Tuesday, December 12, 2006

5.5m Britons 'opt to live abroad'

Almost one in 10 British citizens is living overseas, according to a study of people coming in and out of the UK.

Studies by the Institute for Public Policy Research indicate that at least 5.5m British-born people live abroad.

Figures suggest the rate of departure has been so great that population falls are only masked by immigration.

The study found 5.5 million expat Britons - a number that rises to six million if those who live or work part of the year abroad are included. Taken together, they represent approximately 10% of British citizens. Until now, tentative government estimates of expats had ranged from 4.5 million to 14 million.

The most popular destinations for British exats are:

Australia 1,300,000
Spain 761,000
United States 678,000
Canada 603,000
Ireland 291,000
New Zealand 215,000
South Africa 212,000
France 200,000

There's a full overview here.

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