Romanian the second most common non-British nationality in the UK

Romanian has consolidated its place as the second most common non-British nationality in the UK thanks to a 21 per cent jump in nationals in just 12 months.

An estimated 433,000 Romanians were living in the UK in the year to June, new figures show.

This is up 75,000 on the previous 12 months – the largest increase for any country.

Polish remains the most common non-British nationality, with an estimated 985,000 Poles in the UK.

Is it the first time the number of Poles has dipped below one million since the EU referendum.

Romania is in second place followed by India (374,000 nationals), the Republic of Ireland (337,000) and Italy (292,000).

Data on nationality is published twice a year by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The previous figures, released in May, were the first to show Romania in second place.

The latest report shows a slowing down in the year-on-year increases in the number of non-British nationals living in the UK.

The total for the 12 months to Junewas 6.2 million, up from 6.1 million in the previous 12 months – a rise of just 0.4 per cent.

This is a much smaller increase than that recorded between July 2015-June 2016 and July 2016-June 2017, when the number rose by 4.6 per cent.

London has the largest proportion of non-British nationals, with the highest numbers in the local authorities of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster (both 33.1 per cent) and Hounslow (32.1 per cent).

The highest proportions outside London are Boston (29.4 per cent), Forest Heath (26.6 per cent) and Cambridge (25.4 per cent).

Some 3.7 million of the 6.2 million non-British nationals living in the UK in the year to June held EU nationality.

EU nationals make up 12.6 per cent of London’s population, compared with 2 per cent in north-east England.

The ONS data is based on a survey of households and does not cover most people living in communal establishments, some NHS accommodation, or students living in halls of residence who have non-UK resident parents.

Separate figures show the number of people living in the UK who were not born in this country, which is different to non-British nationals, was 9.4 million in the year ending June, up slightly from 9.3 million in the previous 12 months.