| Source | UN (World Population Prospects 2024) |
| Date | 21 Feb 2026 |
As of 2026, the population of the United Kingdom is projected at 69.93 million, compared to 69.55 million in 2025. It is the third-most populous country in Europe and the 22nd most populous country in the world. The population growth rate in 2026 is projected at 0.52 percent, the 132nd highest among 237 countries and dependent territories.
There are 34.45 million males and 35.48 million females in the United Kingdom. The percentage of the male population is 49.27%, compared to 50.73% of the female population. The United Kingdom has 1.03 million more females than males, the 16th highest in the world. The sex ratio in the United Kingdom in 2026 will be 97.110 males per 100 females. The United Kingdom is in the 88th position in terms of the female-to-male ratio.
In the United Kingdom, approximately 678,001 babies are born each year, the 45th highest number of births of any country, accounting for about 0.51% of global births, which is roughly 1,858 per day, or 77 per hour. Meanwhile, around 677,695 people die annually, the 17th highest death toll in the world, making up nearly 1.06% of global deaths, or about 1,857 per day, or 77 per hour.
In 2026, the average life expectancy at birth in the United Kingdom is expected to reach 81.75 years, which is 7.98 years higher than the global average. This places the country at 46th worldwide and 26th within Europe, putting it on par with Albania, Estonia, and Saudi Arabia in terms of overall life expectancy.
Urban areas are home to 58.32 million people, or 83.40% of the United Kingdom's total population. The United Kingdom ranks 60th in terms of urbanization.
| Year | Population | Growth (%) | M per 100 F | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | |||
| 1950 | 24,099,876 | 26,021,141 | 50,121,017 | 0.76 | 92.617 |
| 1955 | 24,630,371 | 26,546,376 | 51,176,747 | 0.41 | 92.782 |
| 1960 | 25,379,668 | 27,158,880 | 52,538,548 | 0.63 | 93.449 |
| 1965 | 26,378,631 | 27,980,389 | 54,359,020 | 0.62 | 94.275 |
| 1970 | 27,026,057 | 28,637,744 | 55,663,801 | 0.40 | 94.372 |
| 1975 | 27,357,972 | 28,862,170 | 56,220,143 | -0.02 | 94.788 |
| 1980 | 27,391,943 | 28,890,161 | 56,282,103 | 0.11 | 94.814 |
| 1985 | 27,576,015 | 29,030,400 | 56,606,414 | 0.28 | 94.990 |
| 1990 | 27,664,153 | 29,703,709 | 57,367,862 | 0.36 | 93.134 |
| 1995 | 28,123,607 | 30,031,028 | 58,154,635 | 0.24 | 93.648 |
| 2000 | 28,628,840 | 30,428,498 | 59,057,338 | 0.38 | 94.086 |
| 2005 | 29,481,318 | 31,114,790 | 60,596,108 | 0.74 | 94.750 |
| 2010 | 30,780,549 | 32,225,934 | 63,006,483 | 0.82 | 95.515 |
| 2015 | 32,064,103 | 33,318,007 | 65,382,110 | 0.80 | 96.237 |
| 2020 | 33,128,760 | 34,223,101 | 67,351,861 | 0.21 | 96.802 |
| 2021 | 33,298,161 | 34,370,631 | 67,668,792 | 0.73 | 96.880 |
| 2022 | 33,558,255 | 34,621,061 | 68,179,315 | 0.77 | 96.930 |
| 2023 | 33,812,594 | 34,870,368 | 68,682,962 | 0.70 | 96.967 |
| 2024 | 34,044,490 | 35,093,701 | 69,138,192 | 0.62 | 97.010 |
| 2025 | 34,256,981 | 35,294,351 | 69,551,332 | 0.57 | 97.061 |
| 2026 | 34,453,134 | 35,478,395 | 69,931,528 | 0.52 | 97.110 |
| Year | Life expectancy | Median age | Fertility rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 68.631 | 33.889 | 2.224 |
| 1955 | 70.134 | 34.066 | 2.279 |
| 1960 | 71.025 | 34.505 | 2.704 |
| 1965 | 71.516 | 34.084 | 2.867 |
| 1970 | 71.882 | 33.218 | 2.421 |
| 1975 | 72.650 | 32.901 | 1.807 |
| 1980 | 73.591 | 33.336 | 1.888 |
| 1985 | 74.536 | 34.300 | 1.788 |
| 1990 | 75.738 | 34.949 | 1.829 |
| 1995 | 76.614 | 35.600 | 1.709 |
| 2000 | 77.849 | 36.626 | 1.641 |
| 2005 | 79.106 | 37.512 | 1.761 |
| 2010 | 80.391 | 38.191 | 1.918 |
| 2015 | 80.919 | 38.784 | 1.801 |
| 2020 | 80.385 | 39.220 | 1.571 |
| 2021 | 80.708 | 39.316 | 1.583 |
| 2022 | 81.074 | 39.504 | 1.560 |
| 2023 | 81.302 | 39.782 | 1.560 |
| 2024 | 81.448 | 39.972 | 1.551 |
| 2025 | 81.600 | 40.076 | 1.539 |
| 2026 | 81.750 | 40.212 | 1.532 |
| Year | Total | Crude(per 1000) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | Birth | Crude death | Crude birth | |
| 1950 | 589,015 | 817,314 | 11.752 | 16.307 |
| 1955 | 593,831 | 793,412 | 11.604 | 15.503 |
| 1960 | 601,038 | 910,595 | 11.440 | 17.332 |
| 1965 | 628,532 | 988,612 | 11.563 | 18.187 |
| 1970 | 658,140 | 896,322 | 11.823 | 16.102 |
| 1975 | 665,069 | 696,561 | 11.830 | 12.390 |
| 1980 | 663,701 | 749,962 | 11.792 | 13.325 |
| 1985 | 672,405 | 747,104 | 11.879 | 13.198 |
| 1990 | 648,416 | 797,555 | 11.303 | 13.902 |
| 1995 | 652,927 | 733,841 | 11.227 | 12.619 |
| 2000 | 616,828 | 684,572 | 10.445 | 11.592 |
| 2005 | 590,620 | 729,201 | 9.747 | 12.034 |
| 2010 | 567,680 | 812,048 | 9.010 | 12.888 |
| 2015 | 605,880 | 779,219 | 9.267 | 11.918 |
| 2020 | 691,537 | 687,269 | 10.268 | 10.204 |
| 2021 | 662,086 | 693,027 | 9.784 | 10.241 |
| 2022 | 648,522 | 688,630 | 9.512 | 10.100 |
| 2023 | 653,747 | 688,388 | 9.518 | 10.023 |
| 2024 | 670,730 | 683,910 | 9.701 | 9.892 |
| 2025 | 673,998 | 680,076 | 9.691 | 9.778 |
| 2026 | 677,695 | 678,001 | 9.691 | 9.695 |
| Year | Population | Urban (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | Rural | ||
| 1950 | 40,245,831 | 9,875,186 | 80.297 |
| 1955 | 40,811,118 | 10,365,629 | 79.745 |
| 1960 | 41,269,193 | 11,269,355 | 78.550 |
| 1965 | 42,179,864 | 12,179,156 | 77.595 |
| 1970 | 42,815,569 | 12,848,232 | 76.918 |
| 1975 | 43,598,357 | 12,621,786 | 77.549 |
| 1980 | 44,221,802 | 12,060,301 | 78.572 |
| 1985 | 44,383,989 | 12,222,425 | 78.408 |
| 1990 | 44,809,566 | 12,558,296 | 78.109 |
| 1995 | 45,743,912 | 12,410,722 | 78.659 |
| 2000 | 47,142,013 | 11,915,325 | 79.824 |
| 2005 | 48,746,899 | 11,849,209 | 80.446 |
| 2010 | 51,032,205 | 11,974,278 | 80.995 |
| 2015 | 53,498,504 | 11,883,606 | 81.824 |
| 2020 | 55,834,695 | 11,517,167 | 82.900 |
| 2021 | 56,157,412 | 11,511,380 | 82.989 |
| 2022 | 56,640,237 | 11,539,078 | 83.075 |
| 2023 | 57,116,884 | 11,566,078 | 83.160 |
| 2024 | 57,552,674 | 11,585,518 | 83.243 |
| 2025 | 57,952,679 | 11,598,653 | 83.324 |
| 2026 | 58,324,349 | 11,607,179 | 83.402 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 1,807,431 | 1,716,530 | 3,523,961 | 5.04 | 105.296 |
| 05-09 | 1,991,858 | 1,891,784 | 3,883,642 | 5.55 | 105.290 |
| 10-14 | 2,196,617 | 2,089,063 | 4,285,681 | 6.13 | 105.148 |
| 15-19 | 2,205,030 | 2,100,312 | 4,305,342 | 6.16 | 104.986 |
| 20-24 | 2,124,343 | 2,023,832 | 4,148,175 | 5.93 | 104.966 |
| 25-29 | 2,263,267 | 2,139,936 | 4,403,203 | 6.30 | 105.763 |
| 30-34 | 2,379,930 | 2,293,555 | 4,673,484 | 6.68 | 103.766 |
| 35-39 | 2,292,531 | 2,300,304 | 4,592,835 | 6.57 | 99.662 |
| 40-44 | 2,287,783 | 2,335,200 | 4,622,983 | 6.61 | 97.969 |
| 45-49 | 2,125,113 | 2,167,997 | 4,293,110 | 6.14 | 98.022 |
| 50-54 | 2,176,120 | 2,202,784 | 4,378,904 | 6.26 | 98.790 |
| 55-59 | 2,189,149 | 2,385,738 | 4,574,887 | 6.54 | 91.760 |
| 60-64 | 2,053,557 | 2,248,965 | 4,302,522 | 6.15 | 91.311 |
| 65-69 | 1,822,217 | 1,987,589 | 3,809,806 | 5.45 | 91.680 |
| 70-74 | 1,521,267 | 1,733,834 | 3,255,101 | 4.65 | 87.740 |
| 75-79 | 1,409,465 | 1,603,887 | 3,013,352 | 4.31 | 87.878 |
| 80-84 | 880,539 | 1,128,845 | 2,009,384 | 2.87 | 78.004 |
| 85-89 | 488,519 | 683,284 | 1,171,804 | 1.68 | 71.496 |
| 90-94 | 192,650 | 330,809 | 523,460 | 0.75 | 58.236 |
| 95-99 | 41,712 | 99,312 | 141,025 | 0.20 | 42.001 |
| 100+ | 4,033 | 14,834 | 18,867 | 0.03 | 27.188 |
| Total | 34,453,131 | 35,478,394 | 69,931,528 | 97.110 | |