Introduction
This report is one of a collection covering Jersey’s population at the end of 2025. The statistics are produced using linked administrative data, which is information held by public authorities for delivering services.
Additional population and migration statistics can be found in the related reports:
Linked administrative data provides timely, wide-ranging evidence of individuals accessing services in Jersey and is used to determine whether someone was resident or not at specific points in time. More information on the methods used is available in the Methodology and quality report.
Things you need to know
Nationality statistics are based on self-declared information recorded by Employment, Social Security and Housing (ESSH). Proof of nationality is not always required or provided, so where nationality is recorded, it reflects what the person has declared.
The data does not differentiate between those with Jersey or British nationality and so these nationalities are reported together. Similarly, Portuguese and Madeiran are reported together as Portuguese or Madeiran.
This report includes all people aged 16 and over. Numbers in last year’s report only included people aged 20 and over and are therefore not comparable to the numbers in this report.
Where this report refers to ‘adults’, it means people aged 16 years and over, and where it refers to ‘children’ it means people aged under 16 years. There were 89,270 adult Jersey residents at the end of 2025, compared to 15,220 children.
Work permits in this report are based on Jersey Customs & Immigration Service (JCIS) data. This includes long-term work permits, temporary work permits, and dependant visas for partners and children of those with a long-term work permit.
People with temporary work permits must take regular short periods of absence from the Island and their time spent in Jersey does not count towards eligibility for indefinite leave to remain or Entitled for work status. The current population modelling methodology treats recurring temporary work permit holders as continuously resident between these absences and they are therefore not repeatedly counted as emigrants and immigrants. However, this continuous residency is not counted when estimating their residential and employment status.
Residential and employment statuses in this report are based on Employment, Social Security and Housing (ESSH) data, but have been adjusted by Statistics Jersey to better reflect probable eligibility. These adjusted statuses may differ from the status recorded by ESSH, as people do not always request an updated status when they become eligible.
The data does not differentiate between those with Permanent Entitled and Entitled and so these statuses are reported together. Similarly, it does not differentiate between Licensed and Licensed lease only and so these are reported together too. This report also includes numbers for Registered status, which was renamed to Standard status following an update to the law on 14 September 2026.
The statistics in this report are in the testing phase and are classified as experimental statistics and are therefore not Tier 1 statistics.
Numbers have been rounded independently. As a result, year-on-year changes may not match the difference between the rounded current and previous numbers, and totals may not equal the sum of the rounded parts.
Main points
- Between 2020 and 2025, the non-European adult population rose by 3,570 (177%) from 2,020 to 5,590, while the European (excluding Jersey or British) population fell by 1,590 (9%) from 16,820 to 15,240.
- The largest percentage increases between 2020 and 2025 were among the Kenyan (1,065%) and Filipino (367%) nationalities, partly reflecting their small populations in 2020.
- Net migration among the non-European population was +500 in 2025, over four times higher than in 2020, following a sharp rise from 2021.
- After Brexit, residents with temporary work permits increased from 80 at the end of 2020 to 1,890 at the end of 2025, mostly among those with non-European nationalities.
- The total population has increased by 1,000 between 2020 and 2025; however, when excluding those on temporary work permits, it has decreased by 810.
- Almost all temporary work permit holders had Registered status (99%), accounting for 35% of the Registered population in 2025.
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Population by self-declared nationality
Adult population by self-declared nationality
Between 2020 and 2025, among adults:
- the most notable change was for non-European nationalities, which increased by 3,570 (177%)
- the number of people with Jersey or British nationalities remained stable
- those with European nationalities (excluding Jersey or British) fell by 1,590 (9%) in the five-year period
The age and sex profile by nationality
European nationalities in more detail
Portuguese or Madeiran was the largest non-Jersey or British nationality in Jersey, with 8,040 adults at the end of 2025. This was larger than the remaining European nationality groups shown combined, despite falling by 9% since 2020.
The Polish population was the next largest, at 2,380 people, and fell by 15% over five years. The Romanian population fell by 16% to 1,080 and the French population fell by 12% to 520 people.
Irish was the third largest non-Jersey or British nationality, with 1,750 people in 2025, similar to five years earlier.
The population of these European nationalities began decreasing at different times. The number of people with Portuguese or Madeiran, or Romanian nationalities increased until 2019 and then began to decrease, while the Polish population has fallen at a steady rate since at least 2017.
Non-European nationalities in more detail
Filipino was the largest non-European nationality in Jersey, with 1,040 adults at the end of 2025. This population increased by 810 people (367%) over five years.
Kenyan was the next largest population, with 940 people. This was also the fastest growing nationality, having increased by 860 people (1,065%) since 2020.
The large percentage increases for Filipino and Kenyan nationalities partly reflect their small populations in 2020.
South African, Zimbabwean and Indian were the next largest populations in 2025, each increasing by 48%, 126%, and 225% since 2020. Other non-European nationalities have more than doubled over the same period.
Most of these populations began increasing particularly after 2020, when the UK left the EU. The exception to this was the South African population, which has been increasing steadily since 2017.
Adult population by self-declared nationality and residential and employment status
In 2025, around 95% of Portuguese or Madeiran and Polish residents had Entitled or Entitled for work status, up from 84% and 81% respectively in 2020.
Among Romanian residents, the proportion with Registered status fell from 43% in 2020 to 12% in 2025, mainly as people moved to Entitled for work status and partly due to net outward migration.
The South African population had the highest proportion with Licensed status out of any nationality in 2025 (33%), up from 27% in 2020.
Most Kenyan and Filipino residents had Registered status in 2025 (84% and 64% respectively), reflecting recent arrivals to groups that were much smaller five years earlier.
The status profiles of Irish and French residents remained relatively similar over the five-year period.
Factors contributing to population change by self-declared nationality
The population of each nationality is mainly affected by migration. While people can change their self-declared nationality, for example by becoming naturalised as British citizens, this is not as common as people migrating.
Net migration by self-declared nationality
People moving to Entitled for work status by self-declared nationality
A large proportion of people moving to Entitled for work status between 2017 and 2025 had a European nationality. The number peaked at 690 in 2020 and was 330 in 2025.
In 2025, there were 340 people with Jersey or British nationality that moved to Entitled for work status, similar to five years earlier. These were likely to be people with British nationality born outside of Jersey.
Fewer people with non-European nationality moved to Entitled for work status between 2017 and 2025, although the 2025 figure of 90 was higher than five years prior.
People moving to Entitled status by self-declared nationality
Between 2017 and 2025, similar numbers of people with Jersey or British and European nationalities moved to Entitled status. In 2025, there were 640 adults with a European nationality moving to this status.
For Jersey or British nationality, the equivalent figure was 560. These were likely to be adults with British nationality born outside of Jersey.
Fewer people with non-European nationality moved to Entitled status over this period, with 70 people moving in 2025.
Population by work permit type
This section uses data from Jersey Customs and Immigration Service (JCIS) to analyse people living in Jersey with work permits.
Work permits are issued to people who need immigration permission to work in Jersey. They are different from residential and employment statuses, which affect access to housing and employment.
The statistics in this section distinguish between three main types of immigration permission:
- Long-term work permits – allow people to live and work in Jersey for longer periods, and allow them to bring dependants provided those dependants are granted dependant visas
- Temporary work permits – allow people to live and work in Jersey for shorter periods, usually up to nine months, but they cannot bring dependants
- Dependant visas – allow partners or children of long-term work permit holders to live and work in Jersey (they do not need a separate work permit)
Adult population by work permit type
The work permit policy was expanded after Brexit, when it became more challenging to employ EU nationals. New routes for temporary and skilled workers were introduced so employers could recruit from across the world.
The total population has increased by 1,000 between 2020 and 2025. However, when excluding those on temporary work permits, it has decreased by 810.
The working age population has decreased by 200 between 2020 and 2025. However, when excluding those on temporary work permits, it has decreased by 2,010.
People with temporary work permits must take mandatory periods away from Jersey before they can return, and their time spent in Jersey does not count towards qualifying for indefinite leave to remain or Entitled for work status.
Population by work permit type and residential and employment status
While the total population with Registered status has increased slightly since 2021, an increasing number also have temporary work permits.
The number without a temporary work permit has decreased since 2021. This means that fewer people among the Registered population could feasibly gain Entitled for work status than before Brexit.
Adult population by work permit type and self-declared nationality
Revisions
The population estimation method requires 12 months of activity data after the reference date to help distinguish between individuals who have left the Island and those who remain resident but have limited recent activity. This introduces considerable lag in publishing accurate population and migration estimates.
Provisional population and migration estimates are therefore produced for the prior year with a reduced set of activity data to provide more timely information. These provisional estimates will be revised and replaced with final estimates in the following year’s report, when the full set of data has become available.
More information about provisional estimates and the revisions policy can be found in the Methodology and quality report.
Data sources and methods
Population and migration estimates are produced annually using linked administrative data. The latest of these estimates are for the year 2025.
Administrative data is data collected by the government for the purposes of running services such as education, health, and social security benefits.
For detailed information on how population estimates are calculated from linked administrative data see the latest Methodology and quality report.
Additional population and migration statistics can be found in the related reports:
Downloadable datasets for these statistics are available on Open Data.