Study: UK population could hit 108m

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The figures from the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) suggest that with high immigration and fertility rates, the population could reach 108,723,000 by 2081.

In October, the Office for National Statistics published figures estimating the population would rise to around 85 million over the same period, but the new figures model the possible high and low extremes of growth.

GAD, a special unit which analyses how demographic changes could affect Government spending, came up with a range of population projections based on variations in life expectancy, fertility rates and immigration.

If all these factors were high in the coming years, the population could reach 91 million by the middle of the century and 110 million by 2081.

At the other end of the scale, if the same factors were low, the population could rise by as little as four million to stand at 64 million by 2081.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "This confirms what we have been telling the Government - that Britain's population is set to grow rapidly. Labour need to wake up and understand the factors driving population change as well as the solutions. Only the Conservatives would take steps to reduce immigration to levels that are suitable and sustainable for the UK."

The ONS figures published last month represent the principal projection - the scenario the office thinks is most likely. GAD's report suggests that the net rise in the UK population due to migration could rise to 230,000 a year in the next decade, though the ONS's principal projection gives a figure of under 175,000 a year.

Sir Andrew Green, from Migrationwatch UK, said: "These projections are a sharp reminder of what could happen to our population, indeed to our country, if the Government fails to take firm and effective action very soon to bring a halt to mass immigration."