Migration statistics

We are working together with the Government Statistical Service to transform the statistics that we produce for migration. Information on this work can be found on the Office for National Statistics migration pages.

Internal migration

Internal migration is usually measured by residential moves between different geographic areas within the UK, sourced from a combination of the NHS Patient Register, the NHS Central Register and the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The Office for National Statistics publishes internal migration estimates alongside the annual mid-year population estimates, including detailed estimates by origin and destination. Data for internal migration in Wales are also available on the StatsWales website.

International migration

International migration is a complex issue and to fully understand it, a range of information needs to be considered. Estimates are based mainly on data from the International Passenger Survey as there is no compulsory system to record international migration to and from the UK aside from for non-EU immigration, which is recorded in visa data. It is necessary to use a combination of different sources in order to produce international migration estimates. This includes administrative data from the Home Office and Higher Education Statistics Agency for example. 

The Office for National Statistics publishes a quarterly report of the latest official long-term international migration estimates. Data for international migration in Wales is also available on the StatsWales website.

Migration and employment

We have also published statistics relating to migration and employment to support the Welsh Government’s work on migration post-Brexit. These bring together information from a number of sources in relation to non-UK nationals resident in Wales and their employment.

Further information

Please note that these are not regular publications and that any future updates will also be published on this page.