Six in ten British voters think immigration is piling too much pressure on schools, hospitals and housing – well above the worldwide average.

A study conducted across 22 countries around the globe also revealed widespread alarm that terrorists may be posing as refugees to sneak through border controls.

Pollsters Ipsos MORI found that the UK is one of the countries most worried about the pressure placed on public services by rising immigration levels, with 59 per cent concerned.

Six in ten British voters think immigration is piling too much pressure on schools, hospitals and housing – well above the worldwide average (File photo)

This compares to an average of 50 per cent worldwide.

Some 49 per cent of Britons think there are too many immigrants in the UK, which is in line with most countries worldwide.

Almost four in ten also say immigration has made it harder for native Britons to get a job.

Just 31 per cent of those surveyed in Britain support closing our borders to refugees – but 63 per cent believe terrorists are pretending to be refugees.

Across all of the countries, four in ten say that their country should close its borders to refugees entirely.

Concern about migrants integrating into British society is in line with the global average, with 40 per cent agreeing that most refugees will integrate successfully, while 47 per cent disagree.

Half of Britons – 51 per cent – think that refugees are actually economic migrants instead, while 37 per cent disagree.

On average worldwide, six in ten think terrorists are pretending to be refugees, with more than seven in ten believing this to be the case in Turkey, Russia, India, Hungary, Germany and the United States.

On average, more people say immigration has generally had a negative (45 per cent) rather than positive (20 per cent) effect on their country.

At least six in ten in Turkey, Italy, Russia, Hungary, France and Belgium say immigration has had a negative impact.

Half across the 22 countries say there are too many immigrants in their country.

When it comes to the economy, on average 44 per cent of those polled worldwide think immigration has made it more difficult for home nationals to get jobs.

Bobby Duffy, managing director at Ipsos MORI’s Social Research Institute, said: ‘Immigration is a global issue, with very few countries entirely at ease with current levels, control and the impact of the mass movement of people.

‘None of the 22 countries surveyed have a majority of people saying that immigration has had a positive impact on their country – although there are a very wide range of views within this.

A study conducted across 22 countries around the globe also revealed widespread alarm that terrorists may be posing as refugees to sneak through border controls (File photo)

‘The sense of pressure in countries like Turkey, Italy, Hungary and Russia is particularly clear from the survey.’

He added: ‘Britain has in fact become more positive about many aspects of immigration. This might seem surprising given that the desire to reduce immigration was undoubtedly a key reason for the Brexit vote.

‘But we need to bear in mind that the survey shows that on each individual measure there are still more people who are negative than positive about immigration.’