The UK presently has a population in the region of 60,700,000 (2006), 51,000,000 of whom live within England. A combination of more births, less deaths and changes in migration patterns in and out of the UK have led to a sustained growth of around 0.5% per year in population.
The influence of net migration
The strongest sway upon this growth has been the influence of net migration (meaning the difference between inward and outward migration from the UK – about 5.5 million British citizens live overseas) since the late 1990's to 2006, contributing 55% of population growth in the year to mid-2006 compared with 45% attributed to natural change (the contribution of birth and death rates). It is interesting to note however that from 2005 to 2006 after the introduction of English language requirements on potential UK citizens there has been a 32% reduction in citizenship applications in the UK. As things stand with the impact of net migration, 1 in 5 babies are born to mothers who were not themselves born in the UK. The biggest flow of migration is still from Commonwealth countries (179,000 in 2006) although the numbers are decreasing. The fastest growing migration trend is from EU citizens.
UK's aging population
The population of the UK is an ageing one. There have been more births than deaths in every year since 1901 with the exception of 1976. Due to this, and falling rates of mortality and fertility, it is expected that the over 65s will outnumber the under 16s by the year 2021, as the baby boomers from the 1960's and 70's begin to retire. The average age in the UK is now 39 compared to 34 in the 1970s.
Working in the UK
The UK's workforce is presently made up of approximately 29,510,000 (15.7 million men and 13.3 million women). The UK's employment rate stands at around 74.9% and annually the combined total of hours worked is 939.6 million hours, with over 7,000,000 people working more than 45 hours a week and one fifth of the workforce working flexi-hours. Job vacancies are plentiful with 687,000 on offer in the 3 months to March 2008. Sectors showing the greatest job vacancies include hotels, hospitality and distribution.
Nearly one quarter of the population of the UK lives in the South East with over 7,000,000 people inhabiting Greater London. There is a slow increase in migration north to the Midlands where Birmingham houses the second highest population with over 1 million residents. The largest conurbations consist of Greater London (8.28 million) followed by the West Midlands (2.8 million) and Greater Manchester (2.4 million). On average England 383 residents per square kilometre.
Education in the United Kingdom
Education in the UK is ranked at 14th best in the world by the OECD's 'Programme for International Student Assessment', with a 99% literacy rate. All children between the ages of 5 and 16 are required to attend full time education.