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Country Resource - United Kingdom
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United Kingdom

GB
  • Population............................................................................68,138,484 (2023 est.)
  • Population growth rate .................................................................0.49% (2023 est.)
  • Birth rate.....................................................10.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Death rate..................................................9.12 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Net migration rate.................................3.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
  • Ethnic groups..............................White 87.2%, Black/African/Caribbean/black British 3%, Asian/Asian British: Indian 2.3%, Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 1.9%, mixed 2%, other 3.7% (2011 est.)

Note: Constituent countries by percentage of total population: England 84.3%, Scotland 8.2%, Wales 4.6%, Northern Ireland 2.8%

CIA World Factbook

Refugees prepare to be resettled in the United Kingdom.
Profile
August 19, 2021

United Kingdom’s Decades-Long Immigration Shift Interrupted by Brexit and the Pandemic

The United Kingdom was once a country primarily of emigration, but in recent decades many more migrants have arrived at its borders than have left. This decades-long transition was interrupted by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and this article describes the inflection point at which the country finds itself.

Recent Activity

Top Ten
December 1, 2009
Buyer's Remorse on Immigration Continues

The global recession has caused countries that once welcomed foreign workers by the tens and hundreds of thousands — particularly Spain — to rethink generous immigration policies as unemployment rates have risen.

Profile
July 21, 2009
United Kingdom: A Reluctant Country of Immigration

Recent immigration to the United Kingdom is larger and more diverse than at any point in its history. This updated profile examines how the global recession is affecting migration flows, the latest immigration and asylum data, and overviews of new immigration and integration policies.

Feature
January 26, 2009
Feedback and Belonging: Explaining the Dynamics of Diversity

The idea of belonging is a powerful lens for examining immigrant integration. Geoff Mulgan of the Young Foundation in the United Kingdom outlines 10 key feedback circuits, including the economy, culture, and physical environment, from which people receive messages about belonging.

Feature
May 10, 2007
The Immigration Legacy of Tony Blair

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who announced his resignation this week, leaves behind an immigration system that has been fundamentally reshaped. As MPI's Will Somerville explains, migration is now "managed" to favor migrants coming for work and study.

Feature
March 1, 2006
Migration, Integration, and Security in the UK Since July 7

The July 7, 2005, suicide bombings in London's transport system were carried out mainly by men born and raised in the United Kingdom. James Hampshire and Shamit Saggar of the University of Sussex explain how subsequent policy discussions are linking immigration issues to UK security concerns.

Top Ten
December 1, 2005
EU Disunion: Immigration in an Enlarged Europe

Only the UK, Ireland, and Sweden have allowed accession-state nationals to work without permits since May 1, 2004 — and hundreds of thousands from Eastern Europe have arrived.

Feature
February 1, 2003
Sangatte Shutdown Signals New Anglo-French Cooperation
New measures by the United Kingdom to control illegal immigration, coupled with France's closure of a center long used as a base for asylum seekers trying to slip into the UK, signal fresh cooperation between London and Paris.

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Reports
March 2014

The Future of Immigrant Integration in Europe: Mainstreaming Approaches for Inclusion

A quiet policy transformation is taking place in Europe, as policymakers increasingly turn to a strategy of "mainstreaming" immigrant integration—seeking to reach people with a migration background through needs-based social programming and policies that also target the general population. This report assesses mainstreaming efforts across government in Denmark, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
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Reports
February 2014

'Donkey Flights:' Illegal Immigration from the Punjab to the United Kingdom

This report, based on an undercover exposé of Punjabi visa agencies by The Sunday Times, sketches one immigration loophole into Europe: so-called “donkey flights” by which Indian migrants obtain a tourist visa for a Schengen-zone country in order to enter the United Kingdom through the back door. Thousands of visa agencies operate in the Punjab region alone, with varying degrees of legality, some having links to criminal smuggling networks across Europe.
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Reports
October 2013

Immigrant Workers and the Workforce Development System in the United Kingdom

This report, the first in a series examining workforce development systems in three countries, focuses on the increasingly employer-led and flexible UK system that operates alongside centralized immigration and employment policies.
Cover cbi Jackson
Reports
September 2012

Parenting Behavior, Health, and Cognitive Development among Children in Black Immigrant Families: Comparing the United States and the United Kingdom

This report focuses on the development of children of Black immigrants in the United States, comparing against the outcomes for their peers in native-born and other immigrant families. It also compares these U.S. children to those in the United Kingdom, where there is a large Black immigrant population but a notably different policy context of reception.

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Reports
May 2012

Building a British Model of Integration in an Era of Immigration: Policy Lessons for Government

This report analyzes developments in UK integration policy over the past 15 years—a period in which immigration levels increased substantially, with the composition of migration flows becoming increasingly temporary and diverse in nature. The analysis focuses on whether or not policy has influenced national identity, integration outcomes, and neighborhood cohesion.

ImmigrantIntegration Austerity Cover
Reports
March 2011

Immigrant Integration in Europe in a Time of Austerity

The global economic downturn and rising debt levels in all European countries have put immigration at the forefront of many debates surrounding public spending. This report presents a diversity of findings with regard to European governments' responses to immigrant integration organization, financing, and programs.

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Reports
October 2010

Migration and Immigrants Two Years after the Financial Collapse: Where Do We Stand?

Immigrants have been disproportionately hit by the global economic crisis that began in 2008 and now confront a number of challenges. The report, which has a particular focus on Germany, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and United States finds that the unemployment gap between immigrant and native workers has widened in many places.

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Reports
January 2010

The UK's New Europeans: Progress and Challenges Five Years After Accession

The enlargement of the European Union has fundamentally changed migration patterns to the United Kingdom. Since May 2004 an estimated 1.5 million workers have moved to the UK from new EU member states. This report looks at the challenges ahead as migration patterns shift across the UK.

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Reports
October 2009

Future Immigration Patterns and Policies in the United Kingdom

The size and characteristics of immigration to the UK have changed significantly. Immigrants are more numerous, more mobile, and more diverse than ever before. This report looks at the differing immigration patterns.

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Reports
October 2009

The Media and Migration in the United Kingdom, 1999 to 2009

The print and broadcast media in the United Kingdom cover only a very narrow range of migration stories, primarily focusing on asylum seekers, refugees, illegal immigrants, and migrant workers. This report discusses the media's reliance on "templates" to frame migration stories, which is often set from the government's agenda on migration.

 

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