Overview of the UK population: January 2021

14th January 2021

Today the Office for National Statistics have released an Overview of the UK population. This includes information on how the population has changed, why it has changed and how it is projected to change into the future.

The main points from the publication are:

In mid-2019, the population of the UK reached an estimated 66.8 million.

The UK population's growth rate from mid-2018 to mid-2019, at 0.5%, was slower than any year since mid-2004.

Between 2016 and 2019, long-term international immigration, emigration and net migration had remained broadly stable.

However, in the year ending December 2019 and the year ending March 2020 (the latest data available), there was an increase in immigration and net migration.

Migration has continued to be the main driver of the UK's population growth since the 1990s.

It is projected that there will be an additional 7.5 million people aged 65 years and over in the UK in 50 years' time.

Latest life expectancy figures show the slowdown in improvements seen since 2011 has continued; life expectancy at birth was 79.4 years for males and 83.1 years for females in the period from 2017 to 2019.

To see the detailed report go HERE