On 28 August, the Office of National Statistics published the most recent data relating to the aspects of the UK population in the period to the end of 2013.  Whilst not strictly a “law and religion” issue, these data underpin the analysis of various measures in this area, and the latest information includes: annual estimates of the UK population by country of birth and nationality; and annual statistics on live births, including the countries of birth for non-UK born mothers and fathers.  Of less relevance here are statistics relating to migration, also published on the same day, here and here.

As with last week’s post on the ONS same sex marriage statistics for the first two quarters of 2014, as lawyers we are not in a position to interpret these figures and therefore include only the ONS headline information.

Population by Country of Birth and Nationality – 2013

These latest population estimates for the UK by country of birth and nationality cover the period from 2004 up to the end of December 2013. The ONS report discusses how these figures have changed over this period and highlights any statistically significant changes over the past two years in the resident population of the UK.  The key findings are:

• In 2013, 1 in 8 (12.4%) of the usual resident population of the UK were born abroad. This compares to 1 in 11 (8.9%) in 2004.
• In 2013, 1 in 13 (7.8%) of the usual resident population of the UK had non-British nationality. This compares to 1 in 20 (5.0%) in 2004.
• In 2013, there were a higher number of usual residents in the UK that held EU nationality (excluding British) than held non-EU nationality (2,507,000 compared to 2,394,000) – the first time this has occurred since the Annual Population Survey began in 2004.
• India is the most common non-UK country of birth in 2013. An estimated 734,000 usual residents of the UK were born in India (9.4% of the total non-UK born population resident in the UK).
• Polish is the most common non-British nationality in 2013. An estimated 726,000 usual residents of the UK have Polish nationality (14.8% of the total number of non-British nationals resident in the UK).

Parents’ country of birth, England and Wales – 2013

This statistical bulletin presents statistics on live births by parents’ country of birth, and includes the ten most common countries of birth for non-UK born mothers and fathers, the age of mothers by country of birth as well as estimated total fertility rates for UK born women and non-UK born women. The percentage of births to non-UK born mothers is also provided at local authority level.

Key findings are:

• Over a quarter of births (26.5%) in 2013 were to mothers born outside the UK, a slight increase from 2012 (25.9%).
• The number of live births in England and Wales to UK born women decreased by 5.0% compared with 2012, while live births to non-UK born women fell by 2.1%. This represents a change from the general trend of increasing numbers of births to both UK and non-UK born women over the previous decade.
• The total fertility rate (TFR[1]) for UK born women has fallen to 1.79 from 1.90 in 2012.
• The TFR for non-UK born women has fallen to 2.19 from 2.29 in 2012.
• Poland, Pakistan and India were the three most common countries of birth for non-UK born mothers in 2013.
• Pakistan remains the most common country of birth for non-UK born fathers between 2008 and 2013, followed by Poland and India.
• Newham remains the local authority with the highest percentage of births to non-UK born women (76.1%) in 2013. South Staffordshire has the lowest percentage (3.5%).

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[1] The total fertility fate (TFR) is the average number of live children that a group of women would each bear if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates of the calendar year in question throughout their childbearing lifespan (ages 15 to 44). It provides a snapshot of the level of fertility in a particular year and does not necessarily represent the average number of children that a group of women will have over their lifetime.