The UK population was estimated to be 67.6 million people in mid-2022, up by 4.3 million since mid-2011.

After England, Northern Ireland saw the next biggest increase across the period at 5.3%, or an additional 96,225 people, followed by Scotland's 2.8% increase, or 147,000 people, and Wales's 2.2% rise of 67,882 people.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures are the first UK-wide estimates for mid-2022, making them the most up-to-date snapshot of the country's population.

They show the median average age of people in the UK in the year to June 2022 was 40.7 years, up from 39.6 years in the year to June 2011.

It means all four nations now have a median age in the 40s, with Scotland recording the oldest at 43 years, followed by Wales at 42.9, England at 40.5 and Northern Ireland at 40.

The data tends to show "higher proportions of younger people in more urban areas and higher proportions of older populations in more rural areas", the ONS said.

Population estimates for Scotland in the years before 2022 have yet to be revised to account for the latest Census, which took place a year later than the rest of the UK in March 2022.

This means there are currently no comparable UK-wide estimates for the period 2012 to 2021, which is why the new figures are compared with 2011, when the Census took place in all four nations on the same day.

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Increase driven mostly by international migration

A full set of updated population estimates for the UK will be published after Scotland revises its data for 2012-21, the ONS said.

Figures for England and Wales were published in November 2023 and showed the combined population of the two nations grew by an estimated 1% in the 12 months to June 2022 - the fastest rate for 60 years.

The increase was driven mostly by international migration rather than natural change, unlike the baby boom which fuelled growth in the early 1960s.