Population Estimates For The UK, England, Wales, Scotland And Northern Ireland: Mid-2021

22nd December 2022

The UK population at mid-year 2021 was estimated to be 67.0 million, an increase of 3.7 million (5.9%) on the population in mid-2011.

Over the 10 years between 2011 and 2021, the population of England increased by 6.5% to an estimated 56,536,000, the highest rate of the four countries of the UK; the estimated population of Northern Ireland increased by 5.0% to 1,905,000, Scotland by 3.4% to 5,480,000, and Wales by 1.4% to an estimated 3,105,000.

The mid-2021 population estimates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are based on the 2021 censuses for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

For Scotland, the mid-2021 population estimates are rolled forward from mid-2020, as Scotland's census was moved to 2022 because of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; this means that population estimates based on Scotland's Census 2022 are not yet available.

The UK population at mid-2021
We estimate the UK population in mid-2021 to be 67.0 million (67,026,292). This is an aggregate of the estimates for the four constituent countries. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland these are the first mid-year population estimates based on the 2021 censuses for these countries. For Scotland the mid-2021 population estimates were rolled forward from mid-2020 as the census in Scotland took place in March 2022, a year later than the rest of the UK, because of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The mid-2021 population estimates are primarily based on the 2021 censuses (for England and Wales, and Northern Ireland). The usual resident population as at Census day (21 March 2021), by single year of age, is aged on to 30 June 2021 and then births, deaths and migration are accounted for.

Censuses provide the most accurate estimate of the population and therefore the reliability of mid-year estimates is very high immediately following a census. The figures will be revised in the next two years to include updated estimates for Scotland, incorporating the 2022 Census for Scotland. We will also incorporate revisions to international migration data as we continue our transformation of population and migration statistics.

Population change for UK countries
All four countries of the UK saw population increases in the decade between mid-2011 and mid-2021. Table 1 shows the populations and summary statistics for each country of the UK. The highest percentage increase was in England where the population increased by 3.4 million, a rise of 6.5% between 2011 and 2021. Northern Ireland saw the next highest percentage increase of 5.0%, followed by Scotland at 3.4% and Wales at 1.4%.

Overall, England had the highest population density of the four countries of the UK at mid-2021. However, this includes a wide variation within England, where the population density in London was 5,596 people per square kilometre (km) and the South West was 240 people per square km.

The median age of the population in the UK was 40.7 years in mid-2021, a year higher than in mid-2011. The increase in median age over the decade was highest in Northern Ireland, though at 39.8 years, this was still the lowest of the countries in the UK. Wales had the highest median age at 43.1 years.

Much more detail can be found at
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2021