UK population: High migration drives near record growth
The UK population increased by 755,300 in the year to mid-2024, marking the second-largest annual rise in over 75 years, mainly due to high net migration.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that the UK population had reached 69,281,400, with England experiencing a larger increase than other nations.
Net migration reached 738,700 over the 12 months to 2024, although separate official data have shown that net migration fell to 431,000 in the calendar year. Those figures have not been revised in the latest ONS release.
Statisticians said that although international migration was lower in the year to mid-2024, it drove higher population growth across the UK, given it outweighed a decrease in births.
The next highest annual change in population growth occurred in the 12 months leading up to mid-2023.
Natural change, the difference between births and deaths, increased the UK population by only 16,200.
ONS analyst Nigel Henretty said the annual increase over the last 43 years has accelerated in “recent years”, with net migration in post-pandemic being more than triple the levels seen in the early 2000s.
“Net international migration continues to be the main driver of this growth, continuing the long-term trend seen since the turn of the century.”
Population growth impact on UK economy
Data officers at the ONS said 1,235,000 people arrived in the UK to live for 12 months in the year to mid-2024, while nearly 500,000 left the country.
England saw a bigger rise in population levels than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Rising population growth sheds light on the impacts high net migration has had on figures that are widely used by economists and policymakers to make judgments on the UK economy.
GDP per capita has been nearly stagnant in recent years, growing by just 0.2 per cent in the second quarter and falling well below levels seen before 2020.
Economists at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and across the City have warned the government that it should not rely on high migration to boost the UK economy.
OBR board member David Miles said there were “serious problems” with the idea that high migration could ease pressures on public finances, suggesting that the fiscal watchdog could alter how it measures the impact of population growth in the UK economy.
Business groups have urged the government to focus on productivity in order to raise living standards. The rollout of AI tools and improved infrastructure is seen as a potential lever that could help the UK economy recover.