FOI ref: FOI-2024-2043

You asked

In 1997 Hong Kong was handed back, was the population change taken into account in the figures of the succedent years for the UK?

We said

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request about population change after 1997. 

The census is undertaken every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. The census asks questions about usual residents, their household and their home. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of the society of the UK. The UK census is not completed in Hong Kong.

Net migration of non-EU citizens increased after 1997 and peaked in 2004. It declined sharply in 2005, and saw a further steady decrease between 2010 and 2013. However, the latest provisional estimates show an increase in net migration of non-EU citizens to 168,000 in the year ending June 2014.  

International migration: a recent history provides further information. 

The latest long-term international immigration, emigration and net migration flows, provisional details estimates for UK immigration, emigration and net migration, year ending June 2012 to year ending December 2023.