UK population hits 66.4m, with growth rate stalling

The population of the UK has risen to 66.4 million but the growth rate has stalled, official estimates show.

The latest calculations show there was an estimated 66,436,000 people living in the country at the end of June last year, according to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

But the growth rate remained the same as the previous year.

Over the 12 months to the middle of 2018, the UK population rose year-on-year by 0.6%, with the annual growth rate remaining slower than any year since mid-2004.

Neil Park, head of the ONS population estimates unit, said: “For the fifth year in a row, net international migration was a bigger driver of population change than births and deaths.

“However, overall population change to the year mid-2018 has remained fairly stable as an increase in net international migration has been roughly matched by the fewest births in over a decade and the highest number of deaths since the turn of the century.”