Britain’s population is likely to surpass 70 million before the end of 2030, with more than half of this increase caused by UK immigration, according to new figures.
According to a new forecast by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people living in the UK is set to increase by 3.6 million in the next decade, the equivalent of a 5.5 per cent rise.
Around 46 per cent of this rise has been attributed to fertility and life expectancy figures, which is expected to lead to significantly more births than deaths.
However, 54 per cent of the increase is attributed to a significant rise in UK immigration. Furthermore, when taking into account the number of babies born to parents from overseas, UK immigration is though to be behind 77 per cent of the population growth.
As of March 2017, net migration for the previous 12 months reached 246,000, including 127,000 new arrivals from the EU and 179,000 from the rest of the world. Only 60,000 left the country during that time.
According to government representatives from Downing Street, while only a projection, the figures demonstrated that ministers are correct in fighting to reduce migration to more sustainable levels.
Commenting on the statistics, Lord Green of Deddington, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “This is serious because it will lead to inadequate planning for housing, schools, hospitals and infrastructure – as, indeed, we have seen in recent years. Yet again the ONS have been much too cautious.”