Birmingham gained the highest number of new residents from net international migration. (Image: Getty)
Our new interactive map shows the areas that saw the highest levels of in the UK, as
Sir held a hastily-arranged press conference yesterday accusing the previous Tory government of running an “experiment in open borders”.
The figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated that net migration figures – the difference between people arriving and leaving the UK – hit a record 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023.
This was way in excess of the previous published estimate of 740,000.
However, the latest ONS estimate for the year to June 2024 suggests net migration to the UK saw a 20% decrease, dropping from 906,000 the previous year to 728,000.
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Separate council area data shows the parts of the country that saw the highest net international migration in the year to June 2023 – the most recent data currently available at a local level.
saw the highest number of new residents from net international migration, with 24,500 more people immigrating than emigrating.
had the second highest number (18,078), followed by Coventry (15,538), Newham (14,292), Leicester (13,588), and Sheffield (13,141).
You can see the impact recent international migration has had where you live with our interactive map.
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In rural areas, net migration was far lower. In South Holland in Lincolnshire, emigration was actually higher than immigration, with 136 more people moving abroad than arriving.
Immigration also had a far greater impact on the population makeup of urban towns and cities than in rural areas.
That was most noticeable in Middlesbrough, where about 1,400 people emigrated, and 8,200 international migrants arrived, a difference of just under 6,800 people.
With an estimated population of about 152,000, it means about one in 23 people now living in Middlesbrough (or 4.4% of the population) are international migrants who arrived last year alone.
The picture was similar in Coventry, where 4.3% of the population arrived from overseas in 2023, and in Newham (3.9%).
Immigration saw a sharp increase under the points-based system for work visas put in place by the after .
Labour has promised changes to the rules on work visas and skills training to reduce the dependence on foreign workers in some parts of the economy.
Former ex-PM ’s government also allowed students to stay in the UK for longer after graduation and expanded the visa route for workers in the healthcare sector.
then tightened rules, including restrictions on international students and care workers’ ability to bring family members into the UK. Mr Sunak’s government also raised salary thresholds for work visas.
New Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party got its migration policy “wrong” and has pledged to set a “strict numerical cap” – though she’s yet to commit to a number.