In the UK, an ‘Alarming’ Brain Drain
Far more British citizens are leaving the country than are coming in each year. 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 most of 2025, there’s been a net outflow of half a million British citizens and others, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The rate of net migration of UK citizens has nearly tripled from the rate the UK saw between 1991-2021.
The Centre for Policy Studies, a UK think tank, calls the trend “an alarming brain drain.” The group calls the net emigration of British nationals is both “much higher than previously thought, and accelerating.”
The UK isn't the only nation seeing more of its citizens leaving than returning. But experts say the UK shift is particularly important 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 increasingly 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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