Net Migration To UK Falls To 6-Year Low - Office For National Statistics

Data released on Thursday by the United Kingdom's official statistics bureau shows a measurable dip in EU citizens moving to the UK following the 2016 Brexit referendum

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2019) Data released on Thursday by the United Kingdom's official statistics bureau shows a measurable dip in EU citizens moving to the UK following the 2016 Brexit referendum.

According to the annual report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of EU citizens moving to the UK was 48,000 more than those who left. This is the lowest difference since 2013.

Overall net migration, EU and non-EU citizens combined, stands at 212,000, also the lowest in six years despite a steady increase of non-EU migrants. The clearest rise is in non-EU migrants moving to the EU for education, according to the report.

Graphics reflecting EU migration data clearly show a peak of migration in 2015, with 219,000 European passport-holders moving to the kingdom and a tailing off after 2016.

In a first, the ONS has classified the data in the report as "experimental statistics" owing to an increasing realization of the unreliability of the numbers at hand. In a separate statement, the ONS said it believes it has been underestimating the number of EU citizens and overshooting the number of non-EU citizens. This results mostly from a gap between the data available and the true wavering of people arriving and leaving within any given year.

The report reflects trends from June 2018 to June 2019, as the ONS counts the month of June as the starting point.