Migration is largely responsible for population growth in the UK according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
There was a 1% increase in total population in the UK, despite the country’s death rate surpassing the birth rate for the first time since 1976.
With more than a million people migrating to the UK, the overall net migration figure this past year was 677,300.
Healthcare assistant Abhishek Pandey moved from India to the UK as despite studying health and social care he was forced to labour in a factory due to the unstable economic climate.
Abhishek Pandey said: “Every day I imagine what my life would have been if I didn’t make the decision to leave India where I was making only 50p a day.
“There was nothing, I had no choice but to work painfully long hours in a sweat shop with brutal conditions.”
This was Abhishek’s reality before he, along with 1,185,600 other people, immigrated to the UK this year.
This resulted in a net migration of 677,300 people, which accounted for the overall population growth of 1% from 67,602,800 people in 2022 to 68,265,200 people in 2023.
The spike in international migration figures happened immediately after the COVID pandemic, as travel restrictions were lifted and has continued to increase at a proportional rate.
At the promise of better opportunity, Abhishek decided to peruse a life in the UK where he moved in with a relative in Southall, Ealing.
London has one of the highest rates of immigration settlement and Ealing saw a 1.4% rise in immigration in 2023.
Like many other boroughs in London, Ealing has observed a steady rise in its population, with the spotlight shining brightly on international immigration.
India was recorded as the top non-EU national country for long term immigration into the UK.
In the year ending (YE) December 2023 250,000 people immigrated according to statistics by HM Revenue and Customs.
Asia was the continent where most immigrants moved from as alonside India, China was also in the top three behind Nigeria.
The number of people migrating from India grew from 72,000 in 2019 to 250,000 in 2023, more than tripling between this period.
According to a survey by Home Office figures on ‘Reasons for International migration’ (LINK) people arriving long-term on work-related visas is now the most common reason for non-EU immigration.
Furthermore health and social care the most common employment sector.
Immigration lawyer, Richard Boateng said “I see hundreds of applications per day, people are in search of greener pastures and a better quality of life.
“Many foreign countries are monopolized and in severe economic crisis, this could be due to war, poverty, or simply just a poor political ecosystem.”
He described how international immigrants are eager not only to work but to create a better future.
The UK is currently going through a demographic transition and the increase of international immigration may aid it from becoming an ageing population.
An ageing population would put pressure on many systems including, health and social services.
Nursing home manager Demi Cato said: “We have an immense demand for healthcare workers, international immigrants with the right qualifications help ease this pressure, there is less strain and burden when there are more people employed.”
In the future, legislators may face demands to provide more health and social care while services such as health and pensions could be underfunded by fewer future taxpayers.
Predictions by ONS suggest the UK may continue to be reliant on immigration to mitigate the potential decline in the working age population.
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