We have arrived at that strange moment, as we do every decade, when the Office of National Statistics begins to behave like a coquettish but no longer young and nubile dame sashaying across the stage of some ferociously vulgar 18th century farce.  First we are treated to the revealing of a stockinged ankle and, then, a flash of petty-coat hem.  By the beginning of March we should have the full, ghastly reveal with the final figures from the 2021 Census, collected this time last year.  Today, though, we just had a little, Replacement-confirming appetiser:

Migrants will stop Britain’s population from falling during next decade
ONS predicts 59,000 more deaths than births over the next 10 years, but increase in net migration will prevent population from declining

The UK population would fall in the next decade if it were not for migration, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has forecast for the first time.

In a report published on Wednesday, the ONS predicted 59,000 more deaths than births over the next 10 years because of a declining fertility rate, as women have fewer children and the number of elderly people increases sharply.

This would have meant the population declined for the first time since records began to 67 million, but for a 2.2 million increase in net migration taking the projected total for the UK to 69.2 million in mid-2030.

It represents a net 200,000 extra migrants settling in the UK each year for the next decade, according to the ONS estimates, despite Brexit ending free movement from Europe.

... However, ONS figures showed that the total fertility rate for England and Wales fell to 1.58 children per woman in 2020, the lowest since records began in 1938. One reason is the increasing numbers of women, now better educated than men, who are delaying children until their 30s as they pursue careers ...