Population growth in the UK slows to lowest rate in a decade as migrants stay away after Brexit

The population of the UK has risen by the lowest rate for over a decade, according to the first official population estimates since the EU referendum.

Calculations from the Office for National Statistics show that there were an estimated 66,040,229 million people living in the UK at the end of June 2017.

In the 12 months leading to the middle of 2017, the number of UK inhabitants increased by 392,000 – the lowest rate of growth since 2004.

The increase is significantly lower than last year when the UK saw its sharpest annual population increase since 1948, with a rise of 538,000 residents.

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It’s believed that the EU referendum is one of the key reasons for the changes.

An ONS spokesman said: ‘The number of people immigrating for a definite job has remained stable but there has been a 43% decrease in the number of people immigrating to look for work over the last year, especially for EU citizens.

‘These changes suggest that Brexit is likely to be a factor in people’s decision to move to or from the UK – but decisions to migrate are complex and other factors are also going to be influencing the figures.’

Earlier this year, ONS figures also revealed that net migration to the UK from the EU in the year to September 2017 fell below 100,000 for the first time in over four years – down from 165,000 in the previous year.