United Kingdom - Population, total

The value for Population, total in United Kingdom was 67,215,300 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 67,215,300 in 2020 and a minimum value of 52,400,000 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 52,400,000
1961 52,800,000
1962 53,250,000
1963 53,650,000
1964 54,000,000
1965 54,348,050
1966 54,648,500
1967 54,943,600
1968 55,211,700
1969 55,441,750
1970 55,663,250
1971 55,896,220
1972 56,086,060
1973 56,194,530
1974 56,229,980
1975 56,225,800
1976 56,211,970
1977 56,193,490
1978 56,196,500
1979 56,246,950
1980 56,314,220
1981 56,333,830
1982 56,313,640
1983 56,332,850
1984 56,422,070
1985 56,550,270
1986 56,681,400
1987 56,802,050
1988 56,928,330
1989 57,076,710
1990 57,247,580
1991 57,424,900
1992 57,580,400
1993 57,718,620
1994 57,865,740
1995 58,019,030
1996 58,166,950
1997 58,316,950
1998 58,487,140
1999 58,682,460
2000 58,892,510
2001 59,119,670
2002 59,370,480
2003 59,647,580
2004 59,987,900
2005 60,401,210
2006 60,846,820
2007 61,322,460
2008 61,807,000
2009 62,276,270
2010 62,766,360
2011 63,258,810
2012 63,700,220
2013 64,128,270
2014 64,602,300
2015 65,116,220
2016 65,611,590
2017 66,058,860
2018 66,460,340
2019 66,836,330
2020 67,215,300

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population