Natural increase and net migration as components of population change, UK
In 2003 the UK was home to 59.6 million people. This was an 18 per cent increase from 50.3 million in 1951, and a 3.2 per cent increase over the last decade (1993 to 2003).
Until the mid-1990s, this growth was mainly due to natural increase as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths. Since the late 1990s, there has still been natural increase but net international migration into the UK from abroad has been an increasingly important factor in population growth.
Resident population, mid-2003, UK
In 2003, 84 per cent of the UK population were living in England, 8 per cent in Scotland, 5 per cent in Wales and 3 per cent in Northern Ireland. Between mid-1993 and mid-2003, population growth was greatest in Northern Ireland (4.1 per cent). England’s population grew by 3.6 per cent and the population of Wales grew by 1.9 per cent over the decade. In contrast, Scotland’s population decreased by 0.7 per cent.
Northern Ireland's population grew faster than the rest of the UK because the number of births far outweighed the number of deaths each year. In contrast, in both Wales and Scotland there were fewer births than deaths towards the end of the 1990s, a factor that contributes to population decrease.
The UK population is projected to continue to grow, increasing gradually to reach 65.7 million by 2031. Longer-term projections suggest the population will peak around 2050 at nearly 67 million and then gradually start to fall.
Projected trends differ for the four countries of the UK. The decline in the population of Scotland is projected to continue, while the populations of Wales and Northern Ireland are projected to peak around 2030 and then start to fall. The population of England is still projected to be rising in forty years' time, but at a low rate of growth.
Scotland is the least densely populated of the four countries of the UK. There were 65 people resident per square kilometre in Scotland in 2003. In comparison the population density was 125 people per square kilometre in Northern Ireland, 142 people in Wales and 383 people in England. London had a far higher population density than any of the English regions, with 4,700 people living in each square kilometre on average
Sources: Population estimates, components of population change and population density: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Population projections: Government Actuary’s Department
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