Changing population

Britain and the British have changed profoundly since 1945. A principal driver of change has been a major growth in population, matched by rapidly rising expectations about lifestyle.

Demands for mobility (cars) and space (houses) have ensured the transfer of land from agriculture and natural landscape to roads and housing, with multiple consequences for the environment and for the human experience.

Large-scale immigration has made the population ethnically far more diverse, with important cultural consequences.

The composition of the population has undergone a marked transformation, due primarily to advances in medicine. In line with a general trend around the developed world, life expectancy has risen greatly for both men and women.

This has meant that the average age has risen, a process accentuated by the extent to which the birth rate has remained static.

Furthermore, large-scale immigration, particularly from the West Indies and South Asia, but also from other areas such as Eastern Europe, has made the population ethnically far more diverse, with important cultural consequences.

In 1970 there were about 375,000 Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs in Britain. By 1993 the figure was about 1,620,000, with the rise in the number of Muslims being particularly pronounced.