In the UK, an ‘Alarming’ Brain Drain
Almost two million more British citizens are leaving the country than coming in. Will that slow the AI movement?
For many decades, the United Kingdom was a place where British people hoped to spend their entire lives. And even those who worked outside of Britain. whether in temporary or long-term assignments, tended to come back home. But according to new data, the tide is turning fast.
Between 2021 and 2025, there’s been a net outflow of 1.9 million British citizens from the UK, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That’s 100,400 native Brits per year, or a loss of 1% of the population every decade, a figure which is exacerbated by the dying-out of the country’s older generations. Between 1991 and 2001, net migration in Britain averaged slightly fewer than 50,000 people, or a half of one percent of the entire population. The Centre for Policy Studies, a UK think tank, calls this “an alarming brain drain,” noting that net emigration of British nationals is both “much higher than previously thought, and accelerating.”
Of course, strong immigration has made up for some of the shift. And the UK is just one of several superpowers experiencing some outflows. Still, Britain’s is one of the largest. For instance, the net annual outflow of Americans from the USA is 150,000, which is less than half a percent of the population every decade.
Experts say the UK shift matters because skilled workers such as doctors, entrepreneurs, tech wizards, and others are vital to keep the economy growing. What’s causing this phenomenon is also important. “There is certainly evidence that the UK labor market has weakened,” says Robert McPherson, a London-based Korn Ferry senior client partner. ONS figures show vacancies have fallen substantially since their post-pandemic peak, from 1.3 million in 2022 to 700,000 this past July, which has made more workers consider leaving. “The competition for talent is becoming increasing global,” McPherson says.
The exodus covers several sectors, but its biggest impact may be on AI, in which the country has hopes of becoming a global powerhouse. Even though the government has dedicated over 23.5 billion British pounds ($32 billion USD) to AI, the UK could find itself facing a labor shortage. Domestic UK supply of AI experts is expected to be 137,000 in 2028, but demand could reach 300,000—a deficit of 160,000. “There’s a bit of structural mismatch that we have in the UK,” says Ben Frost, a Korn Ferry senior client partner for EMEA. “There are not enough people in some cases and not enough opportunities in others.”
Experts say UK firms need to offer better training and development opportunities to slow down the exodus. For his part, Frost says degree apprenticeships could be appealing for younger British workers. Currently, far too few such opportunities exist. Between 2024 and 2025, only the UK saw just 353,500 apprentice placements. “It’s as hard to get an apprenticeship as it is to get admitted to Britain’s best universities,” Frost says.
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