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The population of the United Kingdom is considered an example of a population which has undergone the 'demographic transition' - that is, the transition from a (typically) pre-industrial population with high birth and mortality rates and only slow population growth, through a stage of falling mortality and faster rates of population growth, to a stage of low birth and mortality rates with, again, lower rates of population growth. This population growth through 'natural change' has been accompanied in the past two decades by growth through net international migration into the UK.〔(Focus on People and Migration ), ONS, retrieved 4 May 2015〕 According to the 2011 census, the total population of the United Kingdom was around 63,182,000. It is the third-largest in the European Union (behind Germany and France) and the 22nd-largest in the world. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world at 259 people per square kilometre, due to the particularly high population density in England. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's southeast, which is predominantly urban and suburban, with about 8 million in the capital city of London, the population density of which is just over 5,200 per square kilometre. The United Kingdom's assumed high literacy rate (99% at age 15 and above)〔(UK Literacy Rate 2003 [CIA] World Book ), Retrieved 17 June 2013〕 is attributable to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870 (Scotland 1872, free 1890〔Education (Scotland) Act 1872〕) and secondary level in 1900. Parents are obliged to have their children educated from the ages of 5 to 16 (with legislation passed to raise this to 18), and can continue education free of charge in the form of A-Levels, vocational training or apprenticeship to age 18. About 40% of British students go on to post-secondary education (18+). The Church of England and the Church of Scotland function as the national churches in their respective countries, but all the major religions found in the world are represented in the United Kingdom. The UK's population is predominantly White British. Being located close to continental Europe, the countries that formed the United Kingdom were subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several centuries. Historically, British people were thought to be descended mainly from the different ethnic stocks that settled there before the 11th century: pre-Celtic, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman. Although Celtic languages are partially spoken in Scotland, Cornwall, and Northern Ireland, the predominant language overall is English. In North and West Wales, Welsh is widely spoken as a first language, but much less so in the South East of the country, where English is the predominant language. ==History== During the Industrial Revolution, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically. The proportion of the children born in London who died before the age of five decreased from 74.5 per thousand in 1730–1749 to 31.8 per thousand in 1810–1829.〔Mabel C. Buer, ''Health, Wealth and Population in the Early Days of the Industrial Revolution'', London: George Routledge & Sons, 1926, page 30 ISBN 0-415-38218-1〕 According to Robert Hughes in ''The Fatal Shore'', the population of England and Wales, which had remained steady at 6 million from 1700 to 1740, rose dramatically after 1740. The first Census in 1801 revealed that the population of Great Britain was 10.5 million.〔〔(A portrait of Britain in 2031 ), The Independent, 24 October 2007〕 In 1800 the population of Ireland was between 4.5 and 5.5 million.〔(Statistics | Counting the Emigrants ), Public Record Office of Northern Ireland〕〔(History and Lessons of Potato Late Blight ), University of California〕 The 1841 UK Census counted the population of England and Wales to be 15.9 million.〔(1841: A window on Victorian Britain ), The Independent〕 Ireland's population was 8.2 million in 1841.〔(Irish-Catholic Immigration ), The Library of Congress〕 The population of Scotland was 2.6 million. The Great Irish Famine, which began in the 1840s, caused the deaths of one million Irish people, and caused well over a million to emigrate. Mass emigration became entrenched as a result of the famine and the population continued to decline until the mid-20th century. The population of England had almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901. Ireland’s population decreased rapidly, from 8.2 million in 1841 to less than 4.5 million in 1901.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ireland – Population Summary )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Demography of the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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