The handbook reports the UK's total population using the most recent official census taken every ten years. The 2011 figures used in the third edition give the UK total as approximately 63.2 million, with about 84% in England, 8.4% in Scotland, 4.8% in Wales and 2.8% in Northern Ireland. The most recent census (2021/22) puts the UK total at around 67 million, with similar proportions.
Further reading: an editorial guide on this topic opens in a new window for additional context.
Population growth in the UK has been driven by both natural increase and net migration. The age structure is also changing: the proportion of people aged over 65 has grown in every census of the last 50 years.
The exam may ask which UK nation has the largest population (England by a long way), which has the smallest (Northern Ireland), or the approximate UK total in millions. Use the figures published in the handbook unless the question specifies otherwise.
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