Pakistan and Singapore. The UN’s data also defines a British migrant only as someone born in Britain. But many people born outside of Britain have British nationality, and would be counted as British in our migration estimates.
The map below shows the estimated distribution of British-born migrants around the world in 2024, for the countries with available data.
English-speaking or European countries are home to the most British people living abroad
Estimated international migrant stock, UK-born people, 1 July 2024
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Notes:
- The UN's data is based on British citizenship for 20 countries where information on country of birth is not available
The UN figures include not just those who have recently emigrated, but people who may have spent many decades living abroad, so they do not tell us about Brits’ recent movements.
Some national statistics bodies (like the ONS) produce their own migration estimates, which give us more insights – but it can be difficult to make comparisons between them. Methods can differ across organisations, including how they define what a long-term British migrant is, and data for some countries is less detailed than others.
We can look at three countries with noteworthy British migration trends – Australia, Spain and Poland – to illustrate why building a clear picture of where Brits move to is challenging.
UK emigration to Australia
The UN’s database, which goes back to 1990, consistently ranks Australia as having the world’s highest population of British-born migrants, home to an estimated 1.1 million in 2024.
There were high levels of British emigration to Australia during the 20th century, including through the Ten Pound Pom scheme between 1945 and 1982. Today, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows British-born residents are far older on average (59.7 years) than other migrants (43).
The overall population of Brits has been shrinking in recent years (falling from around 1.2 million in 2020) but ABS data shows this is mostly because of deaths, not fewer arrivals.
As well as measuring snapshots of the population at a single point in time (stocks), the ABS publishes data measuring movements into and out of the country (flows) within a specific period. These figures show a boom in British-born people arriving in Australia since 2021, with British immigration now far exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
Net migration of Brits to Australia is climbing, with more people arriving than leaving
UK-born migrant arrivals and departures, Australia, year ending June 2021 to year ending June 2025
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Notes:
- Estimates for year ending September 2024 to year ending June 2025 are provisional
The flows data is not broken down by age. But stock estimates show that between June 2021 and June 2025, the population of Brits aged 20 to 29 grew by 40%, faster than for any other group. This may suggest a recent increase in young arrivals.
Australian population estimates show a sharp increase in young British people since 2021
Estimated resident population of UK-born people, year ending June 2005 to year ending June 2025
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The Australian Department of Home Affairs publishes data on visas granted to British-born people. In the year ending June 2025:
over 79,000 Brits were granted a Working Holiday Maker visa, up from around 20,000 in the year ending June 2024
around 20,000 skilled British workers were granted temporary or permanent visas
Working Holiday Maker visas allow people aged 35 or under to live in Australia for up to 12 months, though they can sometimes be extended to two or three-year stays. People moving for less than 12 months are not counted as long-term migrants by Australia or the UK.
UK emigration to Spain
While the data for Australia are very detailed, there is less information available for Spain.
Outside of the UK, the UN migrant database shows Spain is home to the most British-born people in Europe, with an estimated 295,000 residents in 2024. Spain’s national statistics producer, the Instituto Nacional de Estadístic (INE), gives a slightly different estimate of around 282,000 British-born people as of January 2025.
According to the INE, the number of Brits in Spain has declined gradually from a post-EU referendum peak of 298,000 in January 2022. Around 40% (109,000) of the British-born population in 2025 were aged 65 or over.
The British population in Spain is far older than the country’s average
Estimated population of UK-born residents in Spain by age group and sex, compared to all residents, year ending January 2025
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The INE also publishes data on migrant flows into Spain. Between 2021 and 2024 the number of British-born people moving to Spain fell by 41%, from around 34,000 to 20,000.
More British people aged 65 and over are now leaving than arriving to live in Spain
Migration of UK-born people to and from Spain by age group, 2021 to 2024
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UK emigration to Poland
Poland appears to be an increasingly common destination for British-born people, according to the UN’s database; the population there increased from 42,000 in 2015 to 185,000 in 2024.
In a 2020 report, Statistics Poland said that Polish people returning home – and bringing the children they had while in the UK with them – had contributed to the UK at that time becoming one of the main countries people moved to Poland from. However, it does not publish data specifically on British nationals migrating to Poland.
Without data on migration flows into and out of Poland – or the age, sex and reason for migrants moving – it is difficult to understand exactly why the British-born population in Poland has increased.
What are the most popular countries for British nationals to move to?
While the United Nations migrant estimates are not perfect – there are missing countries, different methods, and varying definitions of citizenship – it is still the best source available to help us form a global picture of where Brits move to.
There is no recent data on migrant flows, which would give us the latest picture on which countries Brits are moving to. Instead, we can get some indication of recent trends by comparing how the stock of British-born people has changed over time. However, these trends will also be affected by other population changes, including people leaving and deaths of ageing migrants who arrived in earlier years.
The map below shows the countries that recorded the biggest change in the stock of British-born residents between 2015 and 2024.
The population of British people has grown fastest in some Central and Eastern European countries
Absolute change in estimated international migrant stock, UK-born people, 1 July 2015 to 1 July 2024
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Notes:
- The UN's data is based on British citizenship for 20 countries where information on country of birth is not available
Definitions
British national
For the purposes of our estimates, we assume a British national is anyone who has a National Insurance Number (NINo) and who is not included in the Migrant Worker Scan (MWS).
The MWS contains information on overseas nationals who have registered for, and are allocated, a NINo. A full description of this process is provided in Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)’s NINo allocations methodology.
We also count people who are included in the MWS that have been resident in the UK for many years as British nationals, because they are likely to have become British citizens.
Users should note that this definition is statistical and may differ from legal definitions of nationality.
Full information on the definition used in our estimates is available in our Implementing new methods for estimating the international migration of British nationals, progress update: November 2025 article.
Emigration
Emigration refers to a person leaving the UK to live elsewhere for 12 months or more.
Immigration
Immigration refers to people moving from another country to live in the UK for 12 months or more.
Net migration
Net migration is the difference between the number of people coming to live in the UK (immigration) and the number of people leaving to live elsewhere (emigration). When more people are coming to the UK than leaving, net migration is above zero and so adds to the UK population.