England and Wales Population Surges by a Near Record 707,000
Net migration totaled over 690,000 as 1.14 million people arrived from outside the UK.
Photographer: Jose Sarmento Matos/BloombergThe population of England and Wales has hit an estimated 61.8 million after a near-record jump last year, reigniting the political row over migration that has fueled support for Nigel Farage’s upstart Reform UK party.
The rise of 706,881 people in the year to mid-2024, or 1.2%, was the second-largest by number in comparable data going back to 1949 with only 2022-23 recording a bigger increase, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.