Population, Mid-Year 2019: 67,530,000
Population Density (Population Per Square Kilometer), Mid-Year 2019: 279
Projected Population Mid-Year 2030: 70,485,000
Percentage of Population Under Age 25 Years, Mid-Year 2019: 29%
Percentage of Population 65 Years Or Over, Mid-Year 2019: 19%

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet (ST/ESA/SER.A/424).

Annual Population Growth Rate 2000-2018: 0.7%
Projected Annual Population Growth Rate 2018-2030: 0.4%
Proportion of Urban Population, 2018: 83%
Annual Growth Rate of Urban Population 2000-2018: 1.1%
Projected Annual Growth Rate of Urban Population 2018-2030: 0.7%

Source: UNICEF (2019). The State of the World’s Children 2019. Children, Food and Nutrition: Growing well in a changing world. UNICEF, New York.

“From 1980 to 2014 the population of the United Kingdom increased by 14.3%, rising from 56.3 million to 64.5 million (Table 1.1). This increase was driven by: a higher level of immigration that exceeds levels of emigration combined with a birth rate that, while falling since the 1990s, continues to outweigh the crude death rate. The share of the population over the age of 65 has increased, reaching 17.8% in 2014, nearly converging with the share of the population aged 0–14 years (17.6%), which has fallen over time.

“Over 80% of the United Kingdom’s population lives in England, followed in size by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (ONS, 2012). Although there are parts of the United Kingdom that are sparsely populated, especially much of Scotland, the urban centres are so densely populated that the population density for the United Kingdom as a whole is 266.6 people per square kilometre, which is relatively high in European terms. More than half of the population lives in densely populated areas.”

Source: Cylus J, Richardson E, Findley L, Longley M, O’Neill C, Steel D. United Kingdom: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2015; 17(5): 1–125.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated Sept. 22, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.