Migrant numbers in Scotland since 2009: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
The number of immigrants Scotland has received since 2009 and how many of these remained in Scotland and did not move elsewhere within the UK or beyond.
Response
From July 2009 to June 2018, an estimated 332,900 people have migrated to Scotland from overseas.
Over this time, an estimated 196,200 people left Scotland for overseas, meaning the net increase from overseas migration was 136,700 people. These figures also include British nationals moving to and from areas overseas (Source: Migration Statistics, NRS). See table attached for more information about migration to and from Scotland.
In terms of your question about retention of people moving from overseas, we are unable to provide any further information on this as the data sources we have access to for migration within the UK do not have any variables on citizenship, country of birth or when someone first entered the UK.
It is also worth noting that there are currently (from the latest statistics for the year ending December 2018) an estimated 469,000 people living in Scotland who were born overseas, meaning that they moved to Scotland at some point in their lives (Source: Population by Country of Birth and Nationality, 2018, NRS/ONS).
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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