Who lives in the UK, and how is that changing?
About 69.5m people lived in the UK in mid-2025. Net migration was 171,000 in the year to December 2025, and a baby born in the UK can expect to live 81.4 years.
The detail
Each page has the figures, the trend, a table and the questions people ask.
How many people live in each nation of the UK, since 1971.
See the population →Net migration, people arriving and people leaving.
See migration →People claiming asylum and how many are granted protection.
See asylum claims →How long people live and how many children they have, against other countries.
See life expectancy →In numbers
Each measure’s recent trend (up to ten years), with the latest figure.
| Measure | Recent trend | Latest |
|---|---|---|
| UK population 2025 | 69.5m | |
| Net migration to the UK 2025 | 171,000 | |
| UK: life expectancy at birth 2024 | 81.4 | |
| UK: births per woman 2024 | 1.55 |
At a glance
What’s this?
The estimated number of people living in the UK in the middle of the year (30 June).
What it cannot tell you: It counts usual residents, so it can differ from other counts, and estimates are revised when new data arrive.
What’s this?
The number of people who came to live in the UK minus the number who left, in the twelve months to the end of December. A minus sign means more left than arrived.
What it cannot tell you: These are modelled estimates, not a count: the ONS now combines Home Office visa records, tax and benefit records and surveys, and revises them as new data arrive. The latest figures are provisional.
What’s this?
How long a baby born this year would live, on average, if death rates stayed as they are now.
What it cannot tell you: It is an average across everyone, so it hides big gaps between richer and poorer places, and it is a forecast from today's death rates, not a promise.
What’s this?
The average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime at current birth rates (the total fertility rate).
What it cannot tell you: It is a snapshot of one year's birth rates, so it moves when women delay or bring forward having children.
Questions people ask
Where do these numbers come from?
Population estimates are from the ONS, migration estimates from the ONS and asylum numbers from the Home Office. Life expectancy and birth rates against other countries come from the World Bank.
Is this the same as the Census?
No. The Census counts everyone on one day every ten years. These yearly estimates are updated from administrative records and then reset to the next Census.
Sources: ONS (population estimates, migration), Home Office (asylum), World Bank (life expectancy, births). Updated every night. Each chart has a CSV and a Share button.
See also: Find your area · Everything over time