Net migration gain boosts Britain's population by 500 people every day

AS MANY as 1,500 people are coming to work in Britain every day - but 1,000, half of them British citizens, leave the country, official figures have shown.

The British population rose by 500 people a day in 2005 as the number of immigrants outnumbered the total leaving.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the net migration total for last year was 185,000, down from 223,000 in 2004.

Just 91,000 Britons chose to come home, while top destinations for those leaving were Australia, Spain and France.

However, the composition of the working-age population in Scotland is anything but exotic.

Just 5 per cent of Scotland's 16-64-year-olds were born abroad, compared with 35 per cent in London, according to separate figures released yesterday by the national statistician.

While ministers have been keen to impose limits on new EU entrants Bulgaria and Romania, the ONS figures showed the biggest number of immigrants came from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, a net gain of 97,000 in 2005.

Poland contributed the most emigrants to the UK, with India a close second.

Six out of ten migrants from the new EU countries come with a definite job, or for business, compared with just 25 per cent for all other migrants.

The figures also showed the lowest number of asylum seekers coming to the UK since 1991, down to 11,000 from 80,000 five years previously.

Liam Byrne, the immigration minister at Westminster, said workers from the new accession states gave the British economy a 4 billion boost. "Many of these migrants come to take posts in important industries benefiting the UK," he said.

More than 23,000 work permit applications were granted for people in health and medical services.

Ministers and economists agree that the boost in migrant numbers has helped to keep inflation down, while 80,000 jobs remain unfilled.

Danny Sriskandarajah, the director of the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank, said the migration gain was neither surprising nor worrying.

"We have a healthy economy that attracts workers from all over the world, a world-class education system that attracts international students, and the UK has been welcoming hard-working young eastern Europeans," he said.

"The challenge for policy-makers will be to make the most of increased mobility, not pander to reactionary opinion by trying to curb flows."

But thepressure group Migrationwatch UK said the statistics were "dubious", and contrasted them with earlier Home Office data, which showed 205,000 new EU members registered to work in Britain last year.

THE FACTS ON IMMIGRATION

FACT: Britain has a net migration gain of 500 a day: 1,500 foreigners arrive to work for at least a year, while 1,000 people leave daily. The net immigration total was 185,000 in 2005.

FACT: Poland contributed the single biggest number of immigrants last year. About 12 per cent, or 49,000, came to the UK, three times more than in 2004. India was second, with 11 per cent.

FACT: "New Commonwealth" nationals - those from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - accounted for two-thirds of net immigration. Last year, there was a net gain of 97,000 from those countries.

FACT: Previous Home Office data said 205,000 came here to work in 2005 from the eight east European states that joined the EU in 2004. ONS figures claim a net gain of 64,000 east Europeans.

FACT: Half the 380,000 people who left the UK last year were British citizens. The countries they chose to go to in order of popularity were Australia (a fifth went there), Spain and France.

FACT: Only 5 per cent of Scotland's working-age population was born abroad, compared with 35 per cent in London. In 1999, the figures were 3.6 per cent in Scotland and 25.8 per cent in London.