UK Geopolitics

Category: Demographics

Subscribe to the UK Geopolitics Substack

Demographics

Latest Article

Type 45 Destroyer UK Royal Navy Fighting Helicopter Sunset

Weakness is a Political Choice

Britain must increase the size of its surface fleet. Even more so, it must bring online new dockyards, renovate disused ones, expand existing ones, increase its maintenance capabilities, increase stockpiles of spare parts and onshore or ‘friend-shore’ critical parts of its shipbuilding supply chains where possible.

Read More »

Recent Posts

Sheffield Skyline at Sunset Behind Train Station

What is the Population of Sheffield?

UK Cities - City of London Skyscrapers at Dusk - UK Geopolitics

What is the population of the City of London?

What is the population of the city of London, aka the Square Mile?
Get the Newsletter

Sign up for our free newsletter and stay up to date on the latest from UK Geopolitics.

Topics that cover the UK and its population structure, using age. gender and population pyramids to predict future population trends.

UK Population Pyramid

Breakdown of UK population by age and sex

Use the drop down boxes to compare the different population pyramids for individual regions and cities across the UK.

Data provided by Office for National Statistics

Overview of UK Demography

The United Kingdom faces a precarious demographic situation as the massive baby boomer generation enters retirement this decade.

This will likely drive wage inflation to record levels, as the number of people of working age falls below the number of job vacancies.

Though that sounds bad – and it is – it’s by no means the worst in the world, or even Europe (Japan, China, Germany, Russia and Central Europe have it much worse).

However, as the investment and capital the boomers have provided for decades slips away into pensions and more stable investments like government bonds, the UK’s demography will look very different, gradually becoming more and more ‘top heavy’.

What was the UK population in 2020?

The UK population numbered 67.26 million in 2020, an increase of 800,000 from 2018.

What will the UK population be in 2025?

By 2025, the UK population is projected to reach almost 69 million.

However, by then almost 20% of the population will be over 65 and the boomers will be well on their way into retirement.

Don’t forget they’ll be taking their investment capital and productivity with them – and it isn’t coming back any time soon.

What is the current level of UK immigration?

Despite the self-imposed, global economic lockdowns the UK experienced during 2020, the UK continues to attract migrants.

In 2021 alone, the UK granted over 1.3 million visas. Of these, almost 240,000 were work related and 432,000 were study visas.

By March 2022, the number of visas granted by the UK Government grew to over 1.6 million, an increase of around 300,000. Of these, 277,000 were work related and 467,000 were for studying.