Why is the UK population growing?

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.

Official sources: ONS: mid-year population estimates (latest) · ONS: population estimates time series

The latest figure

The newest value is at Office for National Statistics (ONS). More on it: Live births in England and Wales.

When is the next figure out?

Annual. The ONS now publishes a first count in May (Births in England and Wales) and final rates in late summer or autumn (Birth summary tables). The 2025 final rates were published on 8 September 2026; the bulletin gives the next release as May 2027. Quarterly provisional counts are also published. The .xlsx file name includes the year, so the link changes each year

Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.

Terms used in this answer

• Mid-year population estimates
  The official annual estimates of how many people live in the UK and each area on 30 June, used as denominators for most per-head figures.
• Crude rate
  A rate calculated by dividing events by the whole population, with no adjustment for differences in age structure between places or over time.
• Calendar year
  January to December. Used for GDP annual totals, registered deaths and many international comparisons, unlike the April to March financial year.
• England and Wales
  A single legal jurisdiction, so crime, courts, prisons and death registration statistics are often published for England and Wales together.
• Administrative data
  Information collected by organisations while running a service, such as tax records, benefit claims or hospital activity, and then used to produce statistics.
• Provisional figures
  Early estimates published before all data are in, so users get timely figures. They are expected to be updated when later data arrive.

Where the figures come from

• UK population and vital statistics (ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA)
  Where to find official UK figures on births, fertility, baby names, marriage, divorce, households, population estimates, projections and the census.

Related questions

• What is net migration to the UK?
• What is the population of the UK?
• What are the UK population projections?

This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about population, births and families: all Population, births and families questions.