How many immigrants are there in the UK?
In the current financial year, officials expect net migration – the difference between those arriving and leaving – to be 240,000. Next year, projected net immigration is 230,000 – and this figure does not fall to the long-term ”assumption” of 190,000 a year until 2012. According to Government projections, immigration will result in an increase in the population of the UK of 6 million in the 27 years from 2004 that is 6 times the population of Birmingham. Immigration (immigrants and their descendants) will now account for 83% of future population growth in the UK. The population projections took account of increased migration resulting from the expansion of the EU but they assumed that total migration flows would rapidly decrease from 255,000 in 2004-5 to just 145,000 in 2007-8. So far there has been no sign of a decrease in immigration from the new EU countries and the accession of Bulgaria and Romania (and possibly other East and Southern European countries) will add to immigration
