A decade in numbers: From the price of a pint to a 5,000,000 population boom

From Brexit to eight royal babies, a climate crisis and a 5 million increase in population size, here’s how Britain has changed over the past decade in numbers.

5 million increase in population size

Britain’s population increased by 5,036,000 over the last decade.

That’s an increase from 61,400,000 in 2010 to 66,436,000 in mid-2018.

20% increase in homes with access to the internet

The percentage of homes with access to the internet has gone up by 20 per cent, from 73 per cent of households in 2010 up to 93 per cent in 2019.

88p increase in the cost of a pint of lager

The last 10 years has seen an increase of 88 pence in the cost of a pint of lager, from £2.84 at the start of 2010 to £3.72 at the end of the decade.

Fewer seizures of Class B drugs such as

There have been 65,688 fewer seizures of Class B drugs such as cannabis by police forces in 2018/19 (109,266) compared with 2010/11 (174,954).

53,940 more people being accepted into university

The number of people being accepted on to university and higher education courses has increased from 487,300 in 2010 to 541,240 in 2019.

£136.5 billion reduction in the country’s defecit

A £178 billion deficit in 2010 has dropped to a £41.5 billion deficit in 2019.

8 general elections and referendums

There have been eight general elections and national referendums in Great Britain in the last decade.

As well as the 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections, voters went to the polls for the 2011 Alternative Vote referendum and the 2016 Brexit vote.

Parts of the country also ticked boxes for the 2011 Welsh Devolution referendum and the 2014 vote on Scottish independence.

2,837 people arrested on suspicion of terror offences

The number of people arrested on suspicion of terror offences in Great Britain stands at 2,837 as of September 2009.

143 – medals won by Team GB across five summer and winter Olympics

Eight royal births

The royal family has welcomes eight new children in the last decade.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had children George, Charlotte and Louis while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed son Archie.

The Princess Royal’s son Peter Phillips became father to daughters Savannah and Isla while his sister Zara Tindall gave birth to Mia Grace and Lena Elizabeth.

2,488 days spent by Julian Assange spent in the Ecuadorian embassy

The co-founder of WikiLeaks spent 2,488 days in the Ecuadorian embassy between June 19 2012 and April 11 2019, after being wanted by Swedish authorities for questioning over four alleged sexual offences.

4,100 – million tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere

With the climate emergency receiving more attention, it has been calculated that 4,100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) have approximately been released into the atmosphere by the UK and Crown Dependencies between 2010 and 2018.

9,796 births registered to same-sex couples

Following the law change to recognise same-sex parents in late 2009, there have been a total of 9,796 births registered to same-sex couples since 2010.

Unemployment reduced by 1,147,000

There has been a reduction of 1,147,000 in unemployment among people aged 16 and over from 2,453,000 in September 2009 to 1,306,000 in September 2019.

Over 3,000,000 people who vape

The trend of vaping has massively increased over the last decade, with approximately 3,600,000v vaping in Great Britain in 2019.