Number of migrants up 10% on previous year, offsetting effect of births and deaths

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The population of the UK has risen slightly to 66.4 million people but the rate of growth has stalled over the past two years to its slowest increase since 2004, official estimates show.

In the year to mid-2018, there were 2% fewer births and 3% more deaths, but the population increased by 0.6% for the second year running, due to a net increase in international migration.

Despite a widely held belief that the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016 would lead to a fall in immigration, the figures show international migration continues to increase.

The total number of migrants to the UK was 626,000, a 10% increase on the previous year, while the number of emigrants was 351,000, a 3% increase.

At 275,000, this net number of immigrants was 6,000 higher than the average for the past five years and 45,000 higher than last year. Over the past five years, net international migration to Britain has ranged between 183,000 and 336,000.

Neil Park, the head of the ONS population estimates unit, said the increase in net immigration continued to offset the net effect of a fall in the number of births and rise in the number of deaths.

He said: “For the fifth year in a row, net international migration was a bigger driver of population change than births and deaths.”

The four local authorities with the fastest-growing populations were all in central London: City of London, Westminster, Camden and Tower Hamlets. The increase in these areas was partly due to higher immigration than other parts of the UK.

The number of births recorded in the year to mid-2018 was 744,000, the fewest for more than a decade. The number of deaths was 623,000, the highest number since mid-2000.

The figures also confirmed the increasingly aged profile of the population, with the number of those 65 years and over growing faster than those under 65.

The number of people aged 65 to 84 increased by 23% to 10.6 million between 2008 and 2018, while the number of people aged 85 and over rose by 22.8% to 1.6 million over the same period.

Robin Maynard, of the charity Population Matters, said that despite the stall in the population growth there was no room for “complacency”.

He said: “Birth rates and migration fluctuate from year to year but our already unsustainable population is continuing to rise and that will continue until a positive strategy is put in place to address it.

“The government has announced ambitious plans to achieve a zero-carbon economy but by ignoring our unsustainable population growth, it is driving with the brakes on.

“More people means more emitters and more emissions. Our growing numbers are incompatible with our climate change commitments, the health of our environment and our quality of life.”

Aideen Young, evidence manager at the Centre for Ageing Better, said the figures showed how quickly the age structure of the UK’s population was shifting.

She said: “Not everyone is enjoying the longer lives that medical and technological advances have afforded us. We need a radical rethink across society – creating age-friendly workplaces, delivering accessible housing everyone can live in, and fostering communities that enable good social connections.”

• This article was amended on 27 June 2019 to clarify comments attributed to Neil Park about migration offsetting the net effect of births and deaths.