The UK population has grown by more than three-quarters of a million in the year to June 2024, according to new estimates, the second largest annual increase in over 75 years.
The boom has been fuelled by spiralling international migration to the UK, with births and deaths accounting for only a small proportion of the change.
There were a record 69.3 million people estimated to be in the UK in mid-2024, up 755,254 (1.1 per cent) from 68.5 million in mid-2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is the second largest numerical jump since at least 1949, when comparable data begins, behind only the rise of 890,049 that took place in the preceding 12 months from mid-2022 to mid-2023.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer introduces ID cards for all UK workers in a bid to crack down on illegal working.
The number of births in the UK in the year to mid-2024 was the lowest for at least 42 years. The population grew the fastest in England, with 1.2 per cent growth, compared to Scotland (0.7 per cent), Wales (0.6 per cent) and Northern Ireland (0.4 per cent).
There were more deaths than births in Wales and Scotland during this period.
Net international migration – the difference between people moving to the country and leaving – accounted for 98 per cent of the total increase in population, the ONS estimated.
This is a developing story…
