London’s global reach and influence is shaped in part by the many migrants who visit, live and work in the city. Though London draws residents from all over the world most still come from the EU and regions with which we have strong historic ties – Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa rather than South America and Eastern Asia.

Overseas students are a particularly important class of visitors to London, through whom it exercises much of its soft power. Because they are young, the city is likely to have a formative impact on them, and because they have been highly educated they are likely to become powerful.

Number of all people born outside the UK and living in London