Net migration to the UK has climbed to a record level, official statistics show.
Around 606,000 more people are estimated to have moved to the UK than left in the 12 months to December, data from the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed.
This is up from 504,000 in the 12 months to June last year.
The ONS said factors contributing to relatively high levels of immigration over the past 18 months include people coming to the UK from non-EU countries for work, study, and for humanitarian purposes, including those arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong.
The record levels of net migration are down to a “series of unprecedented world events throughout 2022 and the lifting of restrictions following the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic”, the ONS said.
The director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS said numbers arriving on humanitarian routes increased over the 12-month period.
Jay Lindop said: “The main drivers of the increase were people coming to the UK from non-EU countries for work, study and for humanitarian purposes, including those arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong. For the first time since using our new methods to measure migration, we have also included asylum seekers in our estimates, with around 1 in 12 non-EU migrants coming via this route.
“There are some signs that the underlying drivers behind these high levels of migration are changing. As lockdown restrictions were lifted in 2021, we saw a sharp increase in students arriving.
“Recent data suggests that those arriving in 2021 are now leaving the country, with the overall share of non-EU immigration for students falling in 2022.
“In contrast, those arriving on humanitarian routes increased over the 12 months. Evidence also suggests immigration has slowed in recent months, potentially demonstrating the temporary nature of these events.”
