UK net migration has fallen to an estimated 171,000 in the year to December 2025, marking the first time it has dropped below 200,000 since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The figure represents a 48% decrease compared to the previous year's estimate of 331,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Drivers of the decline
The continued fall in net migration is being driven by fewer people from outside the European Union arriving in the UK for work, the ONS said. Some 813,000 people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in 2025, while 642,000 are likely to have left. The data shows that more British nationals left the country during the 12-month period (246,000) than returned home (110,000). A similar trend was observed for nationals from EU-plus countries (the 27 EU members plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland), with 118,000 leaving and 76,000 arriving. In contrast, more people from outside the EU moved to the UK (627,000) than left (278,000).
Government response
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the figures demonstrate that his government is delivering on its promise to restore control to the borders. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged that real progress has been made but stressed that there is still work to do. She announced plans to introduce a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends Britain's reliance on cheap overseas workers.
Asylum hotel numbers at record low
Separate Home Office figures published on Thursday show that the number of asylum seekers living in hotels fell to a record low of 20,885 by the end of March, a 35% year-on-year decrease. The government has committed to closing all asylum hotels as quickly as possible and by the end of the current Parliament term, which ends before July 2029. Officials argue that the latest figures suggest the plan is on track.
Expert and opposition views
Marley Morris of the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank said the government had made notable progress but added: "The focus now should be on the parts of the system that still need fixing: tackling small boat crossings, closing remaining asylum hotels, and speeding up appeals. The priority should be to build a fair, well-managed immigration system that supports the economy and public services, not a race to push numbers ever lower."
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp urged the government to go further, stating: "Brits are leaving on a massive scale and non-EU immigration remains far too high. Mass immigration undermines our society and low wage immigration is bad for the economy. British families feel it in lower wages, longer waiting lists for public services and housing shortages. Labour must go further and reform indefinite leave to remain before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon it altogether. We want a small number of highly skilled migrants and no low-skilled migration at all. But sadly, Labour do not have the backbone to do any of it."
