More than two thirds of the increase, seven million, will be either migrants or the children of migrants, its report said.
By Steve Doughty
Britain’s population is rising at a speed unprecedented in history, official figures revealed yesterday.
It will pass the milestone of 70million - the point Immigration Minister Phil Woolas promised would never happen - in 20 years.
The Office for National Statistics said that by 2033 there will be ten million more people in the country than now. More than two thirds of the increase, seven million, will be either migrants or the children of migrants, its report said.
This will put pressure on housing, transport, water and key public services.
According to the projections, the bulk of the population increase - 9.2million by 2033 - will be in England. Growth in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is likely to be less than a million.
England is already the third-most-crowded major country in the world and the most crowded country in Europe except for the island of Malta, according to British and UN figures.
Most immigrants gravitate to London and the South East, which is by far the most populous part of the country.
Chris Huhne, home affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, yesterday warned that these areas are now at ‘the limit of environmental sustainability’.
Over the next ten years, the ONS expects the population to rise by four million from its present 61.4million.
Despite claims by Labour ministers that population growth is slowing because immigration is on a downward trend, the ONS said that for the foreseeable future the population will grow by 180,000 a year because of higher numbers of immigrants over emigrants. Two years ago the state statisticians put the immigration gain at 190,000 a year.
The ONS forecast contradicts claims by Mr Woolas, who a year ago said: ‘At some point we will be able to set a limit on migration. This Government isn’t going to allow the population of this country to go up to 70million.
‘There has to be a balance between the number of people coming in and the number of people leaving.’
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