Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2025

The population of the UK continued to grow in the year to mid-2025, reaching an estimated 69.5 million people. The size of the population is estimated to have increased by 227,700 (0.3%) from mid-2024, the lowest rate of increase since mid-2020.

There was an increase in population for England of 0.4%, with Scotland and Northern Ireland having very small population growth (less than 0.1%). Wales had a small decrease in population (negative 0.1%).

Estimates for England, Wales and Scotland are subject to annual revisions. As the changes in population for Wales and Scotland for mid-2025 are small, both the size and direction of population change may be revised in future publications as a result of more complete data being available.

Figure 1: The size of the UK population continues to grow

Annual population change, UK, mid-1949 to mid-2025

International migration

The number of people immigrating to the UK decreased in the year to mid-2025, compared with the previous year. The number emigrating from the UK increased in the same period. This led to an overall decrease in net international migration compared with the previous year.

We estimate that in the year to mid-2025:

• 886,200 people arrived in the UK to live for 12 months or more (down from 1,296,500 in the year to mid-2024)

• 663,400 people left the UK for at least 12 months (up from 644,800 in the year to mid-2024)

• net international migration to the UK was 222,900 (down from 651,700 in the year to mid-2024)

These estimates differ slightly to our provisional UK Long-term international migration estimates dataset. This is because of a different method and data source used to produce international migration estimates for Northern Ireland. Read more in Section 11 of the 2025 mid-year population estimates for Northern Ireland bulletin.

Our Long-term international migration (LTIM), provisional: year ending December 2025 bulletin explains how, at the UK level, the main reason for the fall in net migration was because of fewer non-EU+ nationals arriving for work-related reasons.

Births and deaths

There was a decrease in the number of births and an increase in the number of deaths in the UK for the year to mid-2025, compared with the previous year.

We estimate that:

• there were 652,400 births, a decrease of 9,700 compared with mid-2024 and the lowest number for at least 43 years

• there were 647,500 deaths, an increase of 1,600 compared with mid-2024

• natural change, the difference between births and deaths, contributed an increase in population of 4,900; this increase was lower than in the previous year, but above the negative change in the year to mid-2023

These estimates differ slightly to other birth and death statistics, which are reported by calendar year.

Changes in the size of the UK population are mainly determined by international migration, births and deaths. Although estimated net international migration was lower in the year to mid-2025 compared with the previous year, it continued to contribute to population growth in the UK and in all four countries. Natural change (births minus deaths) contributed a small increase in the overall UK population, with England and Northern Ireland showing increases, and Wales and Scotland showing decreases.

Figure 2: Population growth resulted mostly from net international migration

Components of population change, UK, year to mid-2025

Notes:

1. “Other changes” include changes in armed forces personnel and dependants. 

Important information on using population estimates

Mid-year population estimates are produced using the cohort component method. This is a standard demographic method that estimates the size of the population using the components of population change to update a population base (in this case, using census estimates). A major strength of this method is that it is consistent over time and across geographical areas, and the components of population change are coherent with the resulting estimates.

However, a limitation of the methods used to produce population estimates is that they are subject to statistical uncertainty related to:

• the measurement of the census base they are rolled forward from

• the measurement of each component of population change

Statistical uncertainty is lowest immediately following a census, and greatest immediately before the next census. This is because errors accumulate over time as estimates are rolled forward onto the following year.

In general, the degree of uncertainty is higher for smaller geographies. More information on this for England and Wales can be found in our Local authority quality of population estimates for England and Wales report. Uncertainty is also greater for estimates with narrower bands of interest, such as estimates broken down by age and/or sex. Research-based measures of statistical uncertainty for England and Wales are available and published alongside the UK estimates, which can be found in our accompanying datasets.

Population estimates for mid-2022 onwards for the UK are subject to regular revision as the methods and data used to estimate international and internal migration continue to be developed. This means the figures in this bulletin might be different from previous and future releases. Information on revisions can be found in Section 5: Revisions to population data.

Population estimates for the UK are compiled by adding together population estimates for:

• England and Wales, produced by the Office for National Statistics

• Scotland, produced by National Records of Scotland

• Northern Ireland, produced by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

The methods used to produce estimates for each country are broadly comparable and further information is available in each country's release.

Population estimates based on Census 2021 could also be affected by the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. More information on this for England and Wales can be found in our Effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the quality of mid-year population estimates for England and Wales report.

In our previous Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2024 bulletin, we stated our intention for modelled admin-based population estimates (ABPEs) to become the official estimates of the population for England and Wales in 2026. This is no longer our aim. Instead, we will make iterative improvements to the data and methods that underpin the components of population change. These improvements will focus on internal migration and disaggregation of LTIM estimates to local authority level.

You can use these statistics:

• for planning and monitoring service delivery, resource allocation, and managing the economy

• as denominators for rates or ratios, for example, in health and economic indicators

With these statistics, you cannot:

• add the most recent estimates to a time series from previous releases; the full time series associated with this release should be used

These estimates are subject to statistical uncertainty, so small differences between areas or over time should be interpreted with caution, particularly for smaller geographies and detailed age-sex breakdowns.

These estimates will be revised in future releases as population estimates methods and data are improved and once estimates from the censuses in 2031 are available. More information on improving estimates for England and Wales can be found in our Improving population estimates for England and Wales article.

The population of the UK has increased each year since mid-1982. The greatest percentage increase over this period (1.3%) was in the year to mid-2023. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to smaller population increases in the years ending mid-2020 and mid-2021.

Figure 3: Net migration has contributed most to population growth from mid-1999 except for mid-2012

Components of population change, UK, mid-1982 to mid-2025

Notes:

1. "Net-migration and other" includes international migration, changes in armed forces personnel and dependants, and unattributable population change.

The populations and annual rates of growth for the UK and its constituent countries are in Table 1.

Contributors to population change

Net international migration was lower in mid-2025 than the previous year, though still contributed most to population growth in the UK. The rate of UK population change resulting from net international migration was 0.3% in mid-2025, compared with 1.0% in the previous year.

Net international migration was the largest contributor to change for England (0.4%) for mid-2025, although this was not the case for Wales (0.1%), Scotland (0.2%) or Northern Ireland (0.1%). Rates of population change by component are explained in Section 6: Definitions. In the year to mid-2025, the contribution to population change from internal migration and natural change varied across the countries of the UK:

• for Wales and Scotland, natural change was negative; the population of Wales and Scotland is older on average than the population of England or Northern Ireland, leading to a slightly higher rate of deaths and lower rate of births; the average number of children that are born to women in Wales and Scotland is also lower than the rest of the UK, which contributes to fewer births

• for Scotland, total net migration (international and internal net migration) offset the negative natural change, resulting in a very small overall increase in population

• for England and Northern Ireland, internal migration was negative; there was a small net outflow of people migrating to the rest of the UK

Figure 4: The contribution from each component of population change varies by country

Population change, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, mid-2002 to mid-2025

Notes:

1. Rates are expressed as negatives where their impact is to reduce the population size. 
2. "Other changes", which includes changes in armed forces personnel and dependants, and unattributable population change are small and not displayed.

Age composition

The median (average) age increased in all UK countries in the year to mid-2025. The median age in mid-2025 was:

• 40.9 years in the UK

• 43.2 years in Wales

• 43.1 years in Scotland

• 40.6 years in England and Northern Ireland

The age structure of the population is determined by the patterns of births, deaths and migration in previous years. The sizes of population cohorts at different ages vary.

Figure 5: Age structure of the UK population, mid-2011 to mid-2025

The number of people aged 65 years and over increased in all countries, in the year to mid-2025. This continues the long-term trend of an ageing population. The number increased by:

• 2.1% in both Scotland and Northern Ireland

• 2.0% in England

• 1.5% in Wales

The population aged 16 to 64 years also increased in England but decreased slightly for the other countries, in the same period. The number of people aged 15 years and under decreased in all countries, for England by 0.9%, Wales by 1.6% and Scotland and Northern Ireland both by 1.5%.

Old-age-dependency ratio

Dependency ratios are used to inform government financial planning. The old-age-dependency ratio (OADR) is the number of people of pensionable age for every 1,000 people of working age.

In the year to mid-2025, the OADR was 285 for the UK overall. For England, the OADR was 280, for Wales 336, for Scotland 305, and for Northern Ireland 275.

Estimates of the very old

The publication Estimates of the very old, including centenarians, UK: 2002 to 2025 will be released on 23 October 2026. The release contains annual mid-year population estimates of people aged 90 years and over by sex and single year of age to 105 years and over, and comparisons between UK countries.

Population by sex

In the UK, there were an estimated 35.4 million females and 34.0 million males in the year to mid-2025, with the number of males increasing at a slightly faster rate than females (0.4% and 0.3%, respectively) from mid-2024.

Revisions to population estimates for mid-2022, mid-2023 and mid-2024, UK

Mid-2022, mid-2023 and mid-2024 population estimates for the UK were revised in October 2026 to include improved international migration estimates for England and Wales, and for Scotland (revised for mid-2023 and mid-2024).

For mid-2024, the UK population was revised to 69,256,300, a decrease of 25,200 (negative 0.04%).

Revisions to population estimates for mid-2022, mid-2023 and mid-2024, England and Wales

Mid-2022, mid-2023 and mid-2024 population estimates for England and Wales were revised in July 2026 to include improved international migration estimates.

Information on the impact of the revisions is available in Section 7 of the Population estimates for England and Wales: mid-2025 bulletin.

Revisions to population estimates for mid-2023 and mid-2024, Scotland

Mid-2023 and mid-2024 population estimates for Scotland were revised in July 2026 to include improved international migration estimates. Information on the impact of the revisions is available in the Background notes of the Mid-2025 population estimates, Scotland.

Revision from provisional UK estimate

In November 2025, we published a provisional mid-2025 estimate of the UK population of 69.5 million (69,487,000). We now estimate the population of the UK to be 69,484,000, around 3,000 (less than 0.01%) smaller than the provisional estimate. A provisional UK estimate for mid-2026 will be released in November 2026.

Components of change

Components of change are the factors that contribute to population change. This includes births and deaths (commonly referred to as natural change) and net migration. Migration includes movements of people between countries of the UK and the rest of the world (international migration) and between the UK countries (internal migration). 

Internal migration

Describes moves made between countries of the UK. Unlike international migration, there is no internationally agreed definition. 

International migration

We use the United Nations (UN) recommended definition of a long-term international migrant: "a person who moves to a country other than that of his or her usual residence for a period of at least a year (12 months), so that the country of destination effectively becomes his or her new country of usual residence."

Net international migration is the difference between the number of people moving into and out of the UK.

EU+ migration refers to the migration of people who hold EU nationality. Non-EU+ is the sum of the rest of the world, including the rest of Europe, not included in the EU+ category. British nationals are excluded from these numbers. More information is available in our Long-term international migration, provisional: year ending December 2025 bulletin.

Median age

The age of the person in the middle of the group, such that one half of the group is younger than that person, and the other half is older.

Mid-year population estimates

Population estimates produced using the cohort component method. This is a standard demographic method that estimates the size of the population using the components of population change to update a population base. These are accredited official statistics.

Natural change

The difference between births and deaths. If natural change is greater than zero, then there have been more births than deaths. If natural change is negative, then there have been more deaths than births.

Net migration

The difference between the number of people coming to live in an area (immigration) and the number of people leaving to live elsewhere (emigration). When more people are coming to the area than leaving, net migration is above zero and so adds to the population. Net migration takes account of both international and internal migration.

Net international migration

The difference between the number of people arriving in the UK from the rest of the world and leaving the UK for the rest of the world.

Rate of population change by component

We use these rates to compare how the different components of population change have contributed to changes in the size of the population in different areas. Rates for mid-2025 are calculated by dividing the estimated number of events for each component in the year to mid-2025 by the mid-2024 population estimate. We then multiply this figure by 100 to present the rate per 100 population.

The annual percentage change in the size of the population is the sum of all rates of change for each component. Figures may not sum exactly because of rounding.

Usually resident population

These data estimate the "usually resident population". This is the standard United Nations definition outlined in the Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses (PDF, 3.76MB). It includes only people who reside in a country for 12 months or more, making them usually resident in that country. Visitors and short-term migrants are excluded.

Accredited official statistics

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in November 2020. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled "accredited official statistics".