Demographics of the United Kingdom
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At the April 2001 census, the United Kingdom's population was 58,789,194-- the third-largest in the European Union (behind Germany and metropolitan France) and the 21st-largest in the world. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's prosperous and fertile southeast and is predominantly urban and suburban--with about 7.2 million in the capital of London. The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99%) is attributable to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900. Education is mandatory from ages 5 through 16. About one-fifth of British students go on to post-secondary education. The Church of England and the Church of Scotland function as the official national churches in their respective countries, but most religions found in the world are represented in the United Kingdom.
A group of islands close to continental Europe, the British Isles have been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several centuries. Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled there before the 11th century. The pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended in Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived in Northern France. Although Celtic languages persist in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the predominant language is English, which is primarily a blend of Anglo-Saxon and Norman French.
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Population
59,553,800 (1st July 2003 estimates by UK National Statistics)
Note: 1st July 2004 estimates are not published yet.
Age structure
0-14 years
- 18% (male 5,560,489; female 5,293,871) (2004 est.)
15-64 years
- 66.3% (male 20,193,876; female 19,736,516) (2004 est.)
65 years and over
- 15.7% (male 4,027,721; female 5,458,235) (2004 est.)
Population growth rate
0.25% (2000 est.)
Birth rate
11.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate
10.33 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate
2.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
- 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
under 15 years
- 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
15-64 years
- 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
65 years and over
- 0.84 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
total population
- 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate
5.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
- 78.05 years (2001 est.)
male
- 75.7 years (2001 est.)
female
- 80.4 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.73 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Nationality
noun
- Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective
- British
Ethnic groups
- White 92.1% (54.85 million people)
- Asian or Asian British 4% (2.38 million people)
- Black or Black British 2% (1.19 million people)
- Mixed 1.2% (0.71 million people)
- Chinese 0.4% (0.24 million people)
- Other 0.3% (0.18 million people)
From the 2001 UK Census (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=273)
- English 81.5% (48.54 million people)
- Scottish 9.6% (5.72 million people)
- Irish 2.4% (1.43 million people)
- Welsh 1.9% (1.13 million people)
- Ulster 1.8% (1.07 million people)
- West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8% (1.67 million people)
From the CIA World Factbook 2004
Religions
- Anglican 27 million
- Roman Catholic 9 million
- Muslim 1.63 million (2001 census)
- Presbyterian 800,000
- Methodist 760,000
- Sikh 400,000
- "Jedi Knight" 390,000 (a popular "write in" choice in the 2001 Census [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1589133.stm))
- Hindu 350,000
- Jewish 300,000 (1991 est.)
see also: Islam in the United Kingdom
Languages
English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 2% of the population of Scotland)
Literacy
definition
- age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population
- 99% (2000 est.)
male
- NA%
female
- NA%