Overview
- Official ONS figures show the UK population was about 69.5 million in mid‑2025, rising by 227,665 over the year for an annual growth rate of 0.33%.
- Net international migration fell sharply from an estimated 651,700 in the year to mid‑2024 to about 222,900 in the year to mid‑2025, making migration the main driver of recent population change.
- Births dropped to roughly 652,400, the lowest in more than 40 years, while deaths were about 647,500, so natural change added only about 4,900 people in the year to mid‑2025.
- The four UK nations diverged: England recorded a small rise, Scotland and Northern Ireland showed almost no growth, and Wales experienced a year‑on‑year population decline.
- Revised ONS projections published earlier this year bring forward expected population peaks — the UK peak is now projected around 72.5 million in 2054 — with implications for labour supply, public services and regional planning if current trends continue.