According to a new study, immigrants to the UK have contributed to the improvement of the UK's public finances as they have given more to the state than they have received.

The international study showed that the net fiscal impact of immigrants was at the level of 0.46 per cent of GDP on an average from 2007-09. Paris-based think tank the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD conducted the study to form an opinion on immigration in various countries in the western world.

"According to recent opinion polls, about 50 per cent of citizens in European countries and in Canada believe that immigrants contribute less in taxes than they receive. are a big burden on the public purse," the study said.

The study pointed out that immigrants were the like the rest of the population in the country and were neither draining the public finances nor representing a significant gain. In the UK, the households with immigrants made higher contribution than others to the public finances.

Data has shown that UK has received the highest number of people fleeing countries most affected by the economic slodown as their numbers rose 45 per cent between 2009 and 2011.