Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
2 of 23 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
The UK population has hit a new high of 69.5million but the rate of growth has slowed significantly, official figures show.
asserted
figures → hit → growth
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the slowdown was due to falls in net migration, which has dropped rapidly since hitting record levels in 2023.
asserted
which → say → 2023
It represented a rise of 0.33 per cent – the lowest annual rate of increase since 1998, excluding the pandemic-affected year of 2020.
asserted
It → represent → 2020
Much larger jumps in population were seen in other recent years, including 1.05 per cent in 2022, 1.34 per cent in 2023 and 0.97 per cent in 2024.
asserted
jumps → see → 2024
The ONS said most population growth is down to net migration, the difference between the number of migrants arriving in the UK and those emigrating.
asserted
growth → say → UK
Net migration in the year to mid-2025 was estimated at 222,900, the latest data showed.
asserted
data → estimate → 222,900
It was down steeply from 651,700 in the previous 12 months thanks mainly to a series of visa restrictions introduced by the previous Conservative government in spring 2024.
asserted
It → introduce → spring
The Office for National Statistics said the slowdown in population growth was due to falls in net migration, which has dropped rapidly since hitting record levels in 2023
Some 652,400 births took place in the year to mid-2025, the lowest for more than four decades, the ONS said.
asserted
ONS → say → decades
There were 647,500 deaths over the same period, meaning natural change – the difference between births and deaths – contributed an increase to the UK population of only 4,900.
asserted
change → be → 4,900
The four countries of the UK are showing different population trends, with Wales seeing its first drop for a decade, Scotland and Northern Ireland experiencing almost no growth, and only England showing a small increase.
asserted
England → show → increase
Projections published earlier this year by the ONS suggested the UK’s population will peak more than 40 years earlier than previously thought.
uncertain
population → publish → ONS
It calculated the number of people living in the country will hit a high of 72.5million in 2054, and then begin to fall.
asserted
number → calculate → 2054
Its previous estimates suggested the UK peak would not arrive until 2096.
uncertain
peak → suggest → 2096
Within that UK-wide total, changes in the ONS’s calculations mean it now expects the first ever peak – and decline - in England’s population.
asserted
it → mean → population
Previous sets of data compiled by the official statistics body had forecast that the number of people living in England would continue to increase for at least the next century.
asserted
number → compile → century
But now it is forecasting it will hit its highest point of just over 62million in 2056, before beginning to fall.
asserted
it → forecast → 2056
For other nations in the UK their predicted population peaks have been brought forward.
asserted
peaks → predict → UK
The ONS expects Wales’ population to peak in 2035, rather than in 2077.
asserted
population → expect → 2077
Scotland’s population will reach its highest level just seven years from now, in 2033, rather than in 2051 as previously estimated.
asserted
population → reach → 2051
And Northern Ireland’s population will peak two years earlier, in 2031.
asserted
population → peak → 2031
The changes are due to a combination of slowing net migration and births outnumbering deaths.
asserted
births → slow → deaths
The earlier projections set out how the UK population is set to grow more slowly than previously thought over the next few years.
asserted
population → set → years
It is forecast to climb from 69.3million in 2024 to 71million in 2034 – 1.2million lower than previously forecast.
asserted
It → forecast → 2034
The Aporia
