The UN’s World Population Prospects report estimates that the UK population will rise by 6.8 percent—from 69.6 million today to 74.3 million in 2100.
This increase contrasts with declines projected in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Ireland.
Immigration is identified as a central factor behind the expected population growth. The UN projects that net migration into the UK will remain above 100,000 annually through 2099. Without immigration, the report notes, the population would fall below 50 million—similar to figures last seen in the 1950s.
“The arrival of 10 million immigrants within a decade was projected to bring Britain’s population to 72.5 million,” the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated earlier this year, according to the Times. That same ONS projection anticipated a 7.3 percent population increase between 2022 and 2032, outpacing the 6.1 percent rise recorded between 2012 and 2022.
Some countries in Europe, such as Luxembourg and France, are also expected to see population growth (10 percent and 2.8 percent respectively). The UK is projected to have the highest increase among major nations.
As the population grows, the country is also aging. The UK’s median age reached 40 last year and is forecast to climb to nearly 48 by the end of the century.
The UN report does not detail the origin countries of future migrants, but it is expected that current trends will continue.
The most recent UK census found India, Poland, Pakistan, Romania, and Ireland to be the most common countries of birth for migrants to the UK.
Political reactions to the population outlook have varied. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said he wanted to reduce “staggeringly high migration numbers.” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage criticized the figures, calling them a “complete betrayal by our political class.”
