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Push Factors:
Cultural: The UK doesn't have any major cultural push factors, they have very inclusive religious freedom and human rights policies. People from other countries with religious persecution often flee to the UK. For example, refugees from the Middle East who flee due to political unrest or religious persecution often migrate to the UK, where the political climate is stable and they are free to practice whatever religion they chose. The graph to the left represents the total asylum applications in the UK.
Demographic: The demographic of young adults in the UK are being drawn to emigrate out of the UK for the opportunity to work remotely. According to, "Immigrant Invest," it states, "About two-thirds of UK workers are considering moving to other countries to work remotely. Portugal's Cascais tourism board has introduced a campaign to bring a more significant number of Britons to the country through the Digital Nomad Visa to live in Portugal while working remotely for companies or clients outside the country" (10 Most Popular Countries to Move From The UK). Due to their age, a lot of young adults in the UK are constantly searching for better job opportunities, like working remotely, that the UK just can't offer. The graph to the left displays immigration and emigration in and out of the UK. You can see that the emigration rates in the UK are significantly lower than the immigration rates, meaning there aren't many demographic push factors making people leave the UK.
Economic: One economic push factor in the UK is Brexit. According to, "Euronews", "His "sobering" conclusion is that in the final quarter of 2021, GDP (gross domestic product) was 5.2% smaller, investment 13.7% lower, and goods trade 13.6% lower than what they would have been had the UK remained in the EU" (Brexit damage: Is EU exit now hitting UK's economy harder than COVID?). Another article, "The News Statesman," states, "Yesterday (22 June) a report by the Resolution Foundation think tank found that Brexit had damaged the UK's competitiveness, reducing productivity growth and eroding real wage growth" (The UK economy has fallen far behind the EU since Brexit). The graph to the left displays the impact on the UK's economy this year.
Environmental: Adverse weather conditions, such as hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, earthquakes, flooding, and drought. The UK is very prone to flooding, and some people might emigrate out of the country due to this environmental concern. The graph to the left displays funds the UK spends on flooding defense and costal erosion.
Political: Brexit is also a political push factor in the UK. It caused tension between the UK and the European Union. It also decreased the UK's competitiveness and the UK's willingness to trade with more countries. The graph to the left displays the effect Brexit had on UK migration. You can see that migration has declined significantly since the EU referendum.
Pull factors:
Cultural: A cultural pull factor causing people to migrate into the UK is the religious and cultural freedom. People in the UK are free to express themselves in any number of ways. The image on the left displays a festival in the UK celebrating the Chinese New Year.
Demographic: According to, "Brugel," it states, "most foreign citizens arriving in the UK are 20-30 years old, and bring a few children and grandparents with them. While many immigrants are in work, unemployment in the UK is almost at its lowest level in the past four decades" (What is the age profile of UK immigrants?). A demographic pull factor in the UK is job opportunities, this pull factor attracts young adults to the UK. The graph on the left displays the reasons for migrants immigrating into the UK. A great majority of migrants from the EU immigrate into the UK to find work, a large group of migrants from outside of the EU also immigrant into the UK to find work.
Economic: The UK has a variety of job opportunities and resources for people with varying skills and education. According to, "The Migration Observation," it says, "In the year ending September 2015, a majority (71%) of EU citizens coming to the UK for at least one year reported that they were coming for work and a majority (58%) of those people already had a job lined up. People from EU countries tend to have high rates of employment in the UK – a trend driven primarily by people from new EU Member States (Figure 1). In 2015, men born in countries that joined the EU in 2004 or later had a 90% employment rate, compared to 78% among UK-born men, while women from new Member States had a 75% employment rate, compared to 70% among UK-born women" (Pulling power: Why are EU citizens migrating to the UK?). The graph on the left displays UK employment figures.
Environmental: One major pull factor causing people to immigrate into the UK is the climate. It is a very mild climate, as the UK is located on the western seaboard of Europe. It is a country located on the midlatitude, meaning the climate is never too extreme and has a humid temperate oceanic climate, making it an ideal place to live in terms of weather. The two graphs to the left displays the climate in the UK.
Political: The stable political climate in the UK is a major pull factor. Refugees fleeing from war-torn countries might seek sanction in the UK due to its stability, open immigration policies, and many job opportunities. The graph below displays the asylum and refugee resettlement in the UK.
Intervening Obstacles: Intervening obstacles are features that hinder migration.
Cultural: A cultural intervening obstacle can be discrimination in a country and refusal to accept migrants of a certain race, religion, or ethnicity. The UK faces none of this. Another cultural intervening obstacle could be linguistic differences, most people in the UK speak English, Welsh, etc., so if they are receiving migrants from countries with a different native language, there might be a language barrier that could prove to be a potential obstacle. According to, "Office for National Statistics," it is stated that, "Using data from the 2011 Census, we take a closer look at language within England and Wales. Those who reported English (or Welsh in Wales) as their main language accounted for 92.3% of the population, except in London where proportion was much lower. Those who reported another main language accounted for 7.7% of the population, with Polish topping the list of "other" main languages. London and the West Midlands saw the highest percentage of people who could not speak English 'well' or 'at all'" (Language in England and Wales: 2011). The two graphs on the left display the top languages spoken throughout the UK.
Demographic: The UK's current migration policies are very inviting for skilled and talented workers, but it is much more difficult for non-workers to migrate there. When people over retirement age want to migrate into the UK, there can be many obstacles preventing them from doing so, as they are no longer part of the working class. The graph on the left displays the age distribution of the UK's foreign-born population.
Economic: According to, "Cultural and institutional barriers in migration between OECD countries," it states, "...housing transaction costs and a lack of portability of pension rights across countries are all potential obstacles to migration." A lack of funds can be a major obstacle when trying to migrate. Buying a home and migrating to the UK can cost a large sum of money, and not everyone who wants to migrate there can afford it. Even just the visa fees can be around $2,000-$3,000. The graph to the left displays the cost of the application for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. It can reach up to 2,400 pounds.
Environmental: Physical features like mountains, bodies of water, and deserts are all environmental intervening obstacles that can hinder migration. The UK is surrounded by water, this is an environmental intervening obstacle. You can see in the map to the left that the UK is completely surrounded by the ocean.
Political: Quotas and preventative immigration laws are political intervening obstacles. The UK has begun to impose stricter immigration policies due to the sheer amount of migrants immigrating into the UK.
Intervening opportunities: A migrant may choose an alternative destination because of an intervening opportunity.
Cultural: If a migrant is planning on immigrating into a country, but that country had an incident that lead to the questioning of their religious and cultural freedom; that migrant may decide to alter their destination and immigrate into a country with more accepting policies. The UK has very accepting policies, this is one of the reasons why they have such a large quantity of migrants.
Demographic: Young migrants often migrate primarily to find work, if a country that wasn't their original destination has better job opportunities for them, they are likely to change their destination. The UK has this issue, some people decide to migrate somewhere else for the opportunity to work remotely.
Economic: People immigrating into the UK might receive a better job offer somewhere else which could cause them to choose an alternative destination.
Environmental: If people face intervening obstacles like mountains or bodies of water on the way to their destination, they might choose to immigrate somewhere else more convenient. People attempting to seek refuge in the UK with little funds might not be able to afford to take a convenient route there, on an airplane. They might choose an alternative and more convenient destination.
Political: A political intervening opportunity would be a better/more stable political climate in a country that is not the migrant's original destination. They might decide to settle in a country they feel they would be safer, especially if they have already had experience with political violence. The UK has a stable political climate, but as of recently, they have split from the European Union which has caused political and economic issues and might cause potential immigrants to question their decision and change their destination.
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