Question 1

What is the UK fertility rate?

Accepted Answer

The total fertility rate in England and Wales was 1.39 children per woman in 2025, down from 1.41 in 2024, according to the ONS Births in England and Wales: 2025 release published on 8 September 2026. England's rate was 1.39 and Wales's 1.33. Scotland's rate fell to 1.23 in 2025, the lowest since its series began in 1951 ( National Records of Scotland ). The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman would have if she experienced this year's birth rates at each age throughout her life. NRS notes that a population needs a rate of about 2.1 to replace itself without migration. The "birth rate" is sometimes used for births per 1,000 people, a different measure. Rates also vary widely by area: in 2025 they ranged from 0.37 in the City of London to 1.93 in Luton and Pendle.

Question 2

Is the UK population ageing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The median age of the UK population rose to 40.9 years in mid-2025, and the number of people aged 65 and over increased in every UK nation in the year to mid-2025, continuing what the ONS calls the long-term trend of an ageing population ( mid-year estimates , 1 October 2026). Wales (43.2) and Scotland (43.1) have older populations than England and Northern Ireland (40.6). The ONS 2024-based national population projections show people of State Pension age rising by 1.8 million, from 12.4 million to 14.2 million, between mid-2024 and mid-2034. They also project more deaths than births in the UK from mid-2026. When checking figures for "pensioners", note whether a claim uses age 65 or State Pension age, which is rising to 67. The detailed age breakdowns are in the population estimates .

Question 3

How many people live alone in the UK?

Accepted Answer

Around 8.6 million people lived alone in the UK in 2025, making up 29.5% of all households, according to the ONS Families and households in the UK: 2025 , published on 17 April 2026. Nearly half of them (49.6%) were aged 65 or over, up from 46.9% in 2015. There were 29.0 million households in the UK in 2025, 7.2% more than in 2015, and 66.8% contained one family. The same release shows that 28.7% of adults aged 20 to 34 lived with their parents. These estimates come from the Labour Force Survey, whose smaller samples in recent years have increased uncertainty, so small year-to-year changes may not be statistically significant . The census gives more detail for local areas.

Question 4

What is the UK population by ethnicity?

Accepted Answer

In the 2021 Census, 81.7% of usual residents of England and Wales identified as White, down from 86.0% in 2011, according to the ONS Ethnic group, England and Wales: Census 2021 . 74.4% identified as White British (English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British). The next largest high-level group was Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh at 9.3%, up from 7.5%. People identifying as Black African made up 2.5%, up from 1.8%. Scotland held its census in 2022 and Northern Ireland in 2021; their results are on Scotland's Census and the NISRA census pages, with slightly different question wording. Ethnicity is self-identified, and the categories changed between censuses, so compare groups over time with care. Census figures describe the population on census day in 2021, not today.

Question 5

What is the divorce rate in the UK?

Accepted Answer

There were 105,002 divorces in England and Wales in 2025, and the divorce rate for opposite-sex couples was 8.4 per 1,000 married people, according to the ONS Divorces and dissolutions in England and Wales: 2024 and 2025 , published on 23 September 2026. That is similar to 2023 and 2024 and well below the peak of 14.2 per 1,000 in 1993. The ONS estimates that 16.3% of couples who married in 2015 had divorced before their tenth anniversary, compared with 24.7% of those married in 1995. The median length of marriages ending in divorce was 13.0 years, the longest since 1963. Often-quoted lines such as "half of marriages end in divorce" are not an ONS statistic; the ONS publishes the share divorced by each anniversary for each marriage year. Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own figures.

Question 6

Why is the UK population growing?

Accepted Answer

The UK population is growing mainly because of net international migration. In the year to mid-2025 the population rose by 227,700 (0.3%) to an estimated 69.5 million, the slowest growth since mid-2020, according to the ONS mid-year estimates published on 1 October 2026. Over that year, net international migration added an estimated 222,900 people, down from 651,700 the year before. Births (652,400) only slightly exceeded deaths (647,500). Scotland and Wales already have more deaths than births, and the ONS projects the same for the UK as a whole from mid-2026. Population estimates are revised as migration data improve: the ONS revised its mid-2022 to mid-2024 figures in this release. Check the edition, and see how net migration is measured .

Question 7

How many babies are born in the UK each year?

Accepted Answer

About 650,000 babies are born in the UK each year. The ONS estimates 652,400 births in the year to mid-2025, the lowest number for at least 43 years, in its mid-year population estimates published on 1 October 2026. Each nation counts its own registrations. There were 585,396 live births in England and Wales in calendar year 2025, the lowest since 1977 ( ONS ). National Records of Scotland recorded 45,067 births in 2025, the lowest since records began in 1855, and NISRA recorded 19,416 births registered in Northern Ireland in 2024. Check whether a figure counts births by year of occurrence or registration, and calendar year or the year to mid-year. Fewer births does not always mean a lower birth rate, because the number of women of childbearing age also changes. See the fertility rate .

Question 8

What are the most popular baby names in the UK?

Accepted Answer

In England and Wales in 2025 the most popular girls' names were Olivia, Lily and Amelia, and the most popular boys' names were Muhammad, Noah and Leo, according to the ONS baby names datasets for girls and boys , published on 9 July 2026. Scotland publishes its own list. National Records of Scotland's Babies' First Names, 2025 shows Freya as the top girls' name for the first time and Noah as the top boys' name. NISRA publishes a baby names dashboard for Northern Ireland. The ONS counts each spelling separately, so Muhammad, Mohammed and Mohammad are ranked as different names. Rankings that group spellings together will differ from the official tables.

Question 9

What is the UK population by religion?

Accepted Answer

In the 2021 Census, 46.2% of people in England and Wales described themselves as Christian, the first time a census found less than half. "No religion" was next at 37.2%, followed by Muslim (6.5%, 3.9 million people) and Hindu (1.7%), according to the ONS Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021 . In Wales, 46.5% reported no religion and 43.6% Christian. London was the most religiously diverse region. Scotland's 2022 census and Northern Ireland's 2021 census publish their own religion results. The religion question is voluntary: 94.0% of residents answered it in 2021. It records affiliation, not belief or attendance. Projections of religious groups to 2050 or later are not ONS statistics.

Question 10

What is the average age of mothers in the UK?

Accepted Answer

The average age of mothers in England and Wales was 31.1 years in 2025, up from 31.0 in 2024, and fathers averaged 34.0 years, according to the ONS Births in England and Wales: 2025 release. Both have risen since 1976. The figure is a standardised mean age, which removes the effect of changes in the number of women at each age. Birth rates were highest among women aged 30 to 34, at 94.0 live births per 1,000 women. Mothers' ages at first birth and later births, and the gap between births, are in the ONS births by parents' characteristics datasets. Be careful not to confuse the average age of all mothers with the average age at first birth, which is lower. Scotland and Northern Ireland publish their own figures through NRS and NISRA.

Question 11

What are the UK population projections?

Accepted Answer

The ONS projects the UK population will grow from 69.3 million in mid-2024 to 71.0 million in mid-2034, then peak at 72.5 million in mid-2054 before falling. These are the 2024-based national population projections , published on 28 April 2026, which show slower growth than the previous 2022-based set. All the projected growth comes from net international migration, assumed to settle at 230,000 a year. Births minus deaths are projected to be negative 450,000 over the ten years to mid-2034. England is projected to grow fastest; Scotland is projected to peak at 5.6 million in mid-2033. The ONS stresses that projections are not forecasts: they show what happens if recent trends continue and do not predict policy changes. Quote the projection's base year and variant. Local projections are published separately. See forecast or projection .

Question 12

What is the marriage rate in the UK?

Accepted Answer

There were 231,949 marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales in 2023, 8.6% fewer than in 2022, according to the ONS Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales: 2023 , published on 18 November 2025. Opposite-sex marriages made up 93.5% of the total. The median age at an opposite-sex marriage was 34.8 for men and 33.0 for women. Marriage figures come out about two years after the year they describe, because they are compiled from marriage registrations. Scotland's figures come from National Records of Scotland, and Northern Ireland's from NISRA. Numbers moved sharply around the pandemic, when weddings were postponed, so compare against years before 2020 with care. For the share of adults who are married or cohabiting, see the ONS estimates by marital status and living arrangements.

Population, births and families: your questions answered