Demographic profile
United Kingdom is the 22nd most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.86% of everyone alive. Within British Isles, it ranks 1 of 2.
Each day brings roughly 3,326 births and 1,565 deaths, adding about 643,192 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 0.9% annually, the population would double in roughly 78 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Literacy stands near 85.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 17.0%, with life expectancy at about 77.7 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of United Kingdom in 2026? Approximately 71,472,156 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is United Kingdom growing? About 0.9% per year — roughly 3,326 births and 1,565 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in United Kingdom? Around 0.86% — ranked 22 worldwide by population.