Population Estimates - East Riding JSNA

Introduction

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released mid-2025 population estimates for England and Wales during July 2026. These estimates include national and subnational population estimates for mid-2025 by administrative area, age and sex.

This page features some summary statistics for England and Wales, and also the East Riding. There is an interactive local authority dashboard towards the bottom of the page from which East Riding of Yorkshire can be selected.

More information can be obtained here:

ONS: Population estimates for England and Wales: mid-2025

2025 Population Estimates Overview

England and Wales

England and Wales experienced continued population growth in the year to mid-2025, reaching an estimated 62.0 million people. Growth continued at a slower pace than in the previous year, primarily because of a substantial reduction in net international migration. Despite this slowdown, migration remained the main driver of population change, while natural increase remained relatively small. These patterns reflect changing migration trends alongside continued population growth across England and Wales

Population increase details: The population grew by 224,900 people (0.4%) between mid-2024 and mid-2025. This was the lowest annual rate of population growth since mid-2020.
Key driver of growth: Net international migration was the main contributor to population growth, with 816,500 immigrants and 604,800 emigrants, resulting in net migration of 211,700. This was substantially lower than the previous year (down from 612,500).
Births and deaths trends: Births decreased to 588,000, the fewest since mid-1978, while deaths decreased to 568,400, the fewest since mid-2019, leading to a natural population increase of 19,600.
Population by sex: There were 31.6 million females and 30.4 million males, with males increasing at a slightly faster rate than females, influenced by higher male births and net migration.
Historical context: Since mid-1982, the population has grown annually, with migration contributing most to growth since mid-1999, while natural change was more influential before then.
Regional and local variations: Population growth rates in English regions ranged from 0.28% to 0.74%, with the North West experiencing the highest growth. London was the only region to see a population decline (driven by net migration outflows to other parts of the UK), and 75% of local authorities recorded population increases, noticeably lower than in each of the previous three years.

East Riding of Yorkshire

East Riding of Yorkshire experienced continued population growth in the year to mid-2025, with its demographic profile showing a higher median age and a greater proportion of older residents than the national average. The main driver of population change was net internal migration, despite a natural decrease and a small net loss through international migration.

Population growth and size: The population increased by 1.4% from 355,378 in mid-2024 to 360,334 in mid-2025, placing East Riding of Yorkshire among the 20% fastest-growing local authority districts in England and Wales. Over the four-year period from mid-2021 to mid-2025, the population grew by 5.0%.
Age structure and median age: The median age increased slightly to 49.9 years in mid-2025, with 27.5% of residents aged 65 and over, which is notably higher than the 19.3% for England and Wales. The working-age group (16 to 64 years) comprised 57.2% of the population, while children aged 0 to 15 years made up 15.3%.
Drivers of population change: Net internal migration was the largest contributor, adding 6,686 people. Natural change (births minus deaths) resulted in a population decrease of 1,877 due to more deaths (4,401) than births (2,524). Net international migration contributed a decrease of 222 people, while other factors had a negligible impact.
Population estimate revisions: The mid-2024 population estimate was revised downward by 506 people because of adjustments to international migration data.

How has the East Riding of Yorkshire population changed over time?

The charts below show how the age and sex structure of the East Riding of Yorkshire population has changed between 2011 (on the left) and 2025 (on the right). The black lines show the equivalent population structure for England and Wales, allowing comparison with the national population.

The ONS have produced a useful webpage, ‘How life has changed in East Riding of Yorkshire: Census 2021’, which explores demographic and social changes between the 2011 and 2021 Censuses. It can be accessed from this link.

Local Authority Dashboard

Use the dashboard below (updated with mid-2025 population estimates) to explore population characteristics for any local authority area in England and Wales.

Further information

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