What happens when Britain's population starts to shrink?

当英国人口开始减少时,会发生什么?

The Story

2026-02-11

26 分钟
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The Office for National Statistics has said that by 2029 it expects more deaths than births in Britain. Simultaneously migration could go into reverse soon, with more people leaving our shores than arriving. But how will a shrinking - and ageing - population affect our politics, our economy and our lives? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guest: Tom Calver, Data Editor, The Times and The Sunday Times Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Olivia Case. We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Read more: Could Britain’s population actually start shrinking soon? Further listening: Britain is in a cancer crisis. Will a new strategy fix it? Clips: Sky, ITN, BBC. Photo: Getty Images. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  • From The Times and The Sunday Times, this is the story.

  • I'm Manvi Mairana.

  • As recently as 2009, Britain was booming.

  • Baby booming.

  • It's a baby boom that mirrors the late 40s and early 60s.

  • It's helped push the British population above 61 million for the first time.

  • And that burgeoning population wasn't just the result of birth rates.

  • Over the decades that preceded it, the UK had experienced waves of immigration,

  • like Windrush, which began in the late 1940s.

  • We also saw waves of immigration from other parts of the world, from the Commonwealth,

  • which Britain created, and from the European Union while we were still a part of it.

  • Polish is now the second language in the UK.

  • Punjabi is the third and Urdu is the fourth.

  • Immigrants bring into our economy £1.2 billion more than they take out in benefit.

  • But now, that period of population growth appears to have become a period of decline.

  • Tom Calver, the data editor at The Times and The Sunday Times, has been taking a closer look.

  • Britain's population could actually start shrinking.

  • Birth rates are falling and net migration could fall below zero.

  • And this could have massive implications for our lives, the economy and also our politics.

  • How will a shrinking population affect the United Kingdom and our economic prospects?