Britain's soaring population on course to hit 74million

 

 

By Steve Doughty

Last updated at 3:33 PM on 19th November 2009

 

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Britain's population may grow to 74million over the next 20 years, according to official estimates.

The Office for National Statistics said that if immigration continues at high levels the population will swell by more than a fifth - some 12million - in two decades.

And according to calculations of the highest likely scale of future population growth published yesterday, numbers will reach the 70million mark in 2023, six years earlier than otherwise expected.

The projection from the ONS follows a pledge by Gordon Brown last week that numbers in the country will not hit 70million in the next 20 years.

Ministers say new immigration curbs will ensure the record migration levels of the last five years are cut back. Last month the ONS said the most likely date for the 70million level to be reached is 2029.

Growth forecast: The population will swell by more than 12million - in two decades if immigration continues at the current rate

 

The 74million estimate was based on what will happen if immigration continues at the highest levels seen in recent years, if birthrates among new migrants are maintained, and if the life expectancy of Britons keeps rising.

A spokesman for the ONS said the high-level population projection was calculated from ' alternative, but still plausible, assumptions'.

 

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It said numbers in the UK, currently thought to be just under 62million, will rise at a rate of more than half a million every year, reaching 70million in 2023 and 73.8million in 2029.

The high-end projections suggest the 100million mark would be reached in 2071 - a level which would be double the 50million population of 1950.

At the other end of the scale of possible future immigration, the ONS low-end projections said the population may be under 67million in 2029.

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's pledge reported in last Thursday's Daily Mail

 

That estimate relies on net immigration into Britain - the number coming to live in this country minus the number of those leaving - levelling out at 120,000 a year.

By contrast, the ONS high-end estimates assume future net immigration will be 240,000 a year, approximately the level seen in 2004 and 2007. Sir Andrew Green of the Migrationwatch think-tank said: 'What this report shows is that it is most likely that the population will reach 70million as early as 2029, and the variants suggest that point could be reached much earlier.

'All the projections show that the population will climb far into the future unless very tough measures are taken to cut back the massive levels of immigration that Labour has permitted, even encouraged.'

Immigration minister Phil Woolas, who last year also pledged not to let the population exceed 70million, said: 'The ONS have published projections, not forecasts, that clearly show that population growth is starting to slow down.

'This is proof that the radical reforms we have made to the immigration system over the last two years are working. Last year saw a 44 per cent fall in net migration and we expect that fall to be sustained and reflected in future projections.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229113/Britains-soaring-population-course-hit-74million.html#ixzz0XK5AT5Ht

They missed the chance to introduce the 'Can't-have-more-than-two-kids "Family Sacrifice" bill' during the Queen's Speech!

Then imagine what will happen to us

 

in this city where I live, there are more than 50 million people :dozey:

Then imagine what will happen to us

 

in this city where I live, there are more than 50 million people :dozey:

 

:stunned:

:stunned:

 

 

yup. It's sucks big time that there will be a time we would get suffocated.

yup. It's sucks big time that there will be a time we would get suffocated.

 

I definitely wouldn't want to live in a city that big! London is too big for my liking!:dozey:

Then imagine what will happen to us

 

in this city where I live, there are more than 50 million people :dozey:

 

What city do you live in?, I didn't think anywhere was that big, except Mexico City maybe?.

Oh wait. yeah right.

 

I live in Manila, with a population of 50+m. well Manila (the capital of Philippines),consist of cities..

 

sorry for the mis-info :p nevertheless, it's still disturbing for us. Because unlike britain, our country is way smaller than yours :wtf:

This is hilarious, I did a study on population growth in the UK and as a whole we would actually be decreasing in population were it not for immigration, it is by no means "soaring" it's just above maintaining level.

Yeah, I saw a video that showed stats where americans and europeans aren't having enough kids to maintain population rates...and compared to the population growth in islamic nations, germany will be an islamic state by 2050. I'm not sure how accurate it was, but it was pretty interesting.

Maybe they wouldn't have this problem if they weren't constantly handing out free goodies to every lazybones. It's so easy to milk the system when you know how to fake disability.

:rolleyes:Such presumptions, Jay! Immigrants generally are the physical labor force!!

The real answer is to help get the economies of those other countries growing smoothly, so we can all move there.:P

lol true, there are two types of immigrants, the sorts who want jobs and the sorts that don't.

 

Either way, they're brown people and therefore should be treated with the most suspicion and prejudice! :D

:stunned:Is that it? You've got something against chocolate then??:P

Brown is cool man, cool..:cool:

Brown is cool man, cool..:cool:

 

 

 

 

 

:dozey:

Sometimes I wonder what certain politicians would be doing if they hadn't gotten power. What would Brown be good for? He's sort of pudgy and unathletic, so he'd probably work at a paper company in Slough.

Sometimes I wonder what certain politicians would be doing if they hadn't gotten power. What would Brown be good for? He's sort of pudgy and unathletic, so he'd probably work at a paper company in Slough.

 

Or maybe as a tax inspector?:rolleyes:

This is hilarious, I did a study on population growth in the UK and as a whole we would actually be decreasing in population were it not for immigration, it is by no means "soaring" it's just above maintaining level.

 

Hasn't the UK gone up from 52 million to over 60 since the early or mid 90s?, I agree with you immigration is too high, and this is the main cause of the population increase as Westrn European birth rates are quite low.

If you took 10 billion people, and stood them all in a circle (with plenty of breathing room), that circle would only be 84 miles (or 134 km) across! All singing and dancing so joyfully together - it would be so cool!:P

So what's a mere 60 million, compared to that? We could fit them all neatly in Newcastle!

If you took 10 billion people, and stood them all in a circle (with plenty of breathing room), that circle would only be 84 miles (or 134 km) across! All singing and dancing so joyfully together - it would be so cool!:P

So what's a mere 60 million, compared to that? We could fit them all neatly in Newcastle!

If you took 10 billion people, and stood them all in a circle (with plenty of breathing room), that circle would only be 84 miles (or 134 km) across! All singing and dancing so joyfully together - it would be so cool!:P

So what's a mere 60 million, compared to that? We could fit them all neatly in Newcastle!

 

I reckon the Geordies might have something to say about that.:rolleyes: