Migration impact
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
A plain-language summary of who arrives, who leaves, and what the government spends on migration in United Kingdom. Every headline figure is a reported value from an official source — nothing is estimated.
At a glance
Headline figures
2,545,663
Total incoming
People arrived, all recorded years
3,712
Total outgoing
People left, all recorded years
+2,541,951
Net balance
Net inflow
$16.3B
Spent on migrants · 2024
0.44% of GDP
Trend
Incoming vs outgoing, by year
Arrivals compared with departures for each reported year. Use the selector to read the exact figures for a single year.
627,489
Incoming
1,013
Outgoing
+626,476
Net that year
Public expenditure
What the government spends on migrants
Migration-related public spending (refugee support and development assistance provided) in current US dollars. For donor countries this includes in-donor refugee costs.
$16.3B
Total spending · 2024
Reported migration-related expenditure
0.44%
Share of GDP
About $0.44 of every $100 of national output
For perspective
What $16.3B could otherwise fund
The same amount, spent on other public services, using round benchmark unit costs. These are illustrative comparisons to convey scale — not an actual budget or policy proposal.
32
top-tier hospitals
A large modern referral hospital (~$500M each).
135
general hospitals
A mid-size general hospital (~$120M each).
54
university campuses
A new university campus (~$300M each).
1,631
kilometres of motorway
One kilometre of modern motorway (~$10M).
3,263
well-equipped schools
A brand-new fully equipped school (~$5M each).
5,439
public libraries
A community public library (~$3M each).
10,879
kindergartens
A new kindergarten / nursery (~$1.5M each).
65,274
fully equipped ambulances
A new fully equipped ambulance (~$250k each).
108,791
affordable homes
A modest new affordable home (~$150k each).
181,319
doctor-years of salary
One doctor employed for a full year (~$90k).
296,704
nurse-years of salary
One nurse employed for a full year (~$55k).
362,638
teacher-years of salary
One teacher employed for a full year (~$45k).
815,937
university scholarships
A full one-year university scholarship (~$20k).
1,359,895
hospital beds for a year
Running one hospital bed for a year (~$12k).
6,799,475
annual pension top-ups
An extra $200/month for a pensioner for a year.
27,197,900
laptops for students
One laptop for a school student (~$600 each).