UK Immigration: The True £7bn Value of Immigrants to the UK

As the government introduces the new controversial Immigration Bill as new legislation, we take a look at how migrants in the UK benefit the British economy and what the economic arguments are for the increase of migrants. It is a statistical fact that immigration is changing the UK and statistics by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that immigrants are bringing in £7bn more than they cost.

UK Immigration OECD Statistics: Immigrants bring in £7bn net

The mission of OECD is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. In 2004, one in 11 of those living in the UK were born abroad. Today the proportion is one in eight – 12.4%. Statistics also show that some 42% of London’s population was born outside the UK compared to just 5% in the North of England.

In order to get a true picture of the impact of immigration in the UK, you must compare the cost of immigration with the related income – the taxes immigrants pay. Research from OECD shows that immigrants actually bring in £7bn more than they cost. This is the equivalent of a penny off the basic rate of income tax.

Immigrants are 71% Economically More Active than Brits

Research by OECD has also shown that some 71% of foreign nationals in the UK are economically active compared with 67% of UK nationals. It also seems that 38% of non-UK born people in the UK have degrees compared with 30% of UK nationals. Figures show that half of all immigrants hired in the UK are high skilled and this figure is increasing.

Sky News Poll: People who do not know Immigrants Support Crackdown

This week, Sky News has devoted a week of coverage to immigration highlighting the impact of this on the British economy. As part of their coverage, they have conducted a Survation poll which has found that 71% of those who did not know any immigrants supported strong action to crackdown on immigration compared with 58% of those who say they know immigrants well.

The poll also found that 67% of those questioned do not believe that the coalition plans to reduce net migration from non-EU countries goes far enough. The poll of 1,508 adults found that 74% are concerned about the prospect of Romanians and Bulgarians being given complete EU rights to work.

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