News
Record number of people leave the UK
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that 385,000 people left the UK for the long term in the year to July 2006, the highest figure since current counting methods were introduced in 1991.
Of those who left the UK last year, 196,000 were British citizens while 189,000 were "long-term migrants" who had been living in the UK for more than a year. The most popular destination was Australia with migrants looking for a more relaxed lifestyle "down under". A study by the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank earlier this year said there are now 1.3 million British emigrants living in Australia.
Other long haul destinations for people leaving the UK included Canada, New Zealand and America. European destinations such as Spain and France also proved popular offering a better climate and standard of living than the UK.
With the exceptionally bad weather this summer, alongside headlines highlighting violent crime it's no surprise that record numbers of people are leaving the UK. Skilled or professional couples with young children are amongst the most likely to emigrate. With their skills in demand overseas and a fear for the safely of children the idea of emigration is very appealing.
Despite the record number of people leaving the UK the population continues to rise. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics said the total population continued to grow strongly as immigration remained high.
The number of long-term migrants who arrived in the UK in the same period was 574,000 with many people arriving from the Eastern European countries which joined the European Union in May 2004 arrived in the UK. Overall, the population of the country rose 0.6% in the year to 60,587,000. Many of the migrants leaving the UK feel that the country has become overcrowded and that public services are suffering with the strain that this population growth is causing.
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23 August 2007
