The U.K. estimated its population will balloon by 9.9% in the next 15 years, a trend that will both help the economy and exacerbate a rift within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ruling Conservative Party. The Office for National Statistics projected the number of people in the U.K. will grow by 6.6 million between the middle of 2021 and 2036, almost all of which will come from immigration. Net migration is likely to average 315,000 a year from the middle of 2028. While this would result in net migration more than halving from last year’s record, overall population growth is stronger than the ONS estimated a year ago. Yet it cuts against Sunak’s promise to rein in migration.

Source: The Times February 02, 2024 06:23 UTC