England and Wales Population Growth Slows to 0.4% as Net Migration Drops to 211,700
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Jul 29
England and Wales Population Growth Slows to 0.4% as Net Migration Drops to 211,700
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Jul 29
Summary
England and Wales added 224,900 people in the year to mid-2025, taking the population to 62.0 million and marking the slowest growth since mid-2020.
Net international migration fell to 211,700 from 612,500 a year earlier, while natural change added just 19,600 as births slipped to 588,000—the lowest since 1978.
Wales' population fell for the first time since 2015, and London dropped 0.3% as outward moves to other UK areas outweighed births and overseas arrivals.
Seventy-eight of 318 local authorities lost population, up from 19 a year earlier; among major cities, Nottingham fell 1.5%, Leicester 0.9% and Birmingham 0.5%.
ONS said migration has driven population change for a quarter-century, but the recent pullback is now exposing weaker natural growth and sharper regional divergence.
As natural population growth flatlines and EU citizens leave in droves, is England quietly approaching an irreversible demographic tipping point?
With visa crackdowns slashing migration and birth rates hitting record lows, who will power the UK's economy as its workforce rapidly ages?
London's population is shrinking while northern regions boom—could this surprising exodus finally solve the capital's notorious housing and infrastructure crises?