The population of the UK in the last recorded census in
2011 was 63 million, of whom 31 million were male and 32 million female. The 2011 census recorded the population of England as 53.0 million, Scotland as 5.3 million, Wales as 3.1 million, and Northern Ireland as 1.8 million. At the last recorded population estimate, it was estimated that the UK population was at a total of 67,081,234 people. There are 13 urban areas that exceed 500,000 inhabitants: they are centred on London,
Birmingham,
Glasgow,
Leeds and Bradford,
Southampton and Portsmouth,
Sheffield,
Liverpool,
Leicester,
Manchester,
Belfast,
Bristol,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne and
Nottingham.
Population by constituent country File:Population of England over time.svg|England File:Population of Scotland over time.svg|Scotland File:Population of Wales over time.svg|Wales File:Population of NI over time.svg|Northern Ireland
Population change over time The following table shows the total UK population estimated at
census dates. Pre 1901 figures include the whole of Ireland, whereas from 1901 onwards only the population of Northern Ireland is included. Population density calculated on: • Pre–1901:
243,820 km2 total land area for the current United Kingdom plus 70,273 km2 land area of the current
Republic of Ireland. • Post–1901: its current boundaries.
Future projections The UK government first began publishing population projections for the country in the 1920s under the
Government Actuary's Department (GAD) which were mainly produced to be used for long-term financial estimates for pensions and other schemes of social insurance. However, since the Second World War, population projections have taken an expanded role in all areas of influencing government policy. The GAD produced population projections every year from 1955 to 1979 and then switched it to every 2 years up to 1991. The Office for National Statistics took control of producing population projections for the country in 2006.
Fertility Since 1838 it has been compulsory to register a birth or death in the United Kingdom. However, it is possible to estimate the total fertility rate (TFR) from 1541 onwards. This transition represents the change in reproductive strategy from how many children a mother 'needs' to how many she 'wants', and a substitution of quality over quantity in the offspring produced. From the 1880s onwards, the birth rate began to decline rapidly from its previous levels. The
Industrial Revolution led to large scale movements of people to high density urban population centres; income per capita rose significantly especially in the last half of the 19th century, while economic growth improved the livelihoods of the working and middle classes. This growth in the standard of living led also reduced
mortality rates (which had been in decline since the early 18th century) and especially in
infant mortality. due to
World War One and sank to 2.03 children. However, by 1973, the fertility rate of the country again dropped below replacement levels, and has continued to decline until the present day. In 2012, the UK's
total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.92 children per woman, below the
replacement rate, which in the UK is 2.075. In 2001, the TFR was at a record low of 1.63, but it then increased every year until it reached a peak of 1.96 in 2008, before decreasing again. In Scotland however TFR was lower: it decreased from 1.75 in 2010 to 1.67 in 2012.
Life expectancy Life expectancy has increased in the United Kingdom since the 18th century due to precipitate declines in child mortality, see below, and from relatively minor improvements in healthcare. A life expectancy of 40, the historical norm, does not mean that person is likely to die at 40 years old but rather when he or she is very old or very young; much in line with a
bathtub curve. At the start of the 20th century, the life expectancy at birth was only 45.6 years. At the start of the 21st century, the life expectancy at birth was 77.8 years. Potential factors behind this may be austerity measures imposed in the beginning of the 2010s, which coincidentally since then mortality rates have slowed down in decline or older people dying off at faster rates than expected. In raw terms for example, infant mortality in England sat around 151 deaths to 1000 live births in 1901 but by the end of the century it had plummeted down to only 6 deaths per 1000 births. The second line of thought comes from demographers themselves which more or less ascribe the decline of infant mortality itself more to the general decline of mortality altogether in the society than any particular reason why. Peaks and bands within the population represent different periods in which people were born, for example, a large peak of people aged 70–74, born following the
Second World War, and a wide band for those aged 50–59, born during the 1960s baby boom. Those aged 80 and upwards would have been born in the 1930s baby dearth when the birth rate was below replacement level. On the younger band of the population there is a noticeable gap between the ages of 14 and 20, this due to a lower number of children being born at the beginning of the 21st Century (and a subsequent lower TFR), however in the following years the birth rate rose during the 2010s and a 'broadening' of the pyramid began for those in the younger years. In relation to the sex ratio of the country, there are more women than men in the older bands of the population, reflecting the higher life expectancies of women in the population. There were estimated to be over half a million people (556,270) aged 90 and over living in the UK in 2015, up from 194,670 people in 1985, and there were estimated to be 14,570
centenarians and 850 people aged 105 or over.In the younger bands there are more men than women because there are slightly more boys born each year than girls. The
Office for National Statistics has also wrote in their mid-2016 report on population projections that the median age of the British population was 40 years of age, and that this will continue to rise with an ageing population and a below-replacement level fertility level not refilling the population. This will make the number of people aged 85 and over double from 1.6 million in mid-2016 to 3.2 million in mid-2041. Geographically, the demographic ageing of the population is not evenly spread, as people in rural areas are typically older than those living in metropolitan areas, such as
Greater London. The current largest urban areas are listed below:
Urbanisation Rapid urbanisation began with the onset of the
Industrial Revolution in the mid to late 18th century, shifting jobs and more importantly people away from rural Britain's dominance at the time which was primarily agricultural, to manufacturing jobs within urban areas which started to spring up. which was around 1/6th of the estimated total population but a century later this had risen to 8 million people in 1850, and being the first city in Europe and one of the first in the world to reach the figure of one million inhabitants, and then 5 million inhabitants. Importance in population size however of the capital declined during the latter half of the 20th century. By the end of the 20th century, London's ranking on the most populated cities of the world had fallen down to not even being in the top 20. in the 2011 census, is a settlement which takes variables from both numerical population numbers and population density; in population numbers this is roughly more than or 10,000 people living in an area. Anything below that is classified as 'rural', having several levels of distinction to define a rural town and fringe, village or hamlet which is usually taken from population density figures. These areas are then defined within 'output areas' (OA's) themselves, which are geographic areas of the United Kingdom. The population which resides within classified 'urban' areas was 84.4% of total population in 2022 and the annual rate of urbanisation change is estimated to be around 0.8% between 2020 and 2025. == Vital statistics==