Deaths have outstripped births in the UK for the first time in nearly half a century, excluding the start of the pandemic, official figures<\/a> showed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Declining fertility and the demise of baby boomers means there are now more funerals than baby celebrations, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics<\/a>.<\/p>\n There were an estimated 16,300 fewer births than deaths in the UK in the year to mid-2023, the first time this has happened since the 1970s \u201cbaby bust\u201d, if excess deaths during Covid are stripped out.<\/p>\n But the figures continue to show a growing population, up 1% in the year to 68,265,209 people, due to net international migration of 677,300.<\/p>\n