According to official data released on Monday, record immigration increased the population of England and Wales by 610,000 to 60.9 million in mid-2023, marking the largest annual increase in 75 years.
The difference between births and deaths, which statisticians call “natural” population growth, dropped to just 400, the lowest level since 1978. Net international migration increased to 622,000, up from 548,500 in the preceding 12 months.
Additionally, a net 13,800 persons relocated from England and Wales to Scotland or Northern Ireland. The largest population increase in England and Wales since 1948, when a post-World War II baby boom and the return of British military personnel serving overseas led to a 1.5 million increase in population, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics.
The growing population has not been matched by economic output. According to preliminary population estimates, the gross domestic product per head in 2023 was 0.7% less than the previous year.
Although net migration to the UK dropped 10% to 685,000 in 2023 after reaching a record 764,000 in 2022, it is still more than twice as high as it was in 2015, the year before the Brexit referendum. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party promised to reduce net immigration by reducing the country’s reliance on foreign labour. This was echoed by the previous Conservative government in Britain.
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