The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated March 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question regarding what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the number of births in each of the years from 2008 to 2031, inclusive; and what estimate it has made of the number of those accounted for by net migration. [267778]
The attached table shows the projected number of births in the UK for each year from mid-2008 to mid-2031 according to the 2006-based principal national population projection.
A direct estimate of the number of projected births from 2008 to 2031 accounted for by net migration is not available. However, it is possible to compare the results of the principal projection with the 2006-based ‘zero migration’ variant projection. The ‘zero migration’ variant projection assumes that net migration will be zero at all ages throughout the projection period but makes the same assumptions about future fertility and mortality as the principal projection.
On this basis, the table also shows the estimated number of projected births attributable to assumed net migration from mid-2006 onwards. There are limitations to this as a direct estimate of the impact of net migration on the number of births over the period 2008-2031. These limitations are that the comparison will:
exclude births to migrants who arrived in the UK prior to mid-2006; but
include, in later years, births to UK-born women who are children of migrants who arrived in the UK after mid-2006.
Thousand Year to: Principal projection: Births Zero migration variant projection: Births Difference: Births accounted for by assumed net migration from mid-2006 mid-2008 769 756 13 mid-2009 781 757 23 mid-2010 790 756 34 mid-2011 797 753 44 mid-2012 799 745 54 mid-2013 799 735 64 mid-2014 798 726 73 mid-2015 799 717 81 mid-2016 801 711 90 mid-2017 804 706 98 mid-2018 805 700 105 mid-2019 806 695 111 mid-2020 806 689 117 mid-2021 804 682 122 mid-2022 802 676 125 mid-2023 799 670 129 mid-2024 796 665 131 mid-2025 794 660 133 mid-2026 792 657 135 mid-2027 790 653 137 mid-2028 788 650 139 mid-2029 788 647 140 mid-2030 788 645 142 mid-2031 788 643 145 Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.