London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The UK’s population grew by 1% in a year, primarily due to net international migration, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has stated.
The entire population of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland increased from an estimated 67.6 million in mid-2022 to 68.3 million in mid-2023. The ONS stated the extra 662,400 people amounted to an addition of 1%. The numerical increase is the biggest since comparable records began in 1971.
What caused the largest population rise since 1971?
“Net international migration was the main contributor to population increase for all four countries of the UK in the year to mid-2023,” the ONS stated. Net international migration for the period is currently calculated to be 677,300. However, officials warned that all estimates were likely to be revised within the next year as the ONS attempts to improve its data.
The natural population change, which is the contrast between births and deaths, fell by 16,300. Previous predictions from the ONS suggested a cynical reading would not occur until the mid-2030s. Except for 2020 during the COVID pandemic, the ONS stated this was the first time there had been negative “natural change” in the population since 1976, although that year’s data was for the calendar year.
According to the calculations, published England’s total population in mid-2023 was 57.7 million. In Wales, there were 3.2 million people, while Scotland had 5.5 million and Northern Ireland had 1.9 million. The latest migration formations indicate that 1.16 million UK visas were given for work, study or family reasons in the year concluding June 2024.
How many UK visas were granted for work and study?
Just around 75,000 people were approved to stay via schemes for refugees and for people from places such as Ukraine and the ex-British colony of Hong Kong. During the same duration, just over 38,700 people – a small proportion of the numbers arriving in the UK – were detected coming by “irregular routes”, such as small boat crossings. It comes after the ONS projected in January that the UK population would rise to 70 million in two years.
By mid-2036, officials also expressed it could increase to 73.7 million, including net international migration of 6.1 million. However, James Robards, from the ONS, stated at the time that the projections were hesitant because they were based on assumptions about migration in previous years.