Only 75 per cent of UK local authority areas saw population growth in the year to mid-2025, down sharply from 94 per cent or more in each of the previous three years, according to new Office for National Statistics figures.
The ONS posted figures on 27 November 2025 showing that just 240 out of 318 local authority areas recorded a population increase in the year to mid-2025 — a marked drop compared with the near-universal growth seen in the three preceding years. The provisional UK population now stands at 69,487,000, up from 69,281,400 at mid-2024, but that numerical increase of around 206,000 is a fraction of the 755,300 rise — 1.1 per cent — recorded between mid-2023 and mid-2024, which was the second-largest annual numerical increase in over 75 years.
Net migration is the main engine behind UK population growth, and the figures show it has eased considerably. Estimated long-term net migration to the UK in the year to mid-2025 was 204,000, substantially lower than in recent peak years. Natural change — births minus deaths — contributed almost nothing: ONS estimates 653,000 births and 651,000 deaths in the period, leaving a surplus of just 2,000.
Scotland’s figures illustrate the broader pattern. Its population reached 5,545,500 at mid-2025, but annual growth was just 2,200 — less than 0.1 per cent — well below its average annual change over the two decades to mid-2024.
For Kent households and businesses, the slowdown carries practical weight. ONS population estimates feed directly into central government funding allocations for councils, schools, health services, and transport. Any Kent districts that fell among the 25 per cent of areas not seeing growth could face tighter funding settlements. Sectors already stretched for workers — social care, hospitality, agriculture, and logistics — may find recruitment harder still if lower net migration persists. Kent-specific local authority figures remain provisional and subject to revision, so local planners will need to treat medium-term projections with caution until final data are published.
The number of UK households reached 29.0 million in 2025, up 7.2 per cent from 27.0 million in 2015, and UK families rose to 19.9 million, up 6.0 per cent from 18.7 million over the same period. But those decade-long trends were shaped by the high-migration years now apparently passing. Whether the shift to slower growth proves temporary or marks a longer-term change in demographic direction is not yet clear from the data available.
Source: @ONS