migration

Making sure Census 2031 reflects modern society

Categories: Census, Data, Housing, migration, ONS, Population, UK Statistics Authority
Lincoln Cathedral lit up purple during the census

Once a decade, the census provides us with the unique opportunity to ask questions of the whole population of England and Wales. The information gathered from this monumental exercise is vital for the functioning of our society. But planning for a census is many years in the making. As Jason Zawadzki explains, first and foremost we need to ensure the topics we ask about reflect the needs of our users and meet the wider needs of society.

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Global journeys: estimating international migration

Categories: Data, migration, ONS, Population

Migration is one of the most talked about issues in the UK today—and at the ONS, our job is to measure it. In our next Bringing Data to Life webinar, taking place on Tuesday 22 July from 4pm to 5pm, we’ll take you behind the numbers to show exactly how we estimate international migration, what the latest data are telling us, and why the figures sometimes change.  

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What’s driving the fall in net migration?

Categories: migration, ONS, Population
Arrivals to a UK airport at border control

Following policy changes, there was a record fall in net migration in 2024. With fewer people arriving on work and study-related visas and emigration returning to pre-pandemic levels, net migration is at the lowest level seen since 2021. Mary Gregory looks in more detail at the latest estimates and considers the impact of falling migration on wider ONS statistics.

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Working to improve estimates of EU and British international migration

Categories: migration, Office for National Statistics, ONS, Population
Arrivals to a UK airport at border control

Since accelerating the move from travel survey findings to administrative data gathered by government bodies, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been continuously improving the way it estimates long term international migration. This transformation and continued development of methods has contributed to the revisions seen in recent times. Here Mary Gregory updates on the latest work to provide a more detailed picture of EU and British international migration.

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