Number of migrants in England increases by half a million in in three years

New research suggests London has seen the biggest increase

Almost two thirds of these 565,000 migrants were from countries within the EU (Getty)

The number of migrants living in England has increased by more than half a million since 2011, new research suggests.

Almost two thirds of these 565,000 migrants were from countries within the EU, the analysis by University of Oxford’s Migration Observatory found.

London has seen the biggest increase in migrants, with almost 200,000 more estimated to live in the capital last year, compared with 2011.

The South East of England saw the second-highest increase of 79,000. Meanwhile, the smallest rise was in the North East where an extra 26,000 migrants are projected to have arrived since 2011.

The figures were created by using data from the 2011 Census and official Labour Force Survey statistics. Researchers stress the numbers are based on estimates, not counts.

Researchers said the projections give a more up-to-date picture of the migrant populations across England than the 2011 Census ahead of the General Election in May. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics will not be released until June.

Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory, said the study was done to provide a resource for people looking to understand the demographics of migration before the election.

She said: "These data show how different local experiences of migration have been across the UK.

"There are large variations in the size of migrant populations, as well as the share that come from EU countries."