Net migration in 2024 now estimated at +345,000, down from +431,000; new record high of +944,000 in year ending March 2023
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revised its estimates for net migration in 2023 and 2024, making the record numerical fall in net migration in 2024 even sharper than previously reported.
Net migration for the year ending December 2024 is now estimated at +345,000, a substantial decrease from the original May estimate of +431,000. The revision is driven largely by a major reassessment of British emigration: net migration for British citizens in 2024 is now estimated at -114,000, compared with the earlier figure of -17,000.
These changes follow the ONS's decision to replace the International Passenger Survey (IPS) with the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) Registration and Population Interaction Database (RAPID) for estimating British migration flows. The ONS states that RAPID's data provides more comprehensive coverage of UK nationals, though it does require a range of assumptions to produce estimates and therefore has some uncertainty.
Under the new revised figures, net migration is now estimated to have peaked slightly higher and earlier at +944,000 in the year ending March 2023. Previously, the record high had been estimated at +906,000 in the year ending June 2023.
For full details on these and other revisions, see the ONS' full report for November on Improving long-term international migration statistics, updating our methods and estimates.