Migration Observatory
Clear explanations of UK migration research.
Make sense of migration
A question at a time.
Make your guessGo straight to the evidence ↗
Of 100 people who claimed asylum in the UK…
How many had arrived by small boat?
Year ending June 2026 · Main applicants and dependants
100 people, illustrated
0100
Choose a number or move the slider. This is your guess, not a published figure.
The published share
Home Office · Year ending June 2026 ↗This groups people by when they claimed asylum, not when they arrived.
Home Office · Original statistics ↗Illustration of the published, rounded share.
Start with a question
Try it on the news →What is net migration?
Arrivals minus departures.
3 min readIs a visa the same as an arrival?
Permission and movement are different counts.
3 min readDo asylum and small-boat totals overlap?
One person can appear in both.
3 min readWhat makes a claim checkable?
The measure, place, period and source.
4 min readWhat does local data tell you?
Who lives somewhere, and when.
3 min readWhy do the figures change?
New information can revise an estimate.
3 min readKeep exploring
Good places to read, listen and go deeper.
Explore ↗
The Migration Oxford Podcast
Researchers in conversation about migration and borders.
World of Migration
Migration policy and people, around the world.
ONS migration statistics
The original estimates of arrivals and departures.
Home Office immigration tables
The tables behind visas, asylum and border statistics.
Commons Library immigration briefings
Short research briefings on policy and statistics.
Full Fact on immigration
Specific claims examined, with evidence attached.
UNHCR Refugee Data Portal
Refugees, displacement and asylum across countries.
World Migration Report
The wider picture, through research and interactive data.
World Migration Interactive Education Toolkit
Activities and teaching materials to explore the subject.
No resources match.