Britain has seen the highest increase of migrant arrivals in 2023 – more than any other major economy, statistics show.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found that 746,900 new “permanent-type” migrants moved to the UK last year.
Families made up the bulk of the arrivals, with students and Ukraine refugees not included in the count.
In 2022, the figure was 488,400, meaning last year the number rose by 52.9 per cent.
Britain has seen the highest increase of migrant arrivals in 2023 – more than any other major economy
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This hike is the highest for the world’s richest nations in the OECD. Only South Korea, a member of the group, had a rise comparable to the UK. The Asian nation saw a spike of 50.9 per cent from 2022 to 2023.
In third place was Australia, with a 39.7 per cent increase.
Only the US welcomed more people last year, with 1.2million moving to America. Despite the UK being five times smaller population wise than the US, its net migration was only 500,000 higher.
The OECD analysis also showed that the number of immigrants has more than doubled compared to pre-pandemic days, rising by 110 per cent from 2019 to 2023.
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Governments are trying to curb the number of migrants making the crossing GettySir Keir Starmer promised in his manifesto to get a grip on immigration, stating that “the overall level must be properly controlled and managed”.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The PM has been clear that migration has been far too high in recent years and needs to come down. We have a clear plan to deliver this.”
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, said the “exploding population” was the largest burden on the country currently.
He said: “In six of the last eight quarters, where levels of legal migration were [at] record [levels] in the history of these islands, GDP per capita went down. Mass immigration is making us poorer.
“If you are a large employer, a big multinational, that is great. For everybody else, that is not working at any level.”
The number of small boat migrants crossing the English Channel is likely to hit 40,000 by the end of the year, according to maritime security sources.
Over 30,000 illegal migrants have made the journey so far
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Almost 33,000 have now made the illegal journey so far this year, up 22 per cent already from this time last year.
One maritime security source said there had been no slow down in the numbers making the dangerous journey.
He added: “October was the busiest month on record since October 2022, and it’s clear the criminal gangs are prepared to push small boats out into the water whenever it’s just about manageable weather-wise.
“A year back, we weren’t really seeing as many attempts to launch boats when the weather in the Channel was poor.
“And that’s now being reflected in the significantly increased number of small boat rescues and migrant deaths.”