Net migration to the UK fell 10% last year after hitting a record high in 2022, o figures show.
The number – the difference between the number of people arriving in the UK and leaving – was 685,000 in the year to December 2023, says the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This represents a fall from 764,000 for the year to December 2022 – a figure revised upwards by 19,000 from the initial estimate of 745,000 now more complete data for the year is available.
The ONS said it is “too early to say if this is the start of a new downward trend”.
The data estimates about 1.22 million people came to the UK in 2023, and some 532,000 likely departed.
The number of people coming to the UK for humanitarian reasons – such as from Ukraine and Hong Kong – fell by more than 100,000 during the period.
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