Data from the national census showed that 4.6 million more people were living in the UK last year than in 2001 – in a population explosion thought to be largely driven by mass immigration.
The increase was the largest in a single decade since records began.
It followed the decision by the last Labour government to open Britain’s borders to immigrants from across eastern Europe.
It is yet more evidence of the impact of mass immigration which is driving our population to unprecedented levels
Campaigners seized on the figures last night as fresh evidence of the need for tighter border controls. Sir Andrew Green, of the think tank Migration Watch, said: “This is the largest 10-year increase in the UK’s population for a century – both numerically and as a percentage.
“It is yet more evidence of the impact of mass immigration which is driving our population to unprecedented levels.”
The UK’s population will exceed 70 million within 20 years if the trend continues, although Home Office officials insist that strengthened border controls and the Government’s annual cap on net immigration from outside the EU will slow the growth.
The latest estimate for the UK’s population was released by the Office for National Statistics using data gathered for last year’s national census.
It showed that last year there were 53 million people living in England, 5.3 million in Scotland, 3.1 million in Wales and 1.8 million in Northern Ireland.