More than 5.5 million people from Britain live overseas and leave the country at a rate of around 2,000 a week.
That’s about 1 in 10 of the population, according to an in-depth analysis by think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which carried out the research as part of their Brits Abroad project.
Besides the expats who have made a home in another country, another 500,000 Brits live abroad for part of the year due to work commitments or owning a second home.
LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFESTYLE IN RETIREMENT
Surprisingly, a dive into the statistics reveals two out of three expats leave the UK to pursue their careers, while most of the rest are looking for a better lifestyle in retirement.
Table of contents
Top Destinations For British Expats
Australia and North America are the favoured places for British expats to move to – both with expat populations of 1.3 million.
Sunshine, a laid-back lifestyle, and a cheaper cost of living make retiring in Spain very popular and the next most popular place for UK expats, with a population of 761,000 Brits.
The expat population spreads over 158 countries, with 40 having more than 10,000 Brits living within their borders. Many UK are based in other countries for employment and may return once their contract is over, a popular destination for UK expats to live and work is Dubai, UAE.
The 25 most popular countries for Brits abroad
| Rank | Country | Number of British expats |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 1,300,000 |
| 2 | Spain | 761,000 |
| 3 | United States | 678,000 |
| 4 | Canada | 603,000 |
| 5 | Ireland | 291,000 |
| 6 | New Zealand | 215,000 |
| 7 | South Africa | 212,000 |
| 8 | France | 200,000 |
| 9 | Germany | 115,000 |
| 10 | Portugal | 60,000 |
| 11 | Cyprus | 59,000 |
| 12 | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 55,000 |
| 13 | Pakistan | 47,000 |
| 14 | Singapore | 45,000 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 45,000 |
| 16 | Israel | 44,000 |
| 17 | Netherlands | 44,000 |
| 18 | Thailand | 41,000 |
| 19 | China (including Hong Kong) | 36,000 |
| 20 | Turkey | 34,000 |
| 21 | India | 32,000 |
| 22 | Kenya | 29,000 |
| 23 | Belgium | 28,000 |
| 24 | Barbados | 27,000 |
| 25 | Saudi Arabia | 26,000 |
Who Are All These Brits Abroad?
Brits emigrate for four main reasons, according to the IPPR research.
- Family ties are important for many who have spent a long time in the UK but want to reunite with their relatives and friends in their country of origin
- Lifestyle improvements attract young families and retired expats looking for better weather and a cheaper cost of living for example the Philippines.
- Adventure lures younger expats who decide to live and work abroad for a time to learn new skills and to take part in sports and activities they cannot access in the UK
- Career opportunities and earning more money is the big factor in emigrating for many Brits abroad
The research also concludes many of the expats leaving the UK for abroad are highly skilled workers whose place in the economy is taken by equally skilled expats from other countries.
Two thirds of British expats leave the country to find work.
List of all countries where British expats live
British Expats – Facts And Figures
- One in four British expats in the USA and Canada are pensioners
- 2,500 British expats in North America spend part of the year in Mexico
- Only six British expat pensioners live in Cuba
- Dubai is the most popular expat destination in the Middle East
- Although 26,000 Brits live in Saudi Arabia, most are oil workers and just 142 are pensioners
- Two British pensioners live in Mongolia
- No Brits are listed as living in North Korea
- Three British pensioners have homes on the Pacific island of Tahiti
- More Brits live in Argentina (8,300) than the Falkland Islands (930)
- Mental health laws bar British expats standing as ‘nearest relatives’ for someone living in the UK
Is The Number Of Brits Moving Abroad Growing?
Official figures from the government’s Office for National Statistics lists 407,000 people leaving the UK for overseas.
The ONS says the statistics have broadly stayed the same in recent years after a large jump around 2005.
British emigration since 1991
Table below shows the net migration to the UK, the difference between immigration and emigration.
Paying The State Pension To Expats
The British government pays more than £2 billion yearly in UK State Pension payments to more than a million British expats.
Most State Pensions paid overseas are frozen. That means the government does not uprate the pensions in line with the cost of living each year.
Instead, the pension payments stick at the amount of the first payment for life.
Some expat pensioners do enjoy uprated pensions. They live in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a country with a social security agreement with the UK.
Where the State Pension isn’t frozen
| Austria (E) | Greece (E) | Netherlands (E) |
| Barbados (R) | Hungary (E) | New Zealand (R) |
| Belgium (E) | Iceland (E) | North Macedonia (R) |
| Bermuda (R) | Ireland (E) | Norway (E) |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina (R) | Isle of Man (R) | Philippines (R) |
| Bulgaria (E) | Israel (R) | Poland (E) |
| Canada (R) | Italy (E) | Portugal (E) |
| Chile (R) | Jamaica (R) | Romania (E) |
| Croatia (E) | Japan (R) | Serbia (R) |
| Cyprus (E) | Jersey (R) | Slovakia (E) |
| Czech Republic (E) | Kosovo (R) | Slovenia (E) |
| Denmark (E) | Latvia (E) | South Korea (R) |
| Estonia (E) | Liechtenstein (E) | Spain (E) |
| Finland (E) | Lithuania (E) | Sweden (E) |
| France (E) | Luxembourg (E) | Switzerland (E) |
| Germany (E) | Malta (E) | Turkey (R) |
| Guernsey (R) | Mauritius (R) | USA (R) |
| Gibraltar (E) | Montenegro (R) |
R = Countries with reciprocal social security agreements with the UK
Common Questions about UK Expats
A collection of some of the frequently asked questions relating to where British expats live.
5.5 million people from Britain live overseas and 2,000 a week leave the UK,
Australia is the most popular with 1,300,000 brits living there
26,000 Brits live in Saudi Arabia, most are oil workers and just 142 are pensioners
Related Information
Below is a list of related articles you may find of interest.
Why do you call them expats? They are immigrants.
They are called Ex-Pats (shortform of ex-patriots). They can ONLY be called immigrants in the Country to which they EMIGRATE (where from inside the target Countries perspective they are immigrants , so technically, they could be called Emmigrants (from Britain); So unless you actually live in the target Country, they are emigrees. I emmigrated to Germany as a British Citizen for work 22yrs back (in Germany I could be termed an immigrant but unless you ALSO live in Germany, you cannot use the immigrant title.
Sorry if I bust your bubble but there is more enough evil rhetoric and stigma attached to the term immigrant in the UK, seriously worsened by the Brextremist mentality.
How many of them are white ? They have a problem with people of colour living in the uk… they are very good at making themselves comfortable in other peoples countries. Hi
The British prime minister is of Indian origin and did have a passport from the USA. We don’t like people who illegally flood our shores in boats. We have nothing against people of “colour” who have the same rights as any human and can move where they like. Hold your forked tongue.
Why is it that British people living abroad have no political representation anywhere after 15yrs when many other countries have no such restriction ?
You mean immigrants 🤣🤣jeez the british exceptionalism and superiority complex will never die
Hello Nat
I think this is a misunderstanding on your part.
“Ex-pat” is more of a colloquiallism. A familiar term mostly used within British society by British people. It’s a familiar term to describe British people who have left the UK to live and work abroad.
These people Ex-Pats are still officially classed as Economic Migrants, that is, they have chosen to leave the UK in search of a better standard of living to the one they feel they could achieve if they remained in their own country.
Maybe it’s time you should look at adjusting your thinking and refrain from spewing your anti-Brit rhetoric – “Brit bashing”.
We were not the only Nation out in the world land and resource grabbing and slave trading. What about The French Empire, The Portuguese Empire, The Dutch Empire, Belgian Empire, Russian Empire?? Do you think these empires behaved any differently? Maybe do little research and broaden your knowledge. It’s always the Brits that get accused of their superiority complex but we were not alone. Don’t forget it was the Brits who were at the forefront of the abolition of the slave trade and that Black peoples and nations were also involved in the slave trade.
Many Brits and British international troops (India, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand) fought and laid down their lives on behalf for their “Motherland” under the British flag to free millions of peoples from tyranny and for freedom in the World Wars.
I have travelled widely and I can tell you that although Britain has its problems it is nowhere near as racist as alot of countries …
I feel Martin Vernon is incorrect with his assessment in an earlier comment and of he can’t resist bringing up Brexit as a cause. This also getting tiresome for many Brits. The British people are not dumb. The majority of Brits fully understand the difference between asylum seekers and economic migrants. As a nation we are open to migration and helping asylum seekers – we have a long history of this – the people’s main argument is with our Government and their ineptitude at forward planning and building a good infrastructure and a housing building programme to accommodate both the native British tax payer and the anticipated influx of peoples wishing to seek refuge or seeking a better life. In addition, our Government needs to and has failed to set up and efficient system to check and process these people.
Germany has taken in millions of assylum seekers but little is said about the problems this has caused both Germany and the rest of the EU members because once they get freedom of movement within the EU countries, it puts pressure on housing and infrastructure everywhere.