Rising fertility rates, immigration push Britain’s population over 61 million for first time
By APFriday, August 28, 2009
Britain’s population tops 61 million
LONDON — Official figures show that rising fertility rates and immigration have pushed Britain’s population to a new high of more than 61 million.
The Office for National Statistics says the country’s population is now growing by more than 0.7 per cent every year — three times the level in the 1980s.
The figures show that 791,000 babies were born in 2008 — 33,000 higher than the year before — bringing Britain’s population to 61.4 million. The population last year was 60,975,000.
A quarter of all births last year were to women born outside the U.K., but statistician Roma Chappell said Friday that fertility rates among women born in the U.K. also are rising.
Rising birth rates are now a bigger driver of population growth than immigration for the first time in a decade.
