UK set for one of Europe's biggest population booms in next 75 years because of migration

The UK population is set to see one of Europe's biggest population booms over the next 75 years due to immigration, new figures show. Research from the United Nations shows Britain's population is forecast to grow faster than any other major country in the EU this century.

It comes as Labour looks to cut net migration and continues to struggle to stop migrant small boat crossing across the Channel which are on course to be at a record in 2025, with more than 21,000 people making the journey so far this year. The number of people in the UK is expected to rise by 6.8% to 74.3 million from 69.6 million by 2100, according to reports, with immigration driving the increase amid falling birth rates. Only Luxembourg, which is home to 672,000 people, is predicted to see a bigger rise in its population with an increase of 10%, say reports citing the UN figures.

In May, the Government unveiled plans aiming to reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year, with Sir Keir Starmer saying Britain could become an "island of strangers" without reforms to the immigration system.

He later said he regretted his use of language following a backlash.

The latest figures were released in the United Nations' World Population Prospects 2024, published this month.

According to The Telegraph, the UN predicts cumulative net migration to the UK will hit 14.3 million by 2100, leading to population growth.

As well as Luxembourg, only Sweden (6.7%) and France (2.8%) in the EU will see population increases, the newspaper reported.

It is said that without positive net migration, the British population would drop by more than a quarter to less than 50 million by the end of the century.

The UN said the world's population is likely to "peak sooner and at a lower level than previously anticipated".

It said: "The period of unprecedented population growth, which began in the middle of the twentieth century on a global scale, is a major consequence of the demographic transition, but this period is coming to an end for many countries and, eventually, for the world as a whole.

"Another major consequence is a shift in the age structure towards older ages, a process known as 'population ageing'."

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving the country is estimated to have halved.

It represented the biggest decrease in net migration since the pandemic, with ONS saying this is being driven by a fall in people arriving in the UK to work and study.

An estimated 431,000 people arrived in the year ending December 2024, down nearly 50% from 860,000 the year before.