A report said that the population of the United Kingdom was estimated to have been 63.2 million on the 2011 Census night (27 March). There were 31 million men and 32.2 million women. There were 53 million people in England, 5.3 million in Scotland, 3.1 million in Wales, and 1.8 million in Northern Ireland. The UK population had increased by 4.1 million (nearly 7 per cent) between 2001 and 2011.
Source: 2011 Census: Population Estimates for the United Kingdom, 27 March 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | Daily Mail report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Dec
A second set of key statistics were published from the March 2011 Census for England and Wales:
• The resident population was 56.1 million, a 7 per cent (3.7 million) increase since 2001. 55 per cent (2.1 million) of this increase was due to net migration.
•The number of residents who stated that their religion was Christian decreased from 72 per cent (37.3 million) in 2001 to 59 per cent (33.2 million) in 2011. The size of the group who stated that they had no religious affiliation increased by 10 percentage points from 15 per cent (7.7 million) in 2001 to 25 per cent (14.1 million) in 2011.
• Most residents of England and Wales belonged to the white ethnic group (86 per cent, 48.2 million) in 2011, a decrease from 91.3 per cent in 2001 and 94.1 per cent in 1991.
• Of the 13 per cent (7.5 million) of residents who had been born outside the United Kingdom, just over half (3.8 million) had arrived in the previous 10 years.
• 64 per cent (14.9 million) of households owned their own home in 2011, down 4 percentage points since 2001.
• In 2011 there were more people with level 4 or above qualifications (such as a Bachelor's degree) (27 per cent, 12.4 million) than with no qualifications (23 per cent, 10.3 million).
Source: 2011 Census: Key Statistics for England and Wales, March 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report (key statistics) | Report (religion) | Report (ethnicity) | ONS press release | BHA press release | Carers UK press release | Catholic Church press release | C of E press release | Evangelical Alliance press release | Methodist Church press release | Migration Watch press release | NSS press release | OCSI briefing (housing) | RSS press release | Runnymede Trust blog post | Theos press release | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Ekklesia report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | Inside Housing report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Dec
Key statistics were released from the 2011 Census in Northern Ireland. One-sixth (17 per cent) of the usually resident population either had no religion or did not state one. The prevalence rates for the main religions were: Catholic (41 per cent); Presbyterian (19 per cent); Church of Ireland (14 per cent); Methodist (3 per cent); other Christian or Christian-related denominations (5.8 per cent); and other religions and philosophies (0.8 per cent). In total 48 per cent were either Protestant or had been brought up Protestant, a drop of 5 per cent from the 2001 Census.
Source: Census 2011: Key Statistics for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
Links: Report | NISRA press release | Evangelical Alliance press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Dec
A report examined the issue of population shrinkage in Europe. Shrinkage could be used as an opportunity to readjust cities to changing times and actively involve local residents in developing creative solutions.
Source: Annegret Haase, Gert-Jan Hospers, Simone Pekelsma, and Dieter Rink, Shrinking Areas: Front-runners in innovative citizen participation, European Urban Knowledge Network
Links: Report | EUKN press release
Date: 2012-Nov
An article said that Europe was experiencing a slowing growth of both the total and working-age populations, but that different regions would be affected in different ways. Even under favourable conditions, 35-40 per cent of all regions would face a labour force decline. If economic conditions were poor, 55-70 per cent of regions would see a labour force decline by 10 per cent or more. To keep regions prosperous (maintaining competitiveness) and to avoid worse inequality (maintaining cohesion), policy-makers needed to find ways to cope with these challenges through new fiscal and social policies – though policies directly affecting demographic and migratory trends might also be needed.
Source: Philip Rees, Nicole van der Gaag, Joop de Beer, and Frank Heins, 'European regional populations: current trends, future pathways, and policy options', European Journal of Population, Volume 28 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A bulletin presented the first release of small-area statistics for England and Wales from the 2011 Census.
Source: 2011 Census: Population and Household Estimates for Small Areas in England and Wales, Office for National Statistics
Links: Bulletin | OCSI press release
Date: 2012-Nov
The population of England and Wales was estimated to be 56,170,900 in mid-2011, 95,000 (0.2 per cent) higher than a year previously.
Source: Annual Mid-Year Population Estimates for England and Wales, Mid 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Sep
A report examined the implications of a proposal (contained in an e-petition to Parliament) to limit the United Kingdom population to 70 million through curbs on immigration. It said that the reductions in net migration that would be required were far greater than those needed to hit the coalition government's target of reducing net migration to the 'tens of thousands' by 2015. Consequently, a population limit of 70 million would imply major additional policy changes. There needed to be a more explicit, evidence-based, and transparent discussion of why this was a desirable objective and how it could be achieved in practice.
Source: Britain's '70 Million' Debate: A primer on reducing immigration to manage population size, Migration Observatory (University of Oxford)
Links: Report | Migration Watch UK press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Sep
The population of England and Wales on Census day (27 March 2011) was 56.1 million – an increase of 3.7 million (7 per cent) since 2001.
Source: 2011 Census – Population and Household Estimates for England and Wales, March 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | ONS press release | Hansard | OCSI press release (1) | OCSI press release (2) | TCPA press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Jul
A report said that nearly one-third of Europeans would be aged 65 or over by 2060. Having more people living longer posed 'significant challenges' for European economies and welfare systems. Based on existing policies, age-related public expenditure (on pensions, health, and long-term care) was projected to rise by 4.1 percentage points of national income between 2010 and 2060 – from 25 per cent to around 29 per cent of national income. Spending on pensions alone was projected to rise from 11.3 per cent to nearly 13 per cent of national income by 2060.
Source: The 2012 Ageing Report: Economic and budgetary projections for the 27 EU Member States (2010-2060), European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release | European Union press release
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the validity and utility of unprompted 'open response' census and survey questions about ethnicity. Open response could be useful for large-scale ethnicity data collection, and the lack of consistency in recording responses need not necessarily be viewed as a drawback. Open response offered substantial insights into a country's 'superdiversity' in a way that ethnicity categorization alone could not.
Source: Peter Aspinall, 'Answer formats in British Census and survey ethnicity questions: does open response better capture "superdiversity"?', Sociology, Volume 46 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A report gave an overview of population ageing in the United Kingdom, its constituent countries, and the European Union. Median ages and percentages of people aged 65 and over were presented showing how the countries of the UK and the EU had aged between 1985 and 2010 and were projected to age up to 2035.
Source: Population Ageing in the United Kingdom Its Constituent Countries and the European Union, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Mar
A report examined the composition of growth in the population of the United Kingdom in recent years, and the projected changes in it using the latest available data.
Source: Louise Barnes, Measuring National Well-Being: Population, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jan