1. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revises its population projections for the UK every two years. The 2012 based projections have recently been published. [1]
2. The population is currently around 64 million. By the end of the next Parliament it is projected to have grown by 3 million people – six times the population of Manchester.
3. In twenty five years’ time the projection is for almost an extra ten million people – the equivalent of another Greater London.
4. 60% of this increase will be due to future immigration, both directly (43%) and indirectly through births to these migrant parents (17%).
5. The population of the UK is projected to reach around 80 million by 2060.
6. The latest projections are based on a net migration assumption of 165,000 a year (down from 200,000 a year in the 2010 projections). This figure is based largely on past experience: it does not take into account future policy changes.
7. The latest projections have increased the fertility rate assumption to 1.89 (compared to 1.84 in 2010) to reflect the fact that fertility rates have been increasing.
8. The UK had the second largest birth rate in Europe in 2012 and the fourth largest population increase. [2]
9. These new figures underline the need for an end to mass immigration and a policy of balanced migration where immigration is on a par with emigration [3]. This is the only way that our population can be stabilised.
[2] http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-20112013-AP/EN/3-20112013-AP-EN.PDF