Compared to the populations of Tokyo (around 41 million) or São Paulo (22.8 million), London’s population – which was around 8.9 million as of 2022 – doesn’t sound that big.
But what’s driving the rise in the UK’s population – and how is the population of London projected to change in future years?
What are the new UK population projections?
The latest figures suggest the population increase would be driven mostly by net migration. The ONS projected that 4.9 million people would come to the UK via migration – an increase of 7.3 per cent – compared with 6.8 million births and 6.8 million deaths.
“The UK population is projected to grow by almost five million over the next decade,” James Robards, head of population and household projections at the ONS said. “The driver of this growth is migration, with natural change – the difference between births and deaths – projected to be around zero. These projections are based on current and past trends, and aren’t forecasts about what may or may not happen in the future.”
England’s population is projected to grow faster than the UK’s other nations, up to mid 2032, with an increase of 7.8 per cent. Wales’s population is predicted to increase by 5.9 per cent, Scotland by 4.4 per cent, and Northern Ireland by 2.1 per cent.
Mr Robards went on to explain that the latest projections highlight the UK’s increasingly aging population, with the number of people living in the UK aged over 85 to almost double to 3.3 million by 2047.
What is London’s population projection?
Predictions vary, however. Previous ONS population projections shared by Trust for London predict that the number of people in London will reach 9.4 million in 2030 and 9.6 million by 2035.
