Immigration estimates increased by 37%

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June 17, 2003

The Office for National Statistics has released new estimates for international migration which show an increase in migration into the UK for 2001 to 171,800. This is an increase of 37 % over the previous estimate of 125,000. For 1997 the new estimate is 46,800.

The revised estimates give net foreign non EU inward migration of 213,600 in 2001(the same figure as for 2000). In 1997 it was 88,200.

Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of MigrationwatchUK, said "This vindicates what we have been saying since last August. Inward migration from outside the EU is already running at a rate equivalent to more than 2 million per decade. This means nearly 600 every day even without allowing for illegal immigrants. These numbers are the highest in our history but still do not reflect the recent massive increase in work permits which still have to work through the system. Yet further increases can be expected from the opening of our labour market next May to the new East European members of the EU. The government seem to have stumbled into very large scale immigration contrary to the wishes of 80% of the population. It is time that the public were properly informed, consulted and listened to."

Note to editors
On 25 Nov 2002 the ONS published interim estimates of international migration in the light of the (contested) 2001 census which appeared to show a population of 59 million rather than the 60 million expected. They arbitrarily reduced immigration by 76,000 per year to make it fit the census result. This gave total net immigration in 2001 as 125,000 and net non EU foreign immigration as 178,100.

Further investigation has obliged the ONS to make a major upward revision.
The MigrationwatchUK press statement of 2 August 2002 (on our website) is now shown to be broadly accurate, despite ill informed criticism at the time.