Country Comments

The United Kingdom has a population size approximately four times greater than what is sustainable based on its current consumption and economic activity. In a State of the Environment report, the findings indicated air pollution remains the single biggest environmental threat to its citizen's health, shortening tens of thousands of lives each year. An estimated 5% of total mortality in England can be attributed to small particulate matter alone. Other main findings from the Report in 2021: Groundwaters, which supply around 30% of the country’s drinking water, have been deteriorating in quality over the last 60 years. A major cause of this is nitrates from agriculture. (1)

Fertility rates for the UK have remained below replacement since the mid 1970s. The annual growth of population comes predominantly from net international migration which can be attributed to three quarters of its total growth rate. The unsustainable population increase will continue to put pressure on housing, transportation infrastructure, schools and other social services as well as add to the environmental and sustainability challenges the country already faces. (2)

(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-environment/state-of-the-environment-health-people-and-the-environment

(2) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-population-increase-migration-latest-office-national-statistics-a9164871.html