Net migration in Northern Ireland returns to growth

Overall, the population here increased by 6,000 people to 1.91m between July 2021 and June last year

Northern Ireland's migrant population grew slightly in 2022 after two years in which it shrank due to Brexit and Covid-19, official figures suggest.

The number of people coming to live in NI was 27,016, while 24,702 people left - a net gain of 2,314.

In 2020 and 2021, there was net emigration of 3,348 and 403 people respectively.

Overall, the population here increased by 6,000 people to 1.91m between July 2021 and June last year.

Most of the gain was down to natural change, meaning there were 3,800 more births than deaths.

All of the net immigration in 2022 came from outside the UK with a net gain of around 5,000 people, the largest amount of international net migration since 2007.

That was offset by a net loss of 2,700 people moving to other parts of the UK.

Earlier this year analysis by an Ulster University economist suggested that Northern Ireland is experiencing a significant rise in migration from India due to post-Brexit rule changes.

UK law now makes it harder for non-Irish EU nationals to move for low-paid work.

However, liberalisation of the visa system for high-skilled and medical workers is attracting more workers from India and other Asian countries.

Economist Mark Magill analysed national insurance registrations which is one way to estimate migration flows.

They show that in 2022/23, people from India accounted for the largest share of migrant national insurance registrations in Northern Ireland.

There were 3,732 registrations from Indian nationals followed by people from the Republic of Ireland (2,079) and Ukraine (1,569).