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World population is seven BILLION... and counting! - CBBC Newsround

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More people are living on Earth than ever before as the global population reaches a record seven BILLION.

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Immigration provides substantial economic and social benefits to Northern Ireland, a report has said.

The report, written by two academics from Queen's University, said about 4% of the Northern Ireland workforce is made up of migrant workers.

Commissioned by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building, it suggested migrants contribute more in tax than they use in services.

It claimed migrants contributed £1.2bn to the economy from 2004 to 2008.

The report was written by Professor Peter Shirlow and Dr Richard Montague at Queen's University Belfast, and its findings claim to challenge commonly held misconceptions about migrants.

It examined a number of areas like population, employment, housing, benefits, economy, healthcare, education, crime and social cohesion.

The report said migration contributed to sustaining economic growth, filling labour shortages, bringing much needed skills and enriching society through cultural diversity.

Its key findings were:

Migrant workers contributed about £1.2bn to the economy from 2004 to 2008

4% of the Northern Ireland workforce is made up of migrant workers

3% of the total number of pupils attending school in Northern Ireland are ethnic minorities

81.5% of migrants in the UK are employed

Less than 5% of EU migrants claim Jobseekers Allowance

The cost of temporary migrants using the health service amounted to about £12m of the £109bn NHS budget

Chairman of the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building, Lord Alderdice, said the report was commissioned in response to a number of race hate attacks in recent months.

"The Centre for Peace Building and Democracy was keen to commission a piece of work that would look seriously at the migrant population in Northern Ireland and demonstrate how much migrants contribute to our society," he said.

"The report highlights contributions in tax, skills, labour and cultural diversity - enriching our society rather than threatening it."

Belfast Lord Mayor Nichola Mallon said: "Tackling racism continues to be a priority for Belfast City Council and is a priority which received all-party political support.

"The report provides a strong evidence base for Belfast as a city to be able to champion the positive social and economic benefits of diversity and to continue to promote Belfast as a welcoming city."

Professor Shirlow said: "The report and its findings are profoundly important because they completely rebut the stereotypes that have plagued our migrant population in recent years.

"People need to be educated about the facts.

"We frequently hear claims that migrants take our jobs and use up our limited services. Migrants pose no threat to our society. This report will hopefully go some way towards changing the conversation about migrants in Northern Ireland."

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Immigration provides substantial economic and social benefits to Northern Ireland, a report has said. The report, written by two academics from Queen's University, said about 4% of the Northern Ireland workforce is made up of migrant workers. Commissioned by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building, it suggested migrants contribute more in tax than they use in services.

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Do you long for peace and solitude on your travels? Then you'll do far worse than to take your next break in one of these countries. To mark World Population Day, we've researched the 10 least densely populated, measured in number of people per square kilometre, according to the latest available figures from the UN Population Division.

Such trips could mean roaming the plains of Mongolia, striking through rainforest in Suriname, or cruising the vast fjords of Greenland. This is how to do remote, wild and adventurous - with the figures to back up your post-holiday bragging. The map above, meanwhile, shows every country in the world according to population density - so you know which ones to steer clear of if you like peace and quiet.

1. Greenland

Population density: 0.0 people per sq km

Rounded to the nearest decimal place, the population density of Greenland is officially 0.0. The world's largest island is home to around 56,000 people, meaning that a population around the size of west Devon (an area of 448.3 square miles) inhabits an area of 836,330 sq miles. This vast land, which has been inhabited for around 4,500 years, has mountainous shorelines, long summer days and jewel-blue fjords. Try visiting the Arctic ghost town of Skoldungen, abandoned for more accessible settlements in 1961.

2. Falkland Islands

Population density: 0.3 people per sq km

This archipelago on the Patagonian Shelf is home to just 3,000 people. Argentina famously lays claim to this British Overseas Territory, but a referendum in 2013 saw the population vote overwhelmingly to remain British - just three of the 1,517 votes cast favoured Argentinian rule. Chris Moss, a Telegraph Travel contributor, says it is a "special, strange place and those who do make the effort often become repeat visitors. Stanley [the capital] provides a nice homely stopover on voyages that revolve around wild seas, icebergs and penguins. Pubs, a post office, a cathedral, an excellent museum and good gastronomy mean that a stay is not just quirky, but actually very pleasant too."

* 10 of the best technology-free holidays

3. Mongolia

Population density: 1.9 people per sq km

A landlocked country of wide steppe and semi-desert, Mongolia has a population that clusters in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, leaving swathes of land pinpricked only by small nomadic communities threatened by harsh weather, storms and economic difficulties. Visitors are lured by the chance to ride horses across wild, open landscapes (the country had an area of 1.5 million sq km) and the chance to stay in remote gers that offer an insight into traditional ways of living.

* Kate Humble on living with Nomads in Mongolia

4. Western Sahara

Population density: 2.3 people per sq km

This land of 266,000 sq km (103,000 sq.mi.) is a disputed territory, between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an Algeria-backed rebel movement. The land is mostly flat desert, rich in phosphates, with extra resources in the form of fisheries and possibly offshore oil. The Foreign Office advises against all travel to within 30km north/west and to the south/east of the Berm, a 2,700km long wall dividing the desert, and says that in remote areas there is a risk of landmines. There are no advisories against visiting the area around Laayoune, the largest city, where most of the populace lives.

5. Namibia

Population density: 2.9 people per sq km

The shifting dunes of this southern African country occupy much of its landmass, although it also has game-rich grasslands and a semi-arid Central Plateau. Top attractions include the Kalahari Desert, the Skeleton Coast, and Lüderitz, a bright harbour town with early 20th century German Art Nouveau buildings.

* Namibia: Trip of a Lifetime

Credit: Iuliia Sokolovska - Fotolia

6. French Guiana

Population density: 2.9 people per sq km

France in South America can be found in French Guiana, an overseas territory of our neighbour across the Channel. The product is a strange mixture of western motorways, colonial architecture and French law alongside dense rainforest and Caribbean cuisine. Visiting in 2011 for Telegraph Travel, Chris Moss noted how "Liberte, Égalité, Fraternité" was stencilled on the side of a small government building near the border post at Le Juliette. Not far from the spot is the former transportation camp of St Laurent du Marconi, where 70,000 convicted criminals and political prisoners were sent between 1852 and 1953.

7. Australia

Population density: 3.1 people per sq km

Mark Chipperfield, our Australia expert, says it as one of the world's greatest travel destinations for its "extraordinary scenery and exotic wildlife" and diverse landscapes: "Red dirt deserts, tropical beaches, snow-capped mountains and temperate rainforest can all be found here." It has a vast area - 7,692,024 km² - and a relatively low a population of 23 million - around a third of that of the UK. Citizens cluster in the coastal cities such as Sydney, Canberra and Perth, leaving much of the Red Centre empty.

See our extensive guides to Australia for more information on how to visit.

* Mapped: Terror threat around the world

8. Iceland

Population density: 3.3 people per sq km

The Northern Lights may shine bright over this lunar landscape of snow, rock, ice, and volcano, and those who venture to see them won't have many companions. Iceland has a population of around 330,000, mostly centred in the cool capital Reykjavík. Elsewhere on the island there are glacier walks, climbs, descents inside volcanoes (really) and some of the world's best diving: the gaps between tectonic plates are filled with crystal-clear waters.

9. Suriname

Population density: 3.3 people per sq km

This sovereign state, with Dutch as the official language, is squeezed inbetween French Guiana, Guyana and Brazil. Although the country is mostly rainforest - there are no natural harbours and few railways or roads - its capital, Paramaribo, is home to the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, which would not look out of place in a European city square. John Gimlette, visiting in 2011, said: " If I were to design the perfect city, it would be like Paramaribo. It would all be white, and have a river running through it. There'd be plantations and fruit trees, and little canals would ripple through the centre. There'd be no business district or overbearing banks, and nothing would be taller than a church. At the heart of it all would be a little purple fortress, like a hat full of mansions."

10. Botswana

Population density: 3.5 people per sq km

Botswana is the world's largest producer of diamonds, but as it tries to lessen its dependency on exports of the jewels, safari tourism is developing. Indeed, it has been described as offering one of the world's best game drive experiences: the Big Five are all on the prowl. Other highlights of the country, 40 per cent of which is protected and conserved for wildlife, include the wetlands of the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari Desert.

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Mapped: The world's most - and least - crowded countries

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Do you long for peace and solitude on your travels? Then you'll do far worse than to take your next break in one of these countries. To mark World Population Day, we've researched the 10 least densely populated, measured in number of people per square kilometre, according to the latest available figures from the UN Population Division.

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Census shows population change - CBBC Newsround

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The results of the 2011 Census have been released showing how the population of England, Wales and Northern Ireland has changed over the last ten years.

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Bulgaria is projected to have the fastest-shrinking population in the world. It's already lost a fifth of its population since the 1990s. But what does this mean for those who remain?

Deep in the Bulgarian countryside, in the western province of Pernik, I make a rare discovery.

It's not Stoyan Evtimov's traditional embroidered woollen tunic that makes him unusual.

It's the fact he's a thirty-something living in a village. "All my friends that I grew up with here left long ago," he says.

Like many young Bulgarians, they moved to towns and cities in search of work.

Stoyan considers himself lucky to have employment in the mountain village of Peshtera, leading its folk-singing group and organising an annual music festival in an attempt to revive traditional marriage music, and the village.

Even so, he is finding village life unsustainable.

"It's impossible to find someone to marry here in the village, or the villages around, simply because there are no young people. The only chance for me to find someone is in the town," he says.

"It would be very sad and hard for me to leave the village, but I will have to do it at some point."

Bulgarian villages have been losing people for decades.

When the Communists took power after World War Two, they brought in collective farming and many agricultural workers found work in new factories.

After Communism fell, in 1989, and collective farms were broken up, that trend of leaving the countryside for the towns sharpened.

And many people don't stop there: they continue their search for work abroad.

In 1989, almost nine million people lived in Bulgaria. Now, it is a little over seven million. By 2050, that number is projected to be less than 5.5 million. By the end of the century, it could be close to half what it is now.

This exodus contributes to another factor in Bulgaria's dwindling population numbers - in part because a lot of young adults have left the country, the birth rate is low.

The last time a baby was born in the village, recalls shopkeeper Stefka - whose own two sons have moved away to the city - was a decade ago. The little girl and her mother now live in Cyprus, she adds.

The vast majority of the people Stefka serves are over the age of 60. The shelves are sparsely stocked, she says, because there aren't many customers, and she worries the shop will have to close.

Higher up the mountain, the village shops have already shut, along with schools and bus services.

"This village used to be made up of about 600 people," says Boyan, a 70-year-old living in Kalotinsi. "Now we are 13. Some are in the cemetery, the rest are in towns."

In the village of Smirov Dol, Stanka Petrova - Granny Stanka to those who know her - sits under a tree at a bend in the mountain road, patiently waiting for the mobile shop, which serves the area.

"I was born in this village, and I remember the village when it was really full of people. It was such a fun and nice life. Young people, old people," she says, explaining that this is the spot where people would come together and enjoy traditional dancing.

"There is no-one in the village, so of course nothing like that can happen now," she says.

"In this street, for example, that I came from, in the past there were a lot of people in the houses. Now only I live there."

Does she get lonely? "Of course I'm lonely. It's very hard," she says, tearfully.

The people in Kalotinsi and surrounding villages buy their groceries from a mobile shop that visits three times a week.

The service is run by middle-aged husband-and-wife team Atanas and Lili Borisov.

Their unmarked van is well-stocked with everything from bread and yoghurt to cigarettes and beer, and even medicines. In 10 years, they've never missed a delivery, even though in winter the mountain roads are covered in snow.

"Because there are few people, we are friends with all of them, so we're trying to help them with all that we can," Lili says.

It's obvious they're popular with the people they're serving, but Lili says customer numbers, and profits, are dwindling. In business and personal terms, the mobile shop is at the sharp end of the depopulation of Bulgaria's countryside.

"We start worrying when someone doesn't appear at the normal place we meet them," Lili says, "especially during the winter."

"We had a case, actually, where we found someone dead."

The government is introducing a number of measures to try to tackle depopulation by increasing the birth rate: offering help with the costs of fertility treatment, giving childcare, and mortgage support.

It is also encouraging ethnic Bulgarians who live abroad to return to the country, but no-one else.

"Bulgaria doesn't need uneducated refugees," says Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov, a leader of the United Patriots, an anti-immigrant grouping forming part of the coalition government.

Nor would Bulgarian society accept educated and skilled migrants, Mr Simeonov says.

"They have a different culture, different religion, even different daily habits," he says. "And thank God Bulgaria so far is one of the most-well defended countries from Europe's immigrant influx."

Mr Simeonov is referring to a razor-wire fence that Bulgaria has been building across its 260km (160 mile) border with Turkey to discourage immigrants from trying to enter the country.

According to figures from the European Commission, Bulgaria had taken in only about 50 of the migrants who arrived in Europe from North Africa and the Middle East between 2015 and July 2017.

It is clear that the Bulgarian government does not see immigration as a possible solution to the country's dwindling population.

Although the government is full of ideas to boost the number of Bulgarian babies being born, in the countryside the feeling is that politicians talk, but don't act.

Before I left the mountains, I bumped into Boyan again, the man living in Kalotinsi, which has shrunk from being a village of 600 people to one of 13.

"We are abandoned," he says. "Abandoned from everyone - from rulers and from God.

"Politicians will not do anything for us. They're just interested in their own interests. They don't care about the people - especially the old people in the villages. They don't even care about the young people because the young people are abroad.

"So the politicians don't care at all and the Bulgarian state is disappearing."

Ruth Alexander's report from Bulgaria is on Crossing Continents, on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00 on Thursday 7 September. You can listen online or download the programme podcast.

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Why is Bulgaria's population falling off a cliff?

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Bulgaria is projected to have the fastest-shrinking population in the world. It's already lost a fifth of its population since the 1990s. But what does this mean for those who remain? Deep in the Bulgarian countryside, in the western province of Pernik, I make a rare discovery.

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See how Africa's population boom, driven by high birth rates, is shaping the world's future.

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Which country is set to replace the US as the world's third most populous?

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The population of the UK has increased by more than half a million - the biggest rise for 70 years - according to official figures.

There were 65,648,000 people in the UK in June 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS said that was a rise of 538,000 on the figure in 2015, equivalent to a city the size of Bradford.

Net migration of 336,000 accounted for 62.4%, while the difference between birth and death rates made up 35.8%.

There was also an increase of 9,500 in armed forces personnel based in the UK.

Baby boom

The population went up in 364 local authority areas, with the biggest rises in the City of London (7.3%) and Tower Hamlets (3.3%).

It fell in 26 areas, including South Lakeland and Aberdeen, 17 of them on the coast, and remained the same in one.

Last year's increase was the highest since 1947, which saw a rise of 551,000, driven mainly by a surge in births after World War Two.

Around the UK, the population of England jumped by 481,800 (0.9%) to 55,268,100 - and is now more than 55 million for the first time.

The population of Scotland increased by 31,700 (0.6%) to 5,404,700, Wales by 14,100 (0.5%) to 3,113,200, and Northern Ireland by 10,500 (0.6%) to 1,862,100.

'Main driver'

Neil Park, head of the Population Estimates Unit at the ONS, said: "The population of the UK continued to grow in the year to mid-2016 at a similar rate to that seen over recent years.

"Net international migration continued to be the main driver, but there was also an increase in births and fewer deaths than last year."

The population of the UK has increased by just over five million in 11 years - previously it took 35 years, from 1970 to 2005, to make the same leap.

Population change in the UK has averaged 482,000 a year over the past decade.

The ONS bases its figures on the usually resident population of the UK, and long-term international migrants who change their country of usual residence for a period of 12 months or more.

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The population of the UK has increased by more than half a million - the biggest rise for 70 years - according to official figures. There were 65,648,000 people in the UK in June 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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Over the next week the BBC News website will be looking at the issues raised by the growth in the world's population. But how are these changes affecting people's daily lives? BBC News speaks to seven people from around the world to hear their stories.
United Kingdom: Ageing population
In the UK, as people live longer, the population is getting older. The BBC's Naomi Grimley visited 85-year-old Helen Morse who still lives independently in a London suburb.
Italy: One child families
Despite a rising world population, the Italian population is in decline. The UN estimates it could shrink by as much as a third by the next century.

The number of children each Italian woman has is the lowest in Europe, at 1.4. The BBC's Sarah Campbell went to Rome to visit Paola Mastroberarbino and Stefano Maestosi, who have one daughter.
Jordan: Chronic water shortage
In Jordan, as more people demand water, it is becoming increasingly scarce. This chronic shortage has caused prices to double over the last year.

The BBC's Tom Burridge went to visit farmer Mousa Ouran just outside Amman.
India: Can India feed its people?
In India, as land is split between families and the cost of farming increases, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder asks if the country can feed its 1.2bn people.

He went to meet farmer Chandra Singh in the state of Punjab.

In Zambia, the UN predicts that the population could triple by 2050, reaching 100 million by the end of the century.

There is concern that this rapidly rising population will hamper economic growth and condemn future generations to poverty.

The BBC's Fergus Walsh went to a village just outside Lusaka to visit Catherine and Robert Phiri, who have just had a baby girl.
United States: Growing consumption
In the US, consumer spending drives the economy. Americans spend $10tn every year.

Jane O'Brien went on a shopping trip with Sonia Rodriguez-Crane, whose spending has increased since she moved to the US from Mexico.
China: Migrant workers and technology
In China, technology is helping to create business opportunities and connect the populous country.

The BBC's Martin Patience went to Shenzhen to find out how mobile job hunting is helping migrant workers. He spoke to the founder of the company, Zhixiang Liu.

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Over the next week the BBC News website will be looking at the issues raised by the growth in the world's population. But how are these changes affecting people's daily lives? BBC News speaks to seven people from around the world to hear their stories.

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please watch

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As the UN announces that the population of the world has reached seven billion, the BBC's Fergus Walsh finds out whether the numbers will rise or fall in the future.

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All the latest news about Europe migrant crisis from the BBC

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The British and French governments are coming under increasing pressure to deal with the number of migrants and refugees trying to get into their countries.

Thousands of migrants who are camped in Calais are attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel, the stretch of water that separates southern England from northern France.

Many of the people are trying to escape from countries affected by war such as Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, and also North Africa.

Some try to jump onto lorries or hold on underneath trucks heading for the UK on ferries or on the Eurotunnel. Others jump or cut security fences to try to hide on Eurotunnel trains themselves.

Here's Newsround guide to the Calais migrant crisis.

How long has this been going on?

French authorities predict there are about 3,000 people currently living in a makeshift camp near the port of Calais known as "the Jungle".

They have tried to make the camp as liveable as possible - building shelters, a school and a community canteen.

The British and the French authorities together prevented more than 39,000 attempts to cross the Channel illegally in 2014/15.

That's more than double the number prevented the previous year.

But the migrant crisis is not a new issue.

In 1999, the Sangatte refugee camp was opened in Calais, attracting thousands of people looking to reach the UK to live.

It eventually closed in 2002 by the French government but migrants have still continued to arrive in Calais since then.

Why do migrants want to come to the UK?

The situation in Calais is part of a wider migration crisis in Europe - caused largely by people trying to escape from countries affected by war such as Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and also North Africa.

Many want to claim asylum in the UK, which means legally moving to a new country for safety reasons.

These asylum-seekers say they are unable to return to their home country because they are scared about the treatment they will receive there.

The British Red Cross said most migrants wanted to make the move because they believed there was a better chance of finding work in the UK.

Some speak English and want to come to the UK to use the language.

Others have relatives in the UK, or believe that there is better housing and education available.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants also travel to Germany, Sweden, Italy, France, and Hungary.

How strong is security in Calais?

The port of Calais is now protected by five metre high fences topped with coils of razor wire and CCTV, with the area guarded by heavily armed French riot police.

Last autumn the UK government promised to spend £12m over three years to help France tackle the problem.

The UK is also sending a fence, known as the "National Barrier Asset", to go up around the Eurotunnel station.

Eurotunnel has spent £9.2m on security in the first six months of 2015 alone, including money for fences, cameras, infra-red detectors and extra guards.

What are French police doing?

French police have been widely criticised for taking migrants off lorries, driving them a few miles away then releasing them - free to walk back to Calais.

The problem, police say, is that there are simply too many to arrest and deal with. They also say their focus on the motorway is safety, so getting people off the road is the priority.

An extra 120 French police have been sent to Calais to try to cope with the large numbers of migrants.

French authorities are also struggling to stop illegal migrants crossing its border from Italy, where more than 60,000 people are thought to have arrived by boat from Africa already this year.

How many migrants make it to the UK?

The short answer is, no-one knows.

The government says it does not have official figures or estimates for the number of migrants who illegally cross the Channel.

There were 25,020 official applications for asylum in the year ending March 2015, but there is no way of knowing how many of those people travelled through the English port of Dover.

What is Operation Stack?

Operation Stack is an emergency operation used by Kent Police to park large lorries on the M20 motorway in Kent - turning it into a giant lorry park.

It has been used since 1996 whenever there is disruption to services between Dover and Calais, due to, for example, the migrant crisis or bad weather.

The motorway can remain closed for days at a time, with thousands of lorries heading for France sitting still, leading to severe traffic delays in areas of Kent.

Between 1996 and the end of 2007, Operation Stack was implemented 95 times for a total of 145 days.

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Guide: Why are migrants coming to Europe? - CBBC Newsround

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The British and French governments are coming under increasing pressure to deal with the number of migrants and refugees trying to get into their countries. Thousands of migrants who are camped in Calais are attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel, the stretch of water that separates southern England from northern France.

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Why are child migrants coming to the UK?

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Why are child migrants coming to the UK?

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There has been a huge increase in the number of migrants travelling to Europe this year. Many of them are running away from war and poverty.

It's thought more than 600 child migrants arrived in the UK without their parents in July 2015..

Martin went to visit a camp in the French town of Calais where thousands of migrants are staying, in the hope that they can come to the UK, even though they do not have permission to cross the border.

While Martin was in the camp, he spoke to Safid, an 11 year old boy who travelled over 5000 miles to try to reach the UK from Afghanistan.

Who are migrants?

A 'migrant' is a person who moves from one place to another in order to find better work or living conditions.

In the UK an 'asylum seeker' means a person who has applied to be let into the country because they say they're facing harassment due to their race, religion, nationality, political belief, or membership of a particular social group.

Why are migrants coming to Europe?

In the first seven months of 2015, it's thought that more than 153,000 migrants have tried to cross Europe's borders.

That is a 149% increase compared with the same period in 2014, when the total was 61,500.

The civil war in Syria has meant more than four million people have had to leave. Afghans, Eritreans and other nationalities are also fleeing poverty and war in their countries.

Some migrants also come because they think they will have better living conditions and work in Europe.

More than 3,000 people - including children as young as 12 and 13 are living in a large camp in Calais, France, known locally as "the Jungle". They are in Calais because they want to make it to the UK

Many of these people do not have any documents or passports and often do not have permission to come to the UK.

How many children come to the UK unaccompanied?

The number of young people from countries such as Syria and Iraq aged under 18 and needing foster care after arriving at Dover has risen from 238 a year ago to 369 in April, and has increased further over the last few months to 605.

What help is available?

If a migrant is under 18 when they arrive in the UK, local authorities have a legal duty to care for them.

Children who arrive in the UK without parents usually need to be fostered, which is when families who are registered as foster carers, and specially trained, take them in and look after them.

Compass Fostering, an independent agency, said it had 140 young asylum seekers referred for foster care in July 2015, compared with just 34 in July last year.

Compass said most of the referrals have come from local authorities in Kent, West Sussex and London.

The children are mostly from war-torn countries in the Middle East - Syria and Iraq - as well as Afghanistan and Eritrea in East Africa.

Most of them are boys, with the youngest aged just 12.

Why has this become such a big problem?

Many of the people are trying to escape from countries affected by war such as Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, and also North Africa.

Thousands of migrants who are camped in Calais are attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel, the stretch of water that separates southern England from northern France.

By trying to get on lorries heading for the UK they have caused lots of problems with transport in and out of Britain.
Read more about the migrant crisis in Calais. If you are upset by anything you see in the news there's help and advice in our guide.

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Migrant Crisis: Why do child migrants want to come to the UK?

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There has been a huge increase in the number of migrants travelling to Europe this year. Many of them are running away from war and poverty. It's thought more than 600 child migrants arrived in the UK without their parents in July 2015..

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Migrant child tells story of trying to reach the UK - CBBC Newsround

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An 11-year-old migrant from Afghanistan tells the story of why he's so desperate to reach the UK.

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Calais migrant crisis: Inside 'The Jungle' migrant camp - CBBC Newsround

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Thousands of people have tried to enter the Channel Tunnel in Calais, France, in an attempt to get to the UK. Martin went to the French town to find out more the growing migrant crisis there.

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Ruth was 14 when she left her home country of Eritrea in east Africa.

She didn't like the way she was being treated, so she embarked on a dangerous journey to the UK.

Ruth has been telling Newsround's Hayley her story...

Three-thousand children

Three-thousand children arrived in the UK alone last year.

Many of them are migrants or refugees escaping war or devastation in their home countries. They've travelled thousands of miles across deserts, mountains and seas.

When they get to the UK they are often tired and afraid.

They are taken by immigration officers or police to a safe place where they are asked lots of questions.

This is so that the people in charge can understand how old the child is, where they have come from and what they will need to keep them healthy and safe.

Leave to remain

If the child is under 17, they are given leave to remain, which means they can stay in the UK and will be looked after until they are old enough to look after themselves.

This often means they are placed with a foster family who look after them as though they are part of their family. They can start going to a local school and they can start to make a life for themselves here in the UK.

Many of the children stay around Kent and Dover in the south of England because that is where they first arrive. In the past year Kent has placed nearly 1,000 children in homes in that area.

I have spoken to 12 children. All of them have come from various countries ranging from Eritrea and Sudan to Syria and Afghanistan.

One of them was Ruth. Like many of the child refugees here, she travelled thousands of miles alone and experienced many difficult things along the way.

Living in Eritrea

Ruth told me about her life when she was 14. She lived in the countryside in Eritrea. She told me how she often helped her mum by chopping wood and getting water from the river.

But this was no easy task. The river was a three-hour walk away and carrying a heavy load was very tiring for Ruth.

Ruth's dad left home many years ago. He was taken to join the army of Eritrea - many poor people are forced to join up against their will.

Ruth has not seen her dad since and doesn't know where or how he is.

Leaving Eritrea

Talking to Ruth, I could tell she is a brave and strong girl and she didn't like the way she was treated in Eritrea. She loved going to school but was told she either had to marry someone she didn't know or join the military.

She told me she was very afraid of both options so she decided to leave Eritrea and search for a better life in another country.

She left her home in the middle of the night. She couldn't tell her family she was leaving because she was afraid they would be hurt if anyone from the military found out.

Also she knew they would be upset. So she left in secret with nothing more than the clothes she was wearing. She met up with two friends and they walked towards the border with Sudan.

'Very scared'

Ruth told me that she was very scared. She was scared of getting caught or being put in prison and hurt.

One of the scariest parts was when she travelled through the forests of Ethiopia. She could hear hyenas and she had to hide behind trees and just hope that they wouldn't find her.

Walking over desert

After that, she met many people in camps hidden in the forest. With these people she travelled over the desert to Sudan. It was so hot that many of the people she was walking with died beside her.

Ruth was mostly scared of the Sudanese people. She said they hated her because she was Christian; they would often hurt her and bully her.

Small house in Sudan

In Sudan, Ruth was put into a small house with hundreds of other people. She wasn't allowed to speak or to go outside. She was beaten and hurt by the people in charge of this house.

On a lorry to Libya

After a month, Ruth was put in a lorry with about 250 other people and sent to Libya. The lorry was piled with people inside and out. There was no room for her to sleep or sit and she was not allowed out - not even to go to the toilet.

She was in the lorry for three weeks and some people died.

Life in a camp

When she got to Libya she was put in a camp. She lost her friends and she said she was very lonely. Without any money, she had little hope of getting out of the camp and every night she cried.

In this camp, Ruth got one glass of water and one piece of bread to share with a group of people.

The sea

After three months, she finally managed to escape to the coast. She told me how amazed she was to see the sea - it was so big and black with huge fish that she had never seen before.

Ruth got on board a boat. It was only about four metres long but held 500 people. This, she said, was when she was most scared.

She thought she would die as she was crushed and had no water on a very long and dangerous journey. Many of the people in the boat did die on that journey.

Luckily, she was eventually rescued by an Italian rescue boat.

Arriving in Italy

But when she got to Italy it was not much better. She was ill and had nowhere to go. She slept on the street in the rain and the cold.

She then managed to get on to a train to France. Here she was taken to a camp where every night she tried to board a lorry to get to the UK.

But most nights she was caught and taken back to the camp. Then one night she managed to get inside a box in a lorry that was headed to England.

Arriving in England

When she arrived in England she told me she was nervous. It was raining and a police officer found her and asked her lots of questions. But soon after that, things started to look better and she was placed with a foster family, which is where she lives now.

Ruth now goes to college and church and has many friends. She told me that she still misses her family but she's glad she isn't in Eritrea. She now loves studying and wants to be a nurse when she's older.

It was very difficult for Ruth to tell me her story. But she's a strong girl and she wants people to know what thousands of kids like her go through every year to get to safety.

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Ruth's story: One child refugee's journey from Eritrea to England

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Ruth was 14 when she left her home country of Eritrea in east Africa. She didn't like the way she was being treated, so she embarked on a dangerous journey to the UK. Ruth has been telling Newsround's Hayley her story... Three-thousand children arrived in the UK alone last year.

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Refugee girl explains her journey from Syria to UK - CBBC Newsround

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Watch the story of 11-year-old Manar who's just arrived in Britain from Syria, via a refugee camp in Lebanon.

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BBC Bitesize - 4th level People, place and environment - Why is the UK's population ageing?

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Population pyramids are used to explain why the UK's population is ageing.

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population pyramids of 10 largest countries

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population pyramids of 10 largest countries

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China and India may have similar populations today, but they have very different demographic destinies.

While China should see its population fall in the coming decades, India projects to be the most populous country in 2050 by a long shot. By that time, India will have up to 1.7 billion people - and Mumbai will be the largest megacity in the world with upwards of 42 million people.

Comparing Population Pyramids

These kind of future trends are not evident from the base population figures alone, but they become much clearer when we look at the population pyramids of countries instead.

Today's animated chart comes from PopulationPyramid.net, and it shows a breakdown for each of the 10 most populous countries in the world:

A population pyramid, which shows the distribution of a population in terms of age group and sex, can help us to see things like:

How many people are being born?

How long are people living?

The age skew of the population

Analyzing these factors can give us an idea of the direction a country is trending, and whether it will continue to grow in terms of population.

Different Makeups

Below are three typical patterns for population growth: rapid, slow, and negative.

How do the population charts for the top 10 countries compare, using these kinds of classifications?

Rapid growth:
According to the above graphs, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Mexico, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will continue to grow their populations at a rapid pace. Nigeria is growing at a particularly fast rate, and by 2060 it will displace the U.S. as the third-largest country in the world by population.

Slow growth:
The United States stands out here as the only country in the top 10 experiencing tempered growth. That said, the U.N. sees the country hitting 400 million people around the year 2060 if trends continue.

Negative growth:
China, because of its One-Child Policy from 1979 to 2015, is not a surprise to see here.

However, Russia may be an intriguing mention in this category for many - the country has a low birth rate, a low immigration rate, and an unusually high death rate. In fact, Russia's death rate is 15 people per 1,000 - almost twice that of the U.S. due to a high amount of alcohol-related deaths and emergencies.

Economic Progress and Population

The above classifications are mostly intuitive.

With the exception of China (and its self-inflicted wound from the One-Child Policy), the countries experiencing slower or negative growth are the ones with more mature economies.

This is something that can also be seen in this below graph:

Embed This Image On Your Site (copy code below):

Jeff Desjardins is a founder and editor of Visual Capitalist, a media website that creates and curates visual content on investing and business.

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Animation: Population Pyramids of the 10 Most Populous Countries

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China and India may have similar populations today, but they have very different demographic destinies. While China should see its population fall in the coming decades, India projects to be the most populous country in 2050 by a long shot.

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Population pyramids: Powerful predictors of the future - Kim Preshoff

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you can find out what a population pyramid looks like for any country in the world!

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Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100

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Population Pyramid for Northern Ireland since 1982- find out how many other males/females are in your cohort

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Population Pyramid for Northern Ireland since 1982- find out how many other males/females are in your cohort

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Population Pyramid - 2014-based Projections

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Northern Ireland's migrant population has tripled in a decade, according to a study by Oxford University.

It looked at the change in population in Northern Ireland by comparing the 2001 and 2011 censuses.

In 2001, the number of migrants was 27,266 people. Ten years later the figure was 81,314.

Belfast has the largest number (18,414) followed by Craigavon, County Armagh, (6,712) and Dungannon, County Tyrone. (5,998).

However, Dungannon saw the biggest change in its population of residents born outside the UK and the Republic of Ireland between 2001-2011.

It increased more than tenfold from 484 in 2001 to 5,998 in 2011.

Facts and figures

In 2011, NI's population was 1.8m

4.5% of those residents (81,314) were born outside the UK and Republic of Ireland

This was a 199% increase on 2001

In 2011, 32.8% of migrants held a UK and/or an Irish passport

61.3% held only a non-UK/Irish passport

The rest (5.9%) held no passport

Dungannon also had the largest share of migrants, who represented just over 10% of the local population in 2011 - an increase from 1% in 2001.

The average for Northern Ireland as a whole in that year was 4.5%.

The analysis of the international migrant population of Northern Ireland has been released by Oxford University's Migration Observatory.

Regional distribution

Between 2001 and 2011, the migrant population grew the most in Belfast (+11,873) followed by Craigavon (+5,602)

Between 2001 and 2011 the biggest percentage increase (+1,139%) took place in Dungannon, followed by Craigavon (+505%)

The place with the smallest share of migrants in 2011 was Strabane, where fewer than two people in every 100 (1.7%) were in this category.

Migrant profiles - 2011

Most migrants are from Poland (19,658)

This is followed by Lithuania (7,341)

There were 4,796 migrants from India

There were 50,376 people whose first language was not English or Irish

Polish was the most commonly spoken language

Dr Carlos Vargas-Silvam who led the census project, said: "Northern Ireland saw a 199% increase in its population of residents born outside the UK and the RoI in the 10 years between 2001-2011.

"But it is important to note that these residents were less than 2% of the total population of Northern Ireland in 2001 and remained less than 5% in 2011.

"This starting point means that some towns with a small share of international migrant residents in 2001 saw a particularly sharp increase in the number of international migrants in their populations - Dungannon's increase of more than 1,000 percent is an example.

"This increase was largely due to migration from the new EU accession countries. The most common country of birth of international migrants in Northern Ireland in 2011 was Poland, followed by Lithuania."

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Northern Ireland's migrant population has tripled in a decade, according to a study by Oxford University. It looked at the change in population in Northern Ireland by comparing the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In 2001, the number of migrants was 27,266 people. Ten years later the figure was 81,314.

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migration into UK- Poland overtakes India

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migration into UK- Poland overtakes India

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Poland has overtaken India as the most common non-UK country of birth for people living in the UK, Office for National Statistics figures show.

It comes as net migration estimates show it remains near record levels, at 327,000 for the year to March.

The figures - for the period before Britain voted to leave the EU - are down slightly on the previous year.

Net migration is the difference between the number of people coming to the UK for at least a year and those leaving.

There were an estimated 831,000 Polish-born residents in 2015 - a jump of almost 750,000 compared with the number in 2004, the year the country joined the EU. India and the Republic of Ireland have traditionally been the sources of the UK's largest foreign-born groups.

The latest net migration figures show a slowdown in the numbers settling in the UK from Poland and seven other former Eastern bloc countries - but that was offset by an increase in net migration from Bulgaria and Romania, which hit record levels of 60,000.

Nicola White, ONS Head of International Migration Statistics, said: "Net migration remains at record levels although the recent trend is broadly flat.

"The influx of Romanians and Bulgarians has also reached a new high, although that's off-set by falls in non-EU immigration and from other central and eastern European countries.

"Work remains the main reason for migration, followed by study which has seen a significant fall in the number of people coming to the UK for education.

"It's important to remember that these figures only go up to the end of March and do not cover the period following the UK's vote to leave the European Union."

She said the UK's population continued to increase between 2014 and 2015, driven by "significant increases in both the non-UK born and non-British national population of the UK".

ONS estimates show 13.3% of the usually resident population of the UK were born abroad, compared with 8.9% in 2004.

The region with the highest proportion of non-UK born residents, at 37%, is London.

More than 25% of births in England and Wales in 2015 were to women born outside the UK, the highest level on record, according to separate figures.

ONS statistician Elizabeth McLaren said: "The rising percentage of births to women born outside the UK is largely due to foreign born women making up an increasing share of the female population of childbearing age in England and Wales.

"Part of the reason for this is that migrants are more likely to be working-age adults rather than children or older people. Alongside their increasing share of the population, higher fertility among women born outside the UK has also had an impact."

Analysis

By Home Affairs Correspondent Danny Shaw

The immigration statistics contain few surprises, with net migration still a long, long way from the government's target.

There are a few signs - from more recent data on national insurance number registrations - that EU immigration may have reached its peak, but it won't be for another six months at least before we're able to gauge the effect, if any, of the referendum.

The figures came as Sir David Metcalf, the government's chief adviser on immigration controls, suggested Prime Minister Theresa May was considering introducing work permits for low skilled migrants from the EU.

Sir David, head of the Migration Advisory Committee, told the Telegraph the scheme would be "pretty straightforward" to run and could be based on a previous work permit system for seasonal agricultural workers.

Mrs May came under fire when she was home secretary for failing to meet the government's target of getting annual net migration below 100,000.

She has said that reducing net migration will be her "absolute priority" in Brexit negotiations.

A report by think tank British Future, released ahead of the latest figures, said the vote to leave the EU was a chance to fix the UK's "broken" immigration system and restore trust in controlled migration.

Lord Green, of the Migration Watch pressure group said: "The Brexit negotiations must achieve a significant reduction of EU migration and very firm action is needed against overstaying students from outside the EU."

Labour's Shadow Home Office minister Carolyn Harris, said: "These figures are a reminder of Theresa May's failings as home secretary.

"Once again, the Tory promise on immigration lies in tatters and net migration remains more than three times their target."

But she said Mrs May "must not sell the country down the river during Brexit negotiations on the movement of people just to cut these numbers" and urged her to tackle skills gaps and protect wages.

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Poland has overtaken India as the most common non-UK country of birth for people living in the UK, Office for National Statistics figures show. It comes as net migration estimates show it remains near record levels, at 327,000 for the year to March.

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Dungannon holds the record for the greatest change in racial make-up of any UK council in the last decade, new figures suggest.

The revelation is part of a number-crunching exercise by Oxford University, which shows the tally of "international migrants" - those born outside the UK or Republic - tripled between 2001 and 2011 for the Province as a whole.

In 2011, the total usual resident population of Northern Ireland stood at just over 1.8 million residents. About 4.5 per cent of those residents (81,314) were born outside of the UK and the Republic.

Most were from Poland (19,658 residents), with Lithuania (7,341) and India (4,796) the next most popular countries of origin.

A more detailed look indicates that Dungannon leads the entire UK in terms of such ethnic change.

In the east Tyrone town, international migrants grew from 484 in 2001 to almost 6,000 in 2011.

This is an increase of 1,139 per cent.

The Lincolnshire town of Boston saw a 467 per cent increase in its "foreign born" population over the same period; the biggest in England, Scotland or Wales.

The huge growth in Dungannon's international migrants meant that by 2011 they made up about 10 per cent of the population.

However, this is still below the average figure in the mainland UK, where 12.8 per cent of residents were classed as foreign-born.

Patrick Yu, executive director of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities, said: "The increase in population in Dungannon shows its vibrancy as a prosperous area of Northern Ireland," noting employers like Moy Park rely on large numbers of minority workers.

Racist attacks have been much in the news recently, and Mr Yu added: "Research shows that migrants put much more into the economy than they take out, and bring diversity, vibrancy and prosperity to Northern Ireland.

"Any attack on ethnic minorities is akin to an attack on the economy, to which they contribute so much for wider society."

The figures all come from the 2011 Census, and look at every local government authority in the UK.

In addition, the Oxford report cautions against making direct comparisons between Northern Ireland's proportion of international migrants and the proportion of those defined as foreign-born in the mainland UK, where citizens of the Irish Republic are included in the numbers.

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Figures indicate Dungannon leads UK in migrant growth

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Dungannon holds the record for the greatest change in racial make-up of any UK council in the last decade, new figures suggest. The revelation is part of a number-crunching exercise by Oxford University, which shows the tally of "international migrants" - those born outside the UK or Republic - tripled between 2001 and 2011 for the Province as a whole.