Population rises fuel price growth

Posted: 08 Jan 2008 11:21:17 GMT

London has recorded the biggest overall population increase of all UK regions in the last decade.

London has recorded the biggest overall population increase of all UK regions in the last decade.

That is according to new figures from Halifax, which show that the capital benefited from the arrival of one million people from abroad.

The south-east of England benefited most from internal migration but experienced only the second largest population gain because large numbers of people also left the region.

According to the study, the south-west has seen the largest net gain from internal migration, with its population increasing by nine per cent between 1996 and 2006.

"The south-east and south-west have been the most popular destinations for people to move to from elsewhere in the UK over the past decade," said Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis.

"In particular, the high level of migration to the south-west has contributed to the rapid rise in house prices in the region in the last ten years.

"Figures at a local authority level highlight the transient nature of the population in many of the UK's major cities. Birmingham, for example, recorded both the highest level of immigration and emigration in England and Wales," he added.

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