The number of immigrants entering the UK from Central and Eastern Europe has continued to fall, according to the latest figures.

Provisional numbers from the Office for National Statistics suggest the number of people from these countries fell by a third in the year to June 2009.

There were 68,000 new arrivals from the new European Union states, compared with 100,000 in the year to June 2008.

Overall, the figures show more people entering the UK annually than leaving.

Officials said that just over half a million people came to the UK in the year to June 2009 – and about 370,000 left, meaning a net increase of the population of about 147,000.

The statistics also show that the number of asylum seekers has fallen significantly for the second quarter.

In the three months until the end of 2009, there were 4,765 asylum applications, down 30% on the same period of 2008.

The number of unauthorised migrants who were either deported or voluntarily left the UK in 2009 was 64,750 – about 3,000 less than in the previous year.