Migration is the movement of people. Available information covers migration into and out of the UK, migration within the UK, population by nationality and country of birth and related matters such as immigration control and asylum.
Publications
The MN Series present statistics on flows of international migrants to and from the UK and England and Wales.
Annual report presenting and analysing UK migration data for the calendar year. This is a cross-government product.
Quarterly summary of migration trends, including links to new data from ONS, DWP, the Home Office and GROS. Data include provisional International Passenger Survey (IPS) estimates of long-term international migration, population by country of birth and nationality, interregional migration, National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals, control of immigration, A8 and A2 accession statistics, and local area migration indicators.
Overview
Migration Statistics Quarterly Reports (MSQRs) are produced jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They summarise and provide links to the following quarterly datasets:
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Provisional International Passenger Survey (IPS) estimates of long-term international migration, UK
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Local area migration indicators, UK
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Population by country of birth and nationality from the Annual Population Survey, UK
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Internal migration by country/region for the UK
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Control of immigration: quarterly statistical summary, UK
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National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals, UK
The most recent edition of the MSQR was published on 27 August 2009 (see link under Other Reports). The next release will be on 26 November 2009. The publication dates in 2010 are 25 February, 27 May, 26 August and 25 November.
Annual releases include:
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The cross-departmental annual report on migration statistics. The first edition of this new product, 'Migration Statistics 2008', will be published on 26 November 2009 and will review migration during the previous calendar year
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ONS official estimates of long-term international migration: the 2008 data will also be published on 26 November 2009
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Internal migration by local authorities in England and Wales, mid-year to mid-year
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Home Office data on people granted British citizenship and on UK visa applications
ONS also publishes data on short-term migration.
Technical Data
Further information on different aspects of migration is available via the related topics links at the top right of this page.
Glossary
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Annual Population Survey (APS)
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a combined survey of households in Great Britain, sampling approximately 375,000 people.
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International Passenger Survey (IPS)
The International Passenger Survey (IPS) is a survey of a random sample of passengers entering and leaving the UK by air, sea or the Channel Tunnel. Over a quarter of a million face-to-face interviews are carried out each year.
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Long-term migration
The Office for National Statistics long-term migration statistics use the United Nations (UN) definition that a long-term international migrant is someone who moves from their country of usual residence for a period of at least a year, so that the country of destination effectively becomes their new country of usual residence.
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Short-term migration
The Office for National Statistics publishes statistics on two measures of short-term migration: 1) people who move to a country other than that of their usual residence for a period of 3 to 12 months, for the purpose of work or study (this is the UN definition of a short-term migrant); and 2) people moving to another country for a period of between 1 and 12 months. This measure covers people who move for any reason, including tourism.
Contact Details
For statistical enquiries about this topic, please contact:
Migration Statistics Unit
Email: migstatsunit@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1329 444097
Office for National Statistics Segensworth Road Fareham PO15 5RR
