Population · ONS, NRS and NISRA

UK population & demographics

A single place to explore the size, age structure and demographic characteristics of the UK population, with the census reference date shown where it differs between nations.

UK population69.28mmid-2024
Annual change+1.1%mid-2023 to mid-2024
Net migration738,700year to mid-2024
Median age40.2–42.8UK nations · mid-2024

Population by UK nation

Official mid-year estimates · 30 June 2024
England
58.6m
Scotland
5.5m
Wales
3.2m
Northern Ireland
1.9m
The mid-2024 UK estimate is 69,281,400. ONS describes these as the official annual population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries.

Median age

Mid-2024 population estimates
England40.2 years
Northern Ireland40.3 years
Scotland42.8 years
Wales42.8 years
Median age is not the same measure as mean/average age.

UK age structure

Mid-2024
0–15
19%
16–64
61.1%
65+
19.9%
These are UK-wide age bands. The underlying ONS dataset also provides single-year age and sex breakdowns by country and local authority.

Why reference dates matter

Population estimates and census data answer different questions.

Population estimates
Annual estimates, latest mid-2024.
Census demographics
England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 2021 · Scotland: 2022.

Ethnic group · England & Wales

Census 2021 · usual residents
White
81.7%
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh
9.3%
Black, Black British, Caribbean or African
4%
Mixed or Multiple
3%
Other ethnic group
2.1%

Scotland

Census 2022
Minority ethnic background12.9%
Scottish77.7%
Other British9.4%
Ethnic classifications are not identical across the four UK censuses, so detailed categories should not be treated as perfectly harmonised.

Religion · England & Wales

Census 2021 · usual residents
Christian
46.2%
No religion
37.2%
Muslim
6.5%
Hindu
1.7%
Sikh
0.9%
Jewish
0.5%
Buddhist
0.5%
Other / not answered
6.5%

Scotland

Census 2022
No religion51.1%
Church of Scotland20.4%
Roman Catholic13.3%
Other Christian5.1%
Muslim2.2%
Religion is a voluntary census question. Percentages in Scotland are calculated using the overall population.

Country of birth

England & Wales · Census 2021
Born in the UK83.2%
Born outside the UK16.8%
India920,000
Poland579,000
Pakistan456,000

Scotland

Census 2022
Born outside the UK10.2%
Census reference dates differ: England, Wales and Northern Ireland used 2021; Scotland used 2022.

National identity · Scotland

Census 2022
Scottish only
65.5%
British only
13.9%
Scottish & British
8.2%
National identity is self-defined and can differ from country of birth or citizenship.

Language

Selected official census findings
Scotland · Gaelic skills2.5%
Scotland · Scots skills46.2%
Scotland · BSL2.2%
Language measures vary by census nation and question wording.
Sources: ONS mid-2024 population estimates · ONS Census 2021 · Scotland’s Census 2022 · NISRA Census 2021. Detailed categories are shown only where definitions are sufficiently comparable.

Historical population trend

UK mid-year estimates · recent annual observations

ONS revised population estimates back to mid-2011. The fuller annual series is available from the downloadable ONS dataset.