UK population rises to 66.4 million but rate of growth slows

The UK’s population increased by 0.6% for the second year running due to a net rise in migration. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

The population of the UK has risen slightly to 66.4 million people but the rate of growth has stalled over the past two years to its slowest increase since 2004, official estimates show.

In the year to mid-2018, there were 2% fewer births and 3% more deaths, but the population increased by 0.6% for the second year running, due to a net increase in international migration.

Despite a widely held belief that the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016 would lead to a fall in migration, the figures show international migration continues to increase.

The total number of migrants to the UK was 626,000, a 10% increase on the previous year, while the number of emigrants leaving the UK was 351,000, a 3% increase.

At 275,000, this net number of migrants was 6,000 higher than the average for the past five years and 45,000 higher than last year. Over the past five years, net international migration has ranged between 183,000 and 336,000.

Neil Park, the head of the ONS population estimates unit, said the increase in net migration continued to offset the number of deaths outstripping births.

He said: “For the fifth year in a row, net international migration was a bigger driver of population change than births and deaths.”

The four local authorities with the fastest-growing populations were all in central London: City of London, Westminster, Camden and Tower Hamlets. The increase in these areas was partly due to higher migration than other parts of the UK.

The number of births recorded in the year to mid-2018 was 744,000, the fewest for more than a decade. The number of deaths was 623,000, the highest number since mid-2000.

Robin Maynard, of charity Population Matters, said that despite the stall in the population growth there was no room for “complacency”.

He said: “Birth rates and migration fluctuate from year to year but our already unsustainable population is continuing to rise and that will continue until a positive strategy is put in place to address it.

“The government has announced ambitious plans to achieve a zero-carbon economy but by ignoring our unsustainable population growth, it is driving with the brakes on.

“More people means more emitters and more emissions. Our growing numbers are incompatible with our climate change commitments, the health of our environment and our quality of life.”