UK population growth surpasses half-a-million in 2015, ONS says

The population of the UK grew by more than half a million in 2015 to reach 65.1m, according to the latest official estimates.

Net migration accounted for almost two thirds of the increase as the population increased last year by an amount equivalent to the city of Manchester.

The report said that about 40% of migrants went to London, while Wales continued to sport the lowest migration numbers in the UK.

The report also showed that Britain's population was ageing rapidly. The number of over 65s reached 11.6m, having jumped by a fifth over the last 10 years.

The number of over-85s was up to 1.52m up by about a third form 2005. There were more than half a million people over 90.

Net migration was 335,000 last year even as the number of birth over deaths, or national growth, was 171,000 - its lowest since 2006.

Partly due to the flu outbreak early last year, the number of births fell and the number of deaths rose, ONS explained.

In total, England’s population rose by 469,000, Scotland's by 25,400, that of Wales by 7,100 and Northern Ireland's by 11,000.

Alp Mehment, vice chairman of Migration Watch, a think tank which wants to lower migration, said to The Times: “These figures confirm that our population is growing by around half a million annually.

“At this rate the UK population will increase by 10m over the next two decades and continue to go up. As the population grows beyond our capability to provide for it, pressure on housing, schooling, healthcare and transport will become ever more critical.”

The ONS released the statistics on Thursday, as planned since last year, falling as they did outside of ‘purdah’ rules – to not release sensitive information during an election or referendum campaign.