Britain's population growth is outpacing the rest of Europe, according to figures released yesterday.
This country gained more people last year thanks to immigration and rising birth rates than anywhere in the continent.
The rise in population in Britain accounted for nearly a third of the 1.4million increase in the number of people living in all of the 2 EU countries, according to the analysis from Brussels.
It said the increase pushed the EU population above the half billion mark, with just over 501million European citizens at the beginning of this year.
The breakdown from the EU’s Eurostat arm showed how fast Britain’s population is rising compared to that of our neighbours and rivals and provoked fresh calls for the Government to curb numbers coming into the country.
There are rising fears that pressure on housing, transport, water, power and social services will become overwhelming if official projections that the number of people in the country will reach 70million by 2029 are realised.
The Eurostat analysis showed that Britain’s population rose by 412,000 in 2009, up 182,000 because there were more immigrants than emigrants, and up by 231,000 because of rising birth rates.
Much of the new baby boom is a result of immigration, and one in four children born last year was born to mothers who were themselves born abroad.
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Close All polls Click to view yesterday's poll results The British figures compare with an increase of 34 ,000 in France, mainly a result of high birthrates, and 295,000 in Italy, largely caused by high immigration.
Germany’s population fell by 203,000. The UK increase meant the population rise per head in Britain was the greatest of any of the major EU countries.
Numbers in Britain grew by 6. for every 1,000 people last year, compared with 5.4 for every 1,000 in France, 4.9 for every 1,000 in Italy, and 3.5 for every 1,000 in Spain.
In Germany there were 2.5 fewer people for every 1,000, and Poland’s population grew by fewer than one for every 1,000 people – a clear indication that millions of Poles who left to work abroad in the boom years of the 2000s have yet to return home.
Only small and minor countries – Belgium, Sweden, Slovenia and tiny Luxembourg – showed a faster rate of population growth for every 1,000 people than Britain.
Sir Andrew Green, of the Migrationwatch think tank, said: ‘This is further confirmation that the population of the UK is rising extremely fast, mainly due to immigration, which accounts for two thirds of the projected population growth of the next 25 years.
‘There are always arguments in favour of immigration. But the majority of people are clear that immigration needs to be brought down. The Government would do well to stick to the promises they have made to the electorate.’
