Everyone has the right to decide whether and when to have children, with access to the healthcare and education that make choice real. Demographic information can help public services plan for changing needs, but population figures are estimates or projections—not targets for people’s choices.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that 69,483,939 people lived in the UK on 30 June 2025, approximately 69.5 million. Published on 1 October 2026, these are estimates rather than exact counts of individual people, and they are not a live count in 2026. The dataset includes estimates by age, sex and local area.

The latest UK population figures

Measure	Latest figure	How to read it
UK population, 30 June 2025	69,483,939 (approximately 69.5 million)	Mid-year estimate in the ONS Mid-2025 dataset, published on 1 October 2026.
Births, deaths and net international migration in the year to June 2025	652,441 births; 647,532 deaths; 222,861 net international migration	Components in the same ONS dataset. Small additional adjustments also contribute to population change.
UK population, mid-2034	71.0 million	Principal outcome in ONS’s 2024-based national population projections, starting from the mid-2024 estimate of 69.3 million.
Projected UK population peak	72.5 million in mid-2054	Principal outcome in the same projection; the population is then projected to decrease.

The 2025 population figure is an estimate, while the figures for 2034 and 2054 are projections. They describe different kinds of evidence and should not be read as a single uninterrupted count.

How the population changes

Population change comes from births, deaths and migration. In the year ending June 2025, ONS estimated 652,441 births and 647,532 deaths, alongside net international migration of 222,861. These are components in the UK mid-2025 population dataset published on 1 October 2026. Small additional adjustments also contribute to the total change.

How much did the UK population grow in the year to mid-2025?

ONS estimates that the UK population increased by about 228,000 people (0.3%) between mid-2024 and mid-2025. This uses the revised estimates in the ONS Mid-2025 population dataset, published on 1 October 2026. Births, deaths, migration and small adjustments contribute to the change. These are estimated changes over a past year, not a live growth rate for 2026 or a target for anyone’s choices.

Migration includes people arriving in and leaving the UK. It is one part of demographic change, alongside births, deaths and movement between places within the UK. These figures describe changes in the population total; they do not explain individual decisions or the needs of any community.

What a population projection can tell us

ONS’s 2024-based national population projections start from the mid-2024 population estimate and apply assumptions about future fertility, mortality and migration. Under the principal projection, the UK population reaches 71.0 million by mid-2034 and peaks at 72.5 million in mid-2054 before decreasing.

Projections are not forecasts. Actual population change may be higher or lower because demographic behaviour, migration, policy, economic conditions and world events can change. ONS publishes variant projections so readers can compare outcomes under different assumptions. Explore the ONS UK population projection explorer.

Population, consumption and the environment

Changes in population size and age structure can affect future demand for housing, transport, energy, water and public services. They are one part of the picture. Consumption, production, technology, infrastructure, policy and how resources and environmental costs are distributed also shape outcomes.

The UK’s consumption-based carbon footprint includes greenhouse gases associated with goods and services used by UK residents, wherever those emissions occur, as well as direct household emissions from heating and private vehicles. Defra estimates that the UK’s footprint was 699 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023; more than half came from emissions embedded in imports. This national measure describes consumption-related emissions, not emissions produced only within the UK, and it does not show how consumption is distributed between households.

An ageing population and changing needs

ONS projects the number of people of pensionable age to rise from 12.4 million in mid-2024 to 14.2 million in mid-2034. This projection takes account of planned increases in State Pension age to 67 for women and men. Longer lives and changing age structures call for thoughtful planning of healthcare, care, housing, transport, employment and public finances. Older people are not a single group: people’s health, preferences, skills and contributions vary throughout later life.

Population change is not a reason to restrict anyone’s rights or place blame on individuals. Evidence can help governments plan fairly, while everyone remains free to make their own decisions about their lives and families.

Questions about UK population figures

How many people live in the UK?

ONS estimates that 69,483,939 people lived in the UK on 30 June 2025, approximately 69.5 million. This mid-year estimate was published on 1 October 2026. It describes the population at mid-2025, rather than a live count in 2026.

What is the population of England, and how does it differ from the UK?

ONS estimates that England’s population was 58,834,812 on 30 June 2025, approximately 58.8 million. England is one part of the UK, which also includes Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The UK population estimate covers all four countries; England and Wales together are also a different geography from the UK.

What will the UK population be in 2034?

ONS’s 2024-based principal projection puts the UK population at 71.0 million in mid-2034. This is a modelled outcome based on assumptions about fertility, mortality and migration, not a forecast.

What changes the size of the UK population?

Births, deaths and migration affect the UK total. Movement between places within the UK changes the distribution of people between areas but not the national total.

Does population growth alone determine environmental impact?

No. Population trends interact with consumption, production, technology, infrastructure, policy and inequality. The UK’s consumption-based footprint includes emissions embedded in imports, so territorial emissions alone do not describe the environmental impact of what people in the UK consume.

Sources and further reading

• ONS: Estimates of the population for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — Mid-2025 dataset
• ONS: National population projections, 2024-based
• Defra: Carbon footprint for the UK and England to 2023

Reviewed 1 October 2026. UK population estimates and projections are updated periodically; check the linked sources for the latest release.