The population of Tower Hamlets is growing faster than anywhere else in the UK
Nine out of the 10 fastest-growing local populations in Britain are London boroughs, according to new official forecasts today.
The new list of local authority areas is headed by Tower Hamlets where the population is projected to soar by more than a quarter, or 71,400, to 355,400 by 2024.
It is followed by Barking and Dagenham, Newham, Camden, Islington, Redbridge, Hackney, Kingston and Hillingdon, all with strong double-digit growth.
The only town outside the capital to make the top 10 is Corby in Northamptonshire, where the population is expected to grow by 16.7 per cent.
Overall, the number of people living in London will surge by 13.7 per cent, (1.17 million) to hit 9,708,000, according to the latest calculations by government statisticians.
London’s growth is due to its high birth rate and immigration from abroad, although that is largely offset by people leaving London to live in other parts of the UK.
The huge growth in London’s population, which reached an all-time high last year, will put a major strain on its infrastructure and services and continue to stoke house prices and rents.
Looking further ahead, London’s most populous boroughs will rank among Britain’s biggest cities in their own right by 2039, according to the ONS.
Barnet will have a population of 494,000 and Croydon will have 476,000 inhabitants.
Other regions to see rapid population growth by 2024 are the East with an 8.9 per cent rise and the South-East on 8.1 per cent.
This compares with 7.5 per cent for England as a whole. The North-East is projected to grow at the slowest rate, by 3.1 per cent.
Suzie Dunsmith, head of the population projections unit at the Office for National Statistics, said: “All regions of England are projected to see an increase in their population size over the next decade, with London, the East of England and South-East projected to grow faster than the country as a whole.
“The population is also ageing, with all regions seeing a faster growth in those aged 65 and over than in younger age groups.”