UK population growth slows to lowest rate since 1998, official data shows

The UK’s population growth slowed to its lowest rate outside the COVID-19 pandemic since 1998, official figures showed Friday.

The UK population stood at an estimated 69.5 million in mid-2025, increasing by 227,665 people over the previous 12 months, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The rise of 0.33% marked the lowest annual growth rate since 1998, excluding the pandemic-affected year of 2020.

The slowdown was largely driven by a sharp decline in net international migration, which fell to an estimated 222,900 in the year to mid-2025, down from 651,700 in the previous 12 months.

Net migration measures the difference between the number of people moving to the UK for the long term and those leaving the country.

Population growth had been significantly higher in previous years, rising by 1.05% in 2022, 1.34% in 2023 and 0.97% in 2024 amid a spike in net international migration.

Natural population growth also continued to contribute to the increase, with births still slightly outnumbering deaths.

However, the gap between births and deaths has narrowed.

Population trends varied across the UK’s four nations.

Wales recorded its first population decline in a decade, while Scotland and Northern Ireland experienced almost no growth. England was the only part of the UK to record a small population increase.