UK population seen rising by 10 million in the next 25 years

Britain's population will likely grow by 10.2 million to 71.6 million in the next 25 years, with the number of centenarians rising more than sevenfold to 80,000, the Office of National Statistics said yesterday. Of the 10.2 million, 55 per cent would be due to births outnumbering deaths and 45 per cent to migration, the ONS said.

Slightly more than two-thirds of the projected population increase between 2008 and 2033 was expected to be either directly or indirectly due to future migration, it added. The population group expected to rise most quickly was that of people aged 85 and older, which was likely to more than double over the next 25 years to 3.3 million by 2033, the ONS said.