The population of the UK will rise by almost 10 million over the next quarter of a century, according to official figures published today.
Two thirds of the increase is due to net migration and the birth of children to migrants. The Office for National Statistics is assuming that net migration will run at almost 200,000 a year over that period.
The UK’s population will increase 15 per cent over the next 25 years compared with 3 per cent in the rest of the EU.
Britain, currently the third most populous state in the EU , will overtake France to become the second largest in 2030 and is projected to overtake Germany to become the biggest by 2047.
Overall the UK population will increase