Q. How has the UK population grown?
Q. How does the rate of growth compare with the historical trend? Q. How many migrants are entering the UK each year? How many are leaving? Q. What is the net migration into the UK over the last few decades? |
SOURCES
Figure_5__UK_births,_deaths_and_natural_change,_1956_to_2016 Figure_6__UK_emigration,_immigration_and_net_migration,_1991_to_2016 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/overviewoftheukpopulation/july2017 Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Release date: 22 March 2018. Next release: To be announced https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland |
Population Change
Since 1970, the overall population of the UK has gradually increased to 66 million in 2016. |
Throughout the 70's, the overall population remained about the same. Then in the 80's and 90's, the population steadily increased (around 0.2% per year). |
From about 2005, there has been a significant increase in the population growth rate - up to approximately 0.7% per year. |
Net Migration Breakdown
Overall, net migration to the UK has been increasing since the 90's, when the number of people emigrating roughly equalled the number of people immigrating to the country. |
Since 2015, there has been a significant decrease in the number of EU immigrants while the number of non-EU immigrants has significantly increased. Overall, the immigration trend is still increasing. |
Since 2011, there has been a decrease in the number of British people emigrating away from the UK, reaching a low of approx. 40,000 in 2015. |
Population Growth
The trend line from the natural changes graph shows that the growth rate from births minus deaths varies quite a lot, with the highest rate period in the 60's followed by the lowest rate period in the 70's. The population change from net migration graph shows that the growth rate from this has been fairly consistent since 1998, with a steady number being added each year. |
Population Change per Decade