BY 2035, Jersey could have a population of almost 96,000.
Although Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur (pictured) recently said that the Island could support a population of 100,000, he later made it clear that he does not believe that such a level is currently sustainable.
But it has become clear that considerable growth is expected over the next three decades. A briefing document prepared by the States Statistics Unit forecasts that immigration of about 430 individuals, or 200 heads of households, a year – the rate proposed in the draft Strategic Plan – would lead to a population of slightly under 96,000 by 2035.
That figure would be only four per cent lower than the 100,000 alluded to by Senator Le Sueur. The briefing document, which is described as ‘a bullet point outline of the plus-200 inward migration model’, summarises the logic behind present population estimates for the years up to 2065. However, although it says that increases are to be expected in the medium term, the number of residents should fall very slowly after 2035.
