The movement of a person across an international border or within a state, settling for more than one year - sometimes voluntary, sometimes not, by regular or irregular means.
It's a simple definition but one of the hottest political topics around the world. It probably always has been, as a vital part of the human story.
In the UK, opinion surveys suggest the salience of the issue and opposition to immigration has declined since the Brexit referendum.
But the numbers of migrants into the UK have soared since the pandemic, fueling concerns about the effect on public services and the need for more housing.
Scottish political parties approach the issue differently, due to demographic pressures to replace working age Scots as they age. Some argue there should be a different and more welcoming approach, controlled from Holyrood.
What is 'net migration'?
The immigration count is the number of people in a year who come to the UK, intending to stay for at least a year. The emigration number covers those who leave for at least a year. Arrivals minus departures equals net migration.
It's not always that way round. Scotland's story is more often about net emigration. That only changed this century, through free movement within the European Union.
In 2019, the net UK figure was 184,000. Last year it was 685,000, according to the Office for National Statistics, slightly down from the record high of 764,000 in 2022.
The 2023 figure counted 1,218,000 arrivals, and 532,000 emigrants from the UK.
Why have numbers soared?
It's not Europeans. They're more likely to be going home. Last year, 202,000 EU citizens left the UK, while 126,000 EU citizens arrived.
Of arrivals, 1,000,031, or 85%, were from outside the European Union. Some 61,000 were British citizens, many of them coming home after being immigrants somewhere else.
Many have come in recent years from Hong Kong and Ukraine, though the number of these declined last year.
Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw4y7p8gx37o
