UK Edition
Europeans are leaving England but continuing to live in Remain-voting Scotland and Northern Ireland, Government data has shown.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) data on the population of the UK by country of birth and nationality, which covers the year ending June 2020, reveals that England experienced different trends to the rest of the UK, accounting for overall decreases in the non-UK and non-British populations from the previous year.
The ONS said this was largely "because of reductions in the population of individuals from the EU".
England also experienced a fall in the non-EU population. Residents born in non-EU countries reduced by 114,000 to 5.2 million, but a rise in the non-EU born population was seen in Wales and Scotland while Northern Ireland remained stable.
During the 2016 European Union referendum, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU, while England and Wales voted Leave.
Researchers found that for the year ending 2019 to 2020, the population of EU-born individuals in England reduced from 3.23 million to 3.03 million. The figures for Scotland rose from 238,000 to 240,000, and a similar rise was seen in northern Ireland – from 89,000 to 90,000. The numbers for Wales also increased, from 78,000 to 83,000.
The ONS data also shows that in mid-2020, the non-UK-born population was 9.2 million and the non-British population was 6.0 million.
Both these figures decreased by 246,000 and 231,000 respectively from the previous year, following a period of relative stability since 2017.
The ONS also found that Polish has continued to be the most common non-British nationality and that India is still the most common non-UK country of birth.
London remains the region with the largest proportion of non-UK born (35 per cent) and non-British (21 per cent) population.