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Demography of the
United Kingdom
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The population of the United Kingdom
was estimated at over 67.0 million in
2020. It is the 21st most populated
country in the world and has a
population density of 270 people per
square kilometre (700 people per
square mile), with England having
significantly greater density than
Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
[2]
Almost a third of the population lives
in South East England, which is
predominantly urban and suburban,
with about 9 million in the capital city,
London, whose population density is
just over 5,200 per square kilometre
(13,468 per sq mi).[3]

Demographics of the United

Kingdom

Population pyramid in 2020

Population 67,081,234 (30

June 2020)[1]

Density 270/km2
(700/sq mi) (2020
census)

Growth rate 0.53% (2022 est.)

Birth rate 10.2 per 1,000

(2020)

Death rate 10.3 per 1,000

(2020)

Life expectancy 81 years (2010–

2015)

 • male 79.04 years of

age (2018–2020)

 • female 82.86 years of

age (2018–2020)

Fertility rate 1.61 (2021)

Infant mortality 3.82 deaths/1,000

rate live births (2022)

Net migration 3.59

rate migrant(s)/1,000
population (2022
est.)

Age structure

0–14 years 17.0%

15–64 years 58.5%

65 and over 20.5%

Sex ratio

At birth 1.05
male(s)/female

Under 15 1.05
male(s)/female
(2022)

65 and over 0.73

male(s)/female
(2022)

Nationality

Nationality British

Major ethnic White: 87.17%

White British:
81.88% (2011)

Minor ethnic Asian British:

(6.3%)
Black British:
(3.0%)
British Mixed:
(2.0%)
Other: (0.9%)

Language

Spoken British English

The population of the UK has

undergone demographic transition—
that is, the transition from a (typically)
pre-industrial population, with high
birth and mortality rates and slow
population growth, through a stage of
falling mortality and faster rates of
population growth, to a stage of low
birth and mortality rates with, again,
lower rates of growth. This growth
through 'natural change' has been
accompanied in the past two decades
by growth through net migration into
the United Kingdom, which since 1999
has exceeded natural change.[4]

The United Kingdom's high literacy rate

(99% at age 15 and above)[5] is
attributable to universal state
education, introduced at the primary
level in 1870 (Scotland 1872, free
1890[6]) and at the secondary level in
1900. Parents are obliged to have their
children educated from the ages of 5 to
16 years (18 in England from 2013),[7]
and can continue education free of
charge in the form of A-Levels,
vocational training, and apprenticeship
until the age of 18.

The United Kingdom's population is

predominantly White British (81.88% at
the 2011 Census), but due to migration
from Commonwealth nations, Britain
has become ethnically diverse. The
second and third largest non-white
racial groups are Asian British at 7% of
the population, followed by Black
British people at 3%.

The main language of the country is

British English. Some Celtic languages,
namely Scottish Gaelic and Irish, are
still spoken by minorities in Scotland
and Northern Ireland, respectively, and
Cornish has been revived to a limited
degree in Cornwall; but the
predominant language in all these
areas is English. Welsh is widely
spoken as a first language in parts of
North and West Wales, and to lesser
extent in South East Wales, where
English is the dominant first language.
[citation needed]

History

Population

Vital statistics
(1900–2021)

Social issues

Health

Employment and
income

Migration

Ethnicity …

Ethnic demographic
breakdown …

Ethnic demography of the United

Kingdom from 1991 to 2011

For the overwhelming majority of its

established history, the United
Kingdom has been ethnically
homogenous society with few
minorities.[115] Such few minorities
formed in total numbers over a long
period of time and the largest
numerical minority which resembled
over one million were Irish people.[115]

Following the British Nationality Act of

1948, which transformed the status of
all the subjects of the British Empire
into classified legal 'British citizens',
allowed upwards of millions from
Britain's colonies to migrate to the
United Kingdom legally.[115] In the
following same year, the Empire
Windrush embarked to the United
Kingdom which allowed upwards of
800 West Indians marking in popular
history the beginning of modern
migration to the United Kingdom,
despite the fact that little migrants
came afterwards until the middle of the
1950s.[115]

Since 1948, the population of the

country has gradually become more
ethnically heterogenized nationally,
while regionally, in areas such as
metropolitan counties, this process has
been more rapid. Data on ethnicity was
not formally collected until 1991 when
the census for the first time asked the
ethnicity of the British population,
however estimates can still be taken on
the approximate population of the non-
white/ethnic minority population for the
previous decades.

From 1997 onwards, ethnic diversity

has increased rapidly since the country
experienced net-positive migration in
1992[4] and then in 1997 with the
expansion and lifting of restrictions on
immigration with the New Labour
government.[115]

Ethnic
1991[116][t 1] 20
Group
Number % Num

White:
51,873,794 94.5% 54,15
Total

White:
– – 52,03
British

White: Irish 837,464 1.52% 691,2

White:
Gypsy /
Traveller / – – 1,710
Irish
Traveller

White:
– – 1,423
Other

Asian /
Asian
1,834,117 3.34% 2,57
British:
Total

Asian /
Asian
840,255 1.53% 1,053
British:
Indian

Asian /
Asian
476,555 0.86% 747,2
British:
Pakistani

Asian /
Asian
162,835 0.29% 283,0
British:
Bangladeshi

Asian /
Asian
156,938 0.28% 247,4
British:
Chinese[t 3]

Asian /
Asian
197,534 0.35% 247,6
British:
Other Asian

Black /
Black
890,727 1.62% 1,148
British:
Total[t 4]

Black /
Black
212,362 0.38% 485,2
British:
African

Black /
Black
499,964 0.91% 565,8
British:
Caribbean

Black /
Black
178,401 0.32% 97,58
British:
Other Black

Mixed /
British – – 677
Mixed

Other:
290,206 0.52% 230
Total

Total: 54,888,844 100% 58,78

Note:

1. ^ For 1991, Only data from Great

Britain itself has been used, due to
Northern Ireland not conducting
an question on ethnicity within
there. If Northern Ireland
population data was added in as
substitute as the jurisdiction had
virtually no ethnic minorities
during that period, the White
population would rise to 94.65%
of the population.

2. ^ Number is an amalgamated
amount of all Other White's

3. ^ In 2001, listed under the "Other

ethnic group" heading.

4. ^ For the purpose of harmonising

results to make them comparable
across the UK, the ONS includes
individuals in Scotland who
classified themselves in the
"African" category (29,638
people), which in the Scottish
version of the census is separate
from "Caribbean or Black" (6,540
people),[125] in this "Black or Black
British" category. The ONS note
that "the African categories used
in Scotland could potentially
capture White/Asian/Other African
in addition to Black identities".[126]
Ethnicities of United Kingdom and
in its constituent countries

England
 

Wales
 

Scotland
 

Northern Ireland

Estimates and census figures of the

growth of the ethnic minority
population in the United
Kingdom[127][fn 5]

Ethnic
minority 1951* 1961* 1971*

Number 50,000 400,000 1,370,000 2,0

% 0.1% 0.8% 2.5% 3.9

Geographic distribution

Distribution of ethnic groups

within the United Kingdom in the
2011 census

White: Total (87.12%)

White: British (81.88%)

White: Irish(0.92%)

Asian/Asian British: Total (6.92%)

 
 Asian/Asian British: Indian (2.3%)

Asian/Asian British: Pakistani (1.86%)

Asian/Asian British: Bangladeshi

(0.71%)

Asian/Asian British: Chinese (0.69%)

Asian/Asian British: Other Asian

(1.36%)

Black/Black British: Total (3.01%)

Black/Black British: Caribbean

(0.94%)

Other: Arab (0.40%)

Age structure of ethnic groups

Age structure of ethnic groups in

England and Wales in the 2011
census

White: Total

White British

White Irish

Other White

Ethnic minority: Total

Asian/Asian British: Total

Asian/Asian British: Indian

Asian/Asian British: Pakistani

Asian/Asian British: Bangladeshi

Asian/Asian British: Chinese

Other Asian

Black/Black British: Total

Black/Black British: Caribbean

Black/Black British: African

Other Blacks

Mixed/British Mixed: Total

Other ethnic groups

Other: Arab

Ethnicity of school pupils

Ethnicity of school pupils within

England
School year[128]

Ethnic group 2021/2022

Number %

White: Total 6,011,045 71.4%

White: British 5,379,748 63.9%

White: Irish 21,495

White: Other 609,802 7.2%

Asian / Asian
1,040,541 12.3%
British: Total

Asian / Asian
289,179
British: Indian

Asian / Asian
380,781
British: Pakistani

Asian / Asian
British: 151,613
Bangladeshi

Asian / Asian
48,396
British: Chinese

Asian / Asian
British: Other 170,572
Asians

Black / Black
486,517 5.8%
British: Total

Black: African 338,614

Black: Caribbean 82,402

Black: Other
65,501
Blacks

Mixed / British
558,184 6.6%
Mixed

Other: Total 185,355 2.2%

Unclassified 136,371 1.6%

Total: 8,418,013 100%

Ethnicity of live births and total

fertility rate

TFR estimates of women by ethnicity

in the UK historically[112][fn 6]
Year
Ethnic
1996 – 2001 –
Group
2000 2005

White
1.72 1.71
British

White Other 1.48 1.50

Mixed 1.89 1.53

Indian 1.63 1.64

Pakistani 2.91 2.79

Bangladeshi 3.43 2.97

Other Asian 1.94 1.80

Black
1.88 1.94
Caribbean

Black
2.43 2.32
African

Other Black 1.87 2.23

Chinese 1.23 1.24

Other 1.94 2.09

Ethnicity of live births in England and

Wales[129]

Ethnic
2005[130] 2
Group
Number % Number

White:
451,514 69.5% 536,02
Total

White:
418,052 64.4% 476,328
British

White:
33,462 5.1% 59,693
Other

Asian /
Asian
56,065 8.7% 76,599
British:
Total

Asian /
Asian
16,053 2.5% 22,725
British:
Indian

Asian /
Asian
24,290 3.7% 27,948
British:
Pakistani

Asian /
Asian
8,241 1.3% 9,847
British:
Bangladeshi

Other
7,481 1.2% 16,079
Asians

Black /
Black
32,701 5% 36,151
British:
Total

Black:
19,756 3% 24,457
African

Black:
7,517 1.2% 6,943
Caribbean

Other
5,428 0.8% 4,751
Blacks

Mixed /
British 22,606 3.5% 34,64
Mixed

Other:
15,232 2.4% 13,320
Total

Not Stated 70,303 10.8% 22,848

Total: 649,371 100% 719,58

Future ethnic projections based off of

Coleman, 2010

Future projections …

Numerous predictions and projections

of the future ethnic demography of the
United Kingdom have been made over
the years.

In 2010, academic David Coleman

produced research postulating a future
demographic decline of the White
British in Britain, indicating that they
would become a minority in
Birmingham and London during the
2020s.[131] He also estimated that
around 2056 to 2066, the trend of a
declining share of the white populace
will result in the United Kingdom having
an overall white minority.[132][133]

In Prospect, he outlined four

projections for a majority-minority
scenario within the United Kingdom;
[134]

If net immigration trends (in 2010)

continued its overall trend of
254,000 a year and net emigration of
the White British was 74,000 a year
(180,000 per year), the White British
would decline to 59% of the total
population by 2051, 'Other Whites'
projected to be at 10% and non-
Whites projected to be 31% of the
population. By 2066 this would
inevitably lead to the White British
being a minority of the population.

If migration to the United Kingdom

was to decline to a net inflow of
80,000 per year, the White British
would be 63% of the population by
2051 and would fall below 50% in
2080.

Using a cross-party group of MP's

recommendation of 'balanced
migration', where there is neither a
net inflow or outflow, where
immigration only consists of 74,000
a year and emigration of the White
British the same, the White British
would be 67% of the population by
2051 and then fall below 50% by the
end of the century.

If there is no emigration of citizens

and no immigration to the United
Kingdom ('natural change' scenario),
then the White British would remain
at around 80% of the population by
2051 and would still remain the
majority by the end of the century,
albeit a reduced percentage (roughly
around 75 - 70%)

A fifth estimate, made by the Philip

Rees and the University of Leeds,
estimate that if assumptions about
ethnic self-identification are taken
into account, and that there is a net
outflow of citizens at 38,000 a year,
most of which are non-white and
long term net migration like
mentioned turns negative, this would
result in the White British remaining
at around 80% of the population by
2051, 20% of which would be ethnic
minorities and 15% of that 20%
would be non-white.
Population groupings over time
with projections up to 2051 by
David Coleman (2010)

White population over time

 
 Ethnic minority population (non-
whites)

Religion

Languages

National identity

Education

See also

Notes and references

Last edited 9 days ago by Tw…

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