Migration will account for three-quarters of population growth over the next 25 years as the number of people living in Britain rises to 72.9 million.

The UK's population will increase by 7.3m people between 2016 and 2041, a rise equivalent to 11.1 per cent. The Office for National Statistics said that the rise will be driven by direct migration and increasing numbers of migrants having children once settled in the UK.

The ONS said: "Once the indirect effect is taken into account, international migration accounts for 77 per cent of the projected UK population growth between mid-2016 and mid-2041.

"Because migrants are concentrated at young adult ages, the impact of migration on the projected number of women of childbearing age is especially important over this period."