how the economy, the government, and the people have changed.
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To honor Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the government made a big change in 2022. The government turned eight towns into cities.
- Colchester, Milton Keynes, and Doncaster are some of the cities in England.
- Wrexham, Wales
- Dunfermline in Scotland
- Bangor, Northern Ireland
Areas where the economy can get better and grow
The government has created new kinds of economic zones and given some of them more money.
- Freeports: Freeports are a new type of special economic zone that has different rules about taxes and customs to get investors to come. The Thames, the Solent, Plymouth, Teesside, and the Liverpool City Region all have big operational Freeports.
- New Town Proposals: A group of government officials came up with some ideas for new “New Towns” to help with housing in 2025. Some of these were near Leeds South Bank and Tempsford in Bedfordshire.
- Regional Investment Hubs: The new government has told big companies to put a lot of money into certain projects in certain areas, like Greenpower Park and Birmingham Sports Quarter in the West Midlands, Victoria North urban regeneration in Greater Manchester, and Clyde Metro in Glasgow.
Changes in the number of people and what kinds of people they are
Some important trends have come to light in recent estimates of the 2024 population.
- Overall Growth: In the middle of 2024, the UK had about 69.3 million people, which is 1.1% more than the year before.
- The main reason for this growth is that people are leaving their home countries. When the number of births and deaths is almost the same, it means that there is natural change.
- England had the highest population growth, at 1.2%. The population of Scotland grew by 0.7%, Wales by 0.6%, and Northern Ireland by 0.4%.
- People Over 65: The number of people 65 and older went up in all four countries. People are getting older, and this has been going on for a long time.