UK tops wealthy nations in shocking migration growth numbers last year
New data shows UK experienced fastest migration growth among rich nations with over 740‚000 newcomers last year. Numbers doubled since pre-pandemic times while foreign-born workforce hits new peak
The OECDʼs latest report shows UK had record-breaking migration growth - a whopping 52.9% jump since about a year ago. A total of 746‚900 permanent-type newcomers chose Britain as their home (which dont include students or Ukrainian refugees)
South-Korea came in second with a 50.9% increase but its total numbers were way smaller - just 87‚100 people. The US still leads in raw numbers; welcoming 1‚2m migrants - making Britain the runner-up among wealthy nations
Family-related migration played a big role: theres been a huge rise in relatives coming with work-visa holders especially in health-care sector. Since 03/24 new rules stopped care workers from bringing family members; but before that it was the main reason for the increase
- Pre-covid comparison shows migration more than doubled
- New Zealand saw triple the numbers
- Lithuania and Poland had sharp increases too
The employment landscape changed a lot - now Britain has 7m foreign-born workers (an all-time high) while local-born employment stays about 800k below what it was before covid. The OECD says rich countries got 6‚5m new permanent residents overall: this is making migration a hot-button issue for many 2024 elections
