UK population reaches 69.5 million as annual growth slows to 1998 low

The UK’s population reached an estimated 69.5 million in mid-2025, a new peak, but annual growth slowed to its lowest rate since 1998, excluding the pandemic-affected year of 2020. The figures show how falling net migration and low birth numbers are slowing population growth and changing forecasts for when the UK and its nations may reach their population peaks.

The population rose by 227,665, or 0.33 per cent, over the year. Net migration fell to 222,900 from 651,700, while 652,400 births and 647,500 deaths meant natural change added just 4,900 people. ONS projections now put the UK population peak at 72.5 million in 2054, with peaks expected earlier in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; Wales also recorded its first population fall in a decade.