More deaths than births for first time in nearly 50 years excluding pandemic

Deaths have outstripped births in the UK for the first time in nearly half a century, excluding the pandemic, official figures showed yesterday.

- Robert Booth, Michael Goodier

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, there were an estimated 16,300 fewer births than deaths in the UK in the year to mid-2023 - the first time since the 1970s "baby bust" - if excess deaths during Covid were stripped out.

But the figures continued to show a growing population, up 1% in the year, to 68,265,209 people, because of net international migration of 677,300. Economists described the dominance of deaths over births as "a stark reminder of Britain's demographic challenges".

With student- and migrant-friendly cities ageing more slowly, or even getting younger, and rural villages ageing faster, policymakers will face divergent demands to provide more social care in some areas and more school places in others, said Charlie McCurdy, an economist at the Resolution Foundation thinktank.