More people are moving to Wales from the rest of the UK than leaving, according to new HMRC data
Wales has attracted more taxpayers from the rest of the UK than it has lost every year since 2016, according to new analysis published today by HM Revenue and Customs.
The data, which covers the movement of individuals with taxable income between Wales and the rest of the UK from 2010-11 to 2022-23, shows net inward migration to Wales grew steadily from around 600 people a year before 2016 to a peak of approximately 8,500 in 2021-22.
The most recent year in the dataset, 2022-23, recorded net inward migration of approximately 5,500 — down from the peak but still significantly above pre-2016 levels.
In the same year, the income carried into Wales by people moving from the rest of the UK exceeded the income carried out by those leaving by approximately £150 million.
The HMRC analysis says both Scotland and Wales saw unusually large increases in net inward migration during the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and that the figures have cooled since.
Before 2016, Wales recorded net inward migration of between around 200 and 1,500 people a year, with some years showing net outflows.
The dataset was built at the request of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government to help understand how people with taxable income move between the nations of the UK.
HMRC says the data covers only individuals with taxable income recorded in consecutive years and does not represent total migration to and from Wales.
The report says it is not possible from this data alone to draw conclusions about what has driven the increase in net migration to Wales, noting that factors unrelated to tax policy may have contributed.
Wales introduced its own rates of income tax in 2019-20 but has not changed the rates, which remain identical to those in England.
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