Overview
- Revised figures put British emigration at 257,000 in the year to December 2024, up from a prior estimate of 77,000.
- Net migration is now estimated to have peaked at about 944,000 in the year to March 2023, before falling to 345,000 by December 2024.
- Across 2021 to 2024, the ONS estimates 650,000 more British nationals left the UK than arrived.
- The new series draws on DWP/National Insurance, visa, benefit and tax records after the IPS was found to underestimate both emigration and immigration.
- ONS officials say the revisions reflect improved measurement, while political and media reactions offer interpretations that the data itself does not establish.