RAMPANT immigration means Britain’s population is now bigger than France’s — and 10million more are due to arrive within a decade.
Overseas arrivals alone will push our headcount from an estimated 69million today to 72.5million by 2032, and then continue driving up numbers for the next quarter-century at least.
Getty Images – GettyRampant immigration means Britain’s population is now bigger than France’s[/caption]
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been scrambling to accelerate new border measuresReuters
How UK and France compare in terms of land mass and population
Sir Keir Starmer was last night scrambling to accelerate new border measures after political rivals blasted the “shocking and unacceptable” figures.
But while accepting the influx was “staggeringly high”, the PM rejected fresh Tory and Reform UK calls for a hard annual cap on visas.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics published yesterday show the UK’s population hit 68.5million in 2023, surpassing France’s 68.2million for the first time since 1982.
Yet France is geographically more than twice the size of Britain, with its 551,000 square kilometres dwarfing our 243,000.
With a land mass of 243,610 sq km, the UK’s population is currently at 287 people per sq km.
France’s figure is estimated at around 124.
In the decade from 2022 to 2032, the UK population is projected to balloon 7.3 per cent, from 67.6million to 72.5million — with 9.9million arriving, and almost 5million leaving.
That 4.9million increase is the equivalent to around nine cities the size of Sheffield.
Births and deaths are both forecast to be 6.8million in that time, and so cancel each other out as far as the total is concerned.
And the dwindling birthrate poses its own serious concerns over fewer working age-people supporting more pensioners in the future.
After record highs of nearly a million last year, net migration is expected to settle at around 340,000 annually by 2028 following curbs on visas brought in by the Tories.
But Nigel Farage — who is demanding a “one in, one out” policy — last night warned immigration levels are worsening living standards.
The Reform boss told The Sun: “The quality of life for the British population is in rapid decline because of the exploding population.
“Both Labour and the Tories are guilty.”
He added: “This is a complete betrayal by our political class.
“And I promise you, it’s on this issue that Reform are going to win the next General Election.”
Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said ministers needed to get benefit claimants into work to ease the reliance on foreign labour.
He said: “Ten million arrivals over ten years is far too high.
“We need a binding legal cap on visas issued each year which is very, very substantially lower than this to get the numbers down and under control.
“We must also get more of the 9million economically inactive adults in the UK into the workforce and invest more in technology and mechanisation, to end the unsustainable reliance on mass low-skilled migration.
“This projection is shocking and unacceptable.
“It can and must be stopped from materialising.”
No10 rejected calls to impose a hard annual ceiling on net migration but pledged a blueprint to rein in the numbers.
How migration will keep the UK population rising despite more deaths than births
Population growth of the UK and France compared
It is expected bosses will be forced to hire more Brits, and more boost training for sectors overly-dependent on migrants.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “As the Prime Minister has previously said, we had a supposed cap in place before and it didn’t have any meaningful impact on reducing immigration.
“So he doesn’t think that setting an arbitrary cap, as previous governments have done, is the best way forward in terms of significantly reducing migration.
“We’re going to publish a White Paper to set out a comprehensive plan to end these staggeringly high migration numbers.”
It will tee up a Cabinet clash between Yvette Cooper’s Home Office, which is keen on slashing migration, and Rachel Reeves’ Treasury, which sees arrivals as key to boosting growth.
Yesterday’s figures also laid bare Britain’s aging population with people living longer and having fewer kids. The number of over-85s is set to almost double from 1.7million in 2022 to 3.3million in 2047.
And the birthrate in the next decade is set to slump to below the previous record low in 2001, with 790,000 fewer children in 2032 than there is today.
While the proportion of working-age Brits will grow, it will not outstrip the amount of pensioners, which will increase by 1.7million between now and 2032.
Nigel on rise
VOTERS are flocking to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK because of its tough stance on immigration, a survey reveals.
The party is now polling at 24 per cent, with a third of Tory voters ready to jump ship at the next general election.
Immigration is at the heart of its appeal, with 18 per cent of supporters saying Reform UK’s hardline policies are their main reason for backing the party.
The YouGov poll found older voters are driving the surge, with 36 per cent of over-65s and 28 per cent of those aged 50 to 64 open to voting for Mr Farage.
By Martina Bet
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