UK population shows sharpest rise in almost 70 years

The UK population has risen at its sharpest rate in nearly 70 years, official figures show, with London accounting for a significant chunk of the increase.

Demographers’ latest calculations show an estimated 65,648,000 people living in the country at the end of June last year, up 538,000 on the year before, which is the largest increase since the 12 months to mid-1947.

But at 0.8%, the growth rate is in line with the average since 2005, the Office for National Statistics said. Net international migration continued to be the main driver.

The population growth was not evenly distributed, statisticians said, with London’s growth rate more than twice that of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and three northern English regions.

Neil Park, the head of the population estimates unit at the ONS, said: “The population of the UK continued to grow in the year to mid-2016 at a similar rate to that seen over recent years.

“Net international migration continued to be the main driver, but there was also an increase in births and fewer deaths than last year.”

The population of England grew fastest, exceeding 55 million for the first time. Population growth at the regional level varied from 1.3% in London to 0.5% in the north-east.

The total population rose in 364 local authorities in the year to mid-2016, compared with 350 in the 12 months to mid-2015.

While the 26 local authorities showing population decreases to mid-2016 were spread throughout England, Wales and Scotland, 17 were in coastal areas.

Of the 14 authorities showing population increases of 2% or above, eight were in London and five in inner London.

Net international migration to the UK for the period was 336,000, over one-third of which (126,079) was in London.

According to a recent UN study, populations in Europe are expected to inexorably decline without large-scale immigration, due to fertility rates in all European countries languishing below replacement level.

Eastern Europe is likely to be particularly badly affected, with numbers expected to fall by more than 15% in Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.