France top EU country for British families

New National Statistics figures show that France is the top EU destination for British families.

The figures, released last week, show that 784,900 British citizens are officially registered as living in the European Union. Of these, 69 per cent live in just three countries: Spain, France and Germany.

And while Spain has the highest number overall, a closer look at the data suggests that France is the destination of choice for British families.

In total, 293,500 Brits (37 per cent), live in Spain. However, the report stated that 41 per cent of these Brits were aged 65 or over.

In France, only 19 per cent of the 152,900 Brits who currently reside there are aged over 65. Meanwhile 13 per cent were aged under 15, meaning that more British children live in France than anywhere else in the EU (outside of the UK). In fact, British children living in France account for 34 per cent of all UK-born children living in the EU.

Germany was the third most popular EU location for British expats, with 96,500 living there.

“Though Spain continues to be the most desirable location for the Brits living in the EU, the EU as a whole is not the most popular destination for British expats,” explained Jay Lindop, deputy director of migration statistics, in the report.  “More than half prefer to live in English-speaking countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada,”

Of all the British-born emigrants living outside the UK in 2017, 33 per cent lived in Australia or New Zealand, 28 per cent lived in the US or Canada and 26 per cent in the EU.

Article published 1st May 2018