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Living overseas statistics
How many Brits are living overseas?
Last updated:
Whether you are looking to relax in a holiday home over summer or live abroad permanently, many Brits are choosing to buy homes overseas. We looked at the statistics to see which countries are the most popular for Brits looking to purchase property overseas. If you’re looking to buy a home abroad, be sure to read our comprehensive guide for everything you need to know.
Quick overview
- A third of Brits living overseas choose to live in Australia or New Zealand.
- 28% of Brits living abroad do so in the United States or Canada.
- A quarter of Brits living overseas have settled down in Europe.
- The most popular European country to live in is Spain, with 293,500 Brits living here.
- 66% of Brits living abroad in the EU are of working age (16-64 years old).
- 26% of Brits living abroad in the EU are over 65 years old, with the remaining 8% being under 15 years old.
Where are we living?
There are Brits living in countries all across the globe, but which destinations are the most popular? Moving “down under” to Australia or New Zealand is the most popular migration destination, with 33% of Brits living abroad doing so in these two countries. Home to 28% of Brits that have moved abroad, the United States and Canada make up the second most popular destinations. Lastly, countries within the EU account for 25.8% of UK migrants.
| Location | Proportion of all UK-born citizens living abroad |
|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | 33% |
| United States of America and Canada | 28% |
| EU | 25.8% |
| All Asian countries | 5.7% |
| All African countries | 2.5% |
| Rest of the World | 5% |
Where in Europe are Brits living?
1 in 4 Brits living abroad are doing so in Europe, but which country is the most popular?
The overwhelming majority of Brits living in Europe do so in Spain, France and Germany. These three destinations account for 69% of British citizens living abroad in Europe. Spain is by far the most popular destination with 293,500 Brits living here – almost as much as the next three most popular destinations combined (294,700 total).
| Location | Number of British citizens resident in country |
|---|---|
| Spain | 293,500 |
| France | 152,900 |
| Germany | 96,500 |
| Netherlands | 45,300 |
| Other EU countries | 196,700 |
Do more Brits emigrate to EU countries than other Europeans?
UN migrant stock data shows which countries migrants from each country choose to live in. This data shows that 25.8% of UK migrants live in another EU country – the lowest figure of all EU countries. In comparison, 56.8% of Spanish migrants emigrate to another EU country, while 49.1% of those in France and 43.8% of those in Germany do the same.
Explore the graphic and table below to see how different EU countries compare.
| Country | Proportion of EU migrants living in another EU country, by country of birth |
|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 89.1% |
| Romania | 86.9% |
| Slovakia | 86.8% |
| Czech Republic | 84.1% |
| Poland | 78.3% |
| Finland | 76.8% |
| Belgium | 76.7% |
| Hungary | 67% |
| Slovenia | 65.8% |
| Lithuania | 63.6% |
| Austria | 62.7% |
| Cyprus | 57.2% |
| Spain | 56.8% |
| Portugal | 52.1% |
| Sweden | 52.5% |
| Denmark | 52.7% |
| Latvia | 52.5% |
| Netherlands | 52.1% |
| Estonia | 49.4% |
| France | 49.1% |
| Italy | 48.1% |
| Greece | 45% |
| Bulgaria | 44.3% |
| Germany | 43.8% |
| Croatia | 39.6% |
| Malta | 33.6% |
| United Kingdom | 25.8% |
Who is living in the EU?
We looked at the latest statistics to see just who exactly is deciding to up sticks and move abroad to live in the EU.
- 66% of Brits living in the EU are 16-64 years old (518,000).
- 26% are aged 65 or over (207,300).
- The remaining 8% are aged 15 or younger (59,600).
- 41% of Brits living in Spain are aged 65 or over.
- Meanwhile in Finland, only 8% of Brits are aged 65 or over, with 88% of British residents living in Finland being 16-64 years old.
| Region | 15 to 64 years | 65 years and over | Less than 15 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 66% | 26.4% | 7.6% |
| Finland | 88.2% | 7.9% | 3.9% |
| Czech Republic | 86.8% | 8% | 5.1% |
| Estonia | 86.1% | 6% | 7.9% |
| Sweden | 82.8% | 11.4% | 5.8% |
| Poland | 82.7% | 8.6% | 8.7% |
| Latvia | 81.9% | 11.1% | 7% |
| Netherlands | 81.7% | 10.4% | 7.8% |
| Romania | 81.7% | 13.6% | 4.7% |
| Hungary | 80.9% | 11.7% | 7.4% |
| Denmark | 80.1% | 12.9% | 7% |
| Slovakia | 79.7% | 7.2% | 13.1% |
| Lithuania | 79.4% | 14.2% | 6.4% |
| Germany | 79.2% | 15.5% | 5.3% |
| Austria | 76.2% | 12.8% | 11% |
| Luxembourg | 75.8% | 7.1% | 17.1% |
| Greece | 75.3% | 19.5% | 5.3% |
| Croatia | 74.5% | 12.1% | 13.4% |
| Belgium | 73.4% | 14.2% | 12.4% |
| Italy | 73.4% | 20.8% | 5.9% |
| Slovenia | 68.5% | 22.5% | 9% |
| France | 67.6% | 19.2% | 13.2% |
| Cyprus | 61.7% | 30.8% | 7.5% |
| Malta | 61.7% | 32.4% | 5.9% |
| Bulgaria | 61.7% | 35% | 3.3% |
| Portugal | 55.9% | 38.8% | 5.3% |
| Spain | 53.9% | 40.7% | 5.5% |
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:
Matt Mckenna
UK Communications Manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
UK Communications Manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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