London was by far the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom in 2023, with an estimated population of 9.65 million people, more than three times as large as Manchester, the UK’s second-biggest urban agglomeration. The agglomerations of Birmingham and Leeds / Bradford had the third and fourth-largest populations respectively, while the biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow, was the fifth largest. Largest cities in Europe Two cities in Europe had larger urban areas than London, with the Russian capital Moscow having a population of almost 12.7 million. The city of Paris, located just over 200 miles away from London, was the second-largest city in Europe, with a population of more than 11.2 million people. Paris was followed by London in terms of population-size, and then by the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona, at 6.75 million and 5.68 million people respectively. Russia's second-biggest city; St. Petersburg had a population of 5.56 million, followed by Rome at 4.3 million, and Berlin at 3.5 million. London’s population growth Throughout the 1980s, the population of London fluctuated from a high of 6.81 million people in 1981 to a low of 6.73 million inhabitants in 1988. During the 1990s, the population of London increased once again, growing from 6.8 million at the start of the decade to 7.15 million by 1999. London's population has continued to grow since the turn of the century, reaching a peak of 8.96 million people in 2019, and is forecast to reach 9.8 million by 2043.

This statistic shows the ten largest cities in the United Kingdom in 2021. In 2021, around 8.78 million people lived in London, making it the largest city in the United Kingdom.

Between 1500 and 1800, London grew to be the largest city in Western Europe, with its population growing almost 22 times larger in this period. London would eventually overtake Constantinople as Europe's largest in the 1700s, before becoming the largest city in the world (ahead of Beijing) in the early-1800s.

The most populous cities in this period were the capitals of European empires, with Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna growing to become the largest cities, alongside the likes of Lisbon and Madrid in Iberia, and Naples or Venice in Italy. Many of northwestern Europe's largest cities in 1500 would eventually be overtaken by others not shown here, such as the port cities of Hamburg, Marseilles or Rotterdam, or more industrial cities such as Berlin, Birmingham, and Munich.

As of 2023, the population density in London was by far the highest number of people per square km in the UK, at 5,690. Of the other regions and countries which constitute the United Kingdom, North West England was the next most densely populated area at 533 people per square kilometer. Scotland, by contrast, is the most sparsely populated country or region in the United Kingdom, with only 70 people per square kilometer. UK population over 67 million According to the official mid-year population estimate, the population of the United Kingdom was just almost 67.6 million in 2022. Most of the population lived in England, where an estimated 57.1 million people resided, followed by Scotland at 5.44 million, Wales at 3.13 million and finally Northern Ireland at just over 1.9 million. Within England, the South East was the region with the highest population at almost 9.38 million, followed by the London region at around 8.8 million. In terms of urban areas, Greater London is the largest city in the United Kingdom, followed by Greater Manchester and Birmingham in the North West and West Midlands regions of England. London calling London's huge size in relation to other UK cities is also reflected by its economic performance. In 2021, London's GDP was approximately 494 billion British pounds, almost a quarter of UK GDP overall. In terms of GDP per capita, Londoners had a GDP per head of 56,431 pounds, compared with an average of 33,224 for the country as a whole. Productivity, expressed as by output per hour worked, was also far higher in London than the rest of the country. In 2021, London was around 33.2 percent more productive than the rest of the country, with South East England the only other region where productivity was higher than the national average.

National and subnational mid-year population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries by administrative area, age and sex (including components of population change, median age and population density).

Population and household characteristics by built-up area (BUA) size classification and individual BUAs, England (excluding London) and Wales, Census 2021. Data are available at a country, BUA size classification and individual BUA level.

By 1800, London had grown to be the largest city in Western Europe with just under one million inhabitants. Paris was now the second largest city, with over half a million people, and Naples was the third largest city with 450 thousand people. The only other cities with over two hundred thousand inhabitants at this time were Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin. Another noticeable development is the inclusion of many more northern cities from a wider variety of countries. The dominance of cities from France and Mediterranean countries was no longer the case, and the dispersal of European populations in 1800 was much closer to how it is today, more than two centuries later.

This report was released in September 2010. However, recent demographic data is available on the datastore - you may find other datasets on the Datastore useful such as: GLA Population Projections, National Insurance Number Registrations of Overseas Nationals, Births by Birthplace of Mother, Births and Fertility Rates, Office for National Statistics (ONS) Population Estimates

FOCUSON**LONDON**2010:**POPULATION**AND**MIGRATION**

London is the United Kingdom’s only city region. Its population of 7.75 million is 12.5 per cent of the UK population living on just 0.6 per cent of the land area. London’s average population density is over 4,900 persons per square kilometre, this is ten times that of the second most densely populated region.

Between 2001 and 2009 London’s population grew by over 430 thousand, more than any other region, accounting for over 16 per cent of the UK increase.

This report discusses in detail the population of London including Population Age Structure, Fertility and Mortality, Internal Migration, International Migration, Population Turnover and Churn, and Demographic Projections.

Population and Migration report is the first release of the Focus on London 2010-12 series. Reports on themes such as Income, Poverty, Labour Market, Skills, Health, and Housing are also available.

REPORT:

Read the full report in PDF format.

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PRESENTATION:

To access an interactive presentation about population changes in London click the link to see it on Prezi.com

DATA:

To access a spreadsheet with all the data from the Population and Migration report click on the image below.

Report data

MAP:

To enter an interactive map showing a number of indicators discussed in the Population and Migration report click on the image below.

Interactive Maps

FACTS:

● Top five boroughs for babies born per 10,000 population in 2008-09:

1. Newham – 244.4
2. Barking and Dagenham – 209.3
3. Hackney – 205.7
4. Waltham Forest – 202.7

5. Greenwich – 196.2

   -32. Havering – 116.8

   -33. City of London – 47.0

● In 2009, Barnet overtook Croydon as the most populous London borough. Prior to this Croydon had been the largest since 1966

● Population per hectare of land used for Domestic building and gardens is highest in Tower Hamlets

● In 2008-09, natural change (births minus deaths) led to 78,000 more Londoners compared with only 8,000 due to migration. read more about this or click play on the chart below to reveal how regional components of populations change have altered over time.

A range of indicators for a selection of cities from the New York City Global City database.

Dataset includes the following:

Geography

City Area (km2)

Metro Area (km2)

People

City Population (millions)

Metro Population (millions)

Foreign Born

Annual Population Growth

Economy

GDP Per Capita (thousands $, PPP rates, per resident)

Primary Industry

Secondary Industry

Share of Global 500 Companies (%)

Unemployment Rate

Poverty Rate

Transportation

Public Transportation

Mass Transit Commuters

Major Airports

Major Ports

Education

Students Enrolled in Higher Education

Percent of Population with Higher Education (%)

Higher Education Institutions

Tourism

Total Tourists Annually (millions)

Foreign Tourists Annually (millions)

Domestic Tourists Annually (millions)

Annual Tourism Revenue ($US billions)

Hotel Rooms (thousands)

Health

Infant Mortality (Deaths per 1,000 Births)

Life Expectancy in Years (Male)

Life Expectancy in Years (Female)

Physicians per 100,000 People

Number of Hospitals

Anti-Smoking Legislation

Culture

Number of Museums

Number of Cultural and Arts Organizations

Environment

Green Spaces (km2)

Air Quality

Laws or Regulations to Improve Energy Efficiency

Retrofitted City Vehicle Fleet

Bike Share Program

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the London, UK metro area from 1950 to 2025. United Nations population projections are also included through the year 2035.

The ward profiles and ward atlas provide a range of demographic and related data for each ward in Greater London. They are designed to provide an overview of the population in these small areas by presenting a range of data on the population, diversity, households, life expectancy, housing, crime, benefits, land use, deprivation, and employment.

Indicators included here are population by age and sex, land area, projections, population density, household composition, religion, ethnicity, birth rates (general fertility rate), death rates (standardised mortality ratio), life expectancy, average house prices, properties sold, housing by council tax band, tenure, mortgage and landlord home repossession, employment and economic activity, Incapacity Benefit, Income Support and JobSeekers Allowance claimant rates, dependent children receiving child-tax credits by lone parents and out-of-work families, National Insurance Number registration rates for overseas nationals (NINo), GCSE results, pupil absence, crime rates (by type of crime), fires, ambulance call outs, road casualties, happiness and well-being, land use, access to public transport (PTALs), access to public greenspace, access to nature, air emissions / quality, car use, bicycle travel, Indices of Deprivation, and election turnout.

The **Ward Profiles **present key summary measures for the most recent year, using both Excel and InstantAtlas mapping software. This is a useful tool for displaying a large amount of data for numerous geographies, in one place.

The Ward Atlas presents a more detailed version of the data including trend data and generally includes the raw numbers as opposed to percentages or rates.

The Instant Atlas reports use HTML5 technology, which can be used in modern browsers, including on Apple machines, but will not function on older browsers.

WARD PROFILES

Compare the ward measure against the Borough, London and National average.

Excel

PDF

Instant Atlas HTML5

WARD ATLAS

Access the raw data for all London wards.

Excel

Instant Atlas HTML5

Tips:

1. - Select a new indicator from the Data box on the left. Select the theme, then indicator and then year to show the data.

2. - To view data just for one borough*, use the filter tool.

3. - The legend settings can be altered by clicking on the pencil icon next to the Wards tick box within the map legend.

4. - The wards can be ranked in order by clicking at the top of the indicator column of the data table.

Note: Additional indicator information and sources are included within the spreadsheet and Instant Atlas report.

OTHER SMALL AREA PROFILES

Other profiles available include LSOA and MSOA atlases.

Data from these profiles were used to create the Well-being scores tool.

• The London boroughs are: City of London, Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster.

These profiles were created using the most up to date information available at the time of collection (February 2014).

In 2023, the population of the United Kingdom was around 68.3 million, with approximately 34.5 million women and 33.1 million men. Since 1953, the male population of the UK has grown by around 9.1 million, while the female population has increased by approximately 8.5 million. Throughout this provided time period, the female population of the UK has consistently outnumbered the male population. UK population one of the largest in Europe As of 2022, the population of the United Kingdom was the largest it has ever been, and with growth expected to continue, the forecasted population of the United Kingdom is expected to reach over 70 million by the 2030s. Despite the relatively small size of its territory, the UK has one of the largest populations among European countries, slightly larger than France but smaller than Russia and Germany. As of 2022, the population density of the UK was approximately 279 people per square kilometer, with London by far the most densely populated area, and Scotland the most sparsely populated. Dominance of London As seen in the data regarding population density, the population of the United Kingdom is not evenly distributed across the country. Within England, London has a population of almost nine million, making it significantly bigger than the next largest cities of Birmingham and Manchester. As of 2022, Scotland's largest city, Glasgow had a population of around 1.7 million, with the largest cities in Northern Ireland, and Wales being Belfast and Cardiff, which had populations of 643,000 and 488,000 respectively.

The population of London was approximately 8.9 million in 2023, an increase of over two million people when compared with the early 1980s. Throughout the 1980s, the population of the United Kingdom's capital grew at a relatively slow rate, before accelerating to a much faster rate in the 1990s. London is by far the largest city / urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom, more than three times larger than the next largest cities of Manchester and Birmingham. London’s forecasted population is expected to continue growing at much the same pace it has been growing since the mid-1990s and reach almost 9.8 million by 2042. London boroughs As of 2022, the London borough with the highest population was Croydon, at approximately 392,224, followed by Barnet at 389,101. Overall, London is divided into 33 different boroughs, with London's historic center, the City of London having by far the smallest population, at just 10,847. Residents of the City of London, however, have the highest average median weekly earnings among all of London's boroughs, at 1,138 pounds per week, compared with just 588 pounds per week in Redbridge, the lowest average weekly earnings among London boroughs. While the overall unemployment rate for London was 4.3 percent in early 2023, this ranged from 6.8 percent in Brent, to just 2.3 percent in Kingston upon Thames.
Economic imbalance Aside from being the UK's largest city in terms of population, London is also undoubtedly the UK's cultural, political and economic center. As of 2021, the GDP of Greater London was approximately 496.4 billion British pounds, just over 23 percent of the UK's overall GDP. In the same year, GDP per person in London was 56,431 pounds compared with the UK average of 31,947 pounds. Additionally, productivity in London is far higher than the UK average. As measured by output per hour worked, London was 33.2 percent more productive than the rest of the UK.

In 2023, the population of the United Kingdom reached 68.3 million, compared with 67.6 million in 2022. The UK population has more than doubled since 1871 when just under 31.5 million lived in the UK and has grown by around 8.2 million since the start of the twenty-first century. For most of the twentieth century, the UK population steadily increased, with two noticeable drops in population occurring during World War One (1914-1918) and in World War Two (1939-1945). Demographic trends in postwar Britain After World War Two, Britain and many other countries in the Western world experienced a 'baby boom,' with a postwar peak of 1.02 million live births in 1947. Although the number of births fell between 1948 and 1955, they increased again between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, with more than one million people born in 1964. Since 1964, however, the UK birth rate has fallen from 18.8 births per 1,000 people to a low of just 10.2 in 2020. As a result, the UK population has gotten significantly older, with the country's median age increasing from 37.9 years in 2001 to 40.7 years in 2022. What are the most populated areas of the UK? The vast majority of people in the UK live in England, which had a population of 57.7 million people in 2023. By comparison, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland had populations of 5.44 million, 3.13 million, and 1.9 million, respectively. Within England, South East England had the largest population, at over 9.38 million, followed by the UK's vast capital city of London, at 8.8 million. London is far larger than any other UK city in terms of urban agglomeration, with just four other cities; Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and Glasgow, boasting populations that exceed one million people.

This statistic shows the ten cities with the highest number of businesses per 10,000 population in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2018. London had the highest number of businesses per 10,000 population in this year at 677, followed by Milton Keynes which had 553.

FOCUSON**LONDON**2010:**INCOME**AND**SPENDING**AT**HOME**

Household income in London far exceeds that of any other region in the UK. At £900 per week, London’s gross weekly household income is 15 per cent higher than the next highest region. Despite this, the costs to each household are also higher in the capital. Londoners pay a greater amount of their income in tax and national insurance than the UK average as well as footing a higher bill for housing and everyday necessities. All of which leaves London households less well off than the headline figures suggest.

This chapter, authored by Richard Walker in the GLA Intelligence Unit, begins with an analysis of income at both individual and household level, before discussing the distribution and sources of income. This is followed by a look at wealth and borrowing and finally, focuses on expenditure including an insight to the cost of housing in London, compared with other regions in the UK.

See other reports from this Focus on London series.

REPORT:

To view the report online click on the image below. Income and Spending Report PDF

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PRESENTATION:

This interactive presentation finds the answer to the question, who really is better off, an average London or UK household? This analysis takes into account available data from all types of income and expenditure. Click on the link to access.

PREZI

The Prezi in plain text version

RANKINGS: https://londondatastore-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/fol/fol10-income-tableau-chart-thumb.jpg" alt="Alt text">

This interactive chart shows some key borough level income and expenditure data. This chart helps show the relationships between five datasets. Users can rank each of the indicators in turn.

Borough rankings Tableau Chart

MAP:

These interactive borough maps help to geographically present a range of income and expenditure data within London.

Interactive Maps - Instant Atlas

DATA:

All the data contained within the Income and Spending at Home report as well as the data used to create the charts and maps can be accessed in this spreadsheet.

Report data

FACTS:

Some interesting facts from the data…

● Five boroughs with the highest median gross weekly pay per person in 2009:

-1. Kensington & Chelsea - £809

-2. City of London - £767

-3. Westminster - £675

-4. Wandsworth - £636

-5. Richmond - £623

-32. Brent - £439

-33. Newham - £422

● Five boroughs with the highest median weekly rent for a 2 bedroom property in October 2010:

-1. Kensington & Chelsea - £550

-2. Westminster - £500

-3. City of London - £450

-4. Camden - £375

-5. Islington - £360

-32. Havering - £183

-33. Bexley - £173

● Five boroughs with the highest percentage of households that own their home outright in 2009:

-1. Bexley – 38 per cent

-2. Havering – 36 per cent

-3. Richmond – 32 per cent

-4. Bromley – 31 per cent

-5. Barnet – 28 per cent

-31. Tower Hamlets – 9 per cent

-32. Southwark – 9 per cent

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents aged 16 years and over in England and Wales by highest level of qualification and by sex. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

There are quality considerations about higher education qualifications, including those at Level 4+, responses from older people and international migrants, and comparability with 2011 Census data. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Lower tier local authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. There are 309 lower tier local authorities in England made up of 181 non-metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities, 36 metropolitan districts and 33 London boroughs (including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. However, you can choose to filter areas by:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Highest level of qualification

The highest level of qualification is derived from the question asking people to indicate all qualifications held, or their nearest equivalent.

This may include foreign qualifications where they were matched to the closest UK equivalent.

Sex

This is the sex recorded by the person completing the census. The options were “Female” and “Male”.

Cambridge was the fastest growing city in the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2022, with its population increasing by 17.9 percent. Peterborough, Milton Keynes and Exeter also grew quite fast, with their populations increasing by 15.4 percent, 15 percent, and 14.4 percent, respectively. Largest UK urban areas When looking at cities defined by their urban agglomerations, as of 2023, London had approximately 9.65 million people living there, far larger than any other city in the United Kingdom. The urban agglomeration around the city of Birmingham had a population of approximately 2.67 million, while the urban areas around Manchester and Leeds had populations of 2.79 and 1.92 million respectively. London not only dominated other UK cities in terms of its population, but in its importance to the UK economy. In 2022, the gross domestic product of Greater London was approximately 508.3 billion British pounds, compared with 90.8 billion for Greater Manchester, and 77 billion in the West Midlands Metropolitan Area centered around Birmingham. UK population growth In 2022, the overall population of the United Kingdom was estimated to have reached approximately 67.6 million, compared with around 58.9 million in 2000. Since 1970, the year with the highest population growth rate was 2016 when the population grew by around 0.86 percent, and was at its lowest in 1982 when it shrank by 0.12 percent. Although the UK's birth rate has declined considerably in recent years, immigration to the UK has been high enough to drive population growth in the UK, which has had a positive net migration rate since 1994.

FOCUSON**LONDON**2011: HOUSING:A**GROWING**CITY

With the highest average incomes in the country but the least space to grow, demand for housing in London has long outstripped supply, resulting in higher housing costs and rising levels of overcrowding. The pressures of housing demand in London have grown in recent years, in part due to fewer people leaving London to buy homes in other regions. But while new supply during the recession held up better in London than in other regions, it needs to increase significantly in order to meet housing needs and reduce housing costs to more affordable levels.

This edition of Focus on London authored by James Gleeson in the Housing Unit looks at housing trends in London, from the demand/supply imbalance to the consequences for affordability and housing need.

REPORT:

Read the report in PDF format.

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PRESENTATION:

How much pressure is London’s popularity putting on housing provision in the capital? This interactive presentation looks at the effect on housing pressure of demographic changes, and recent new housing supply, shown by trends in overcrowding and house prices. Click on the start button at the bottom of the slide to access.

View Focus on London - Housing: A Growing City on Prezi

HISTOGRAM:

This histogram shows a selection of borough data and helps show areas that are similar to one another by each indicator.

Histogram

MOTION CHART:

This motion chart shows how the relationship, between key housing related indicators at borough level, changes over time.

Motion Chart

MAP:

These interactive borough maps help to geographically present a range of housing data within London, as well as presenting trend data where available.

MAP

DATA:

All the data contained within the Housing: A Growing City report as well as the data used to create the charts and maps can be accessed in this spreadsheet.

FACTS:

Some interesting facts from the data…

● Five boroughs with the highest proportion of households that have lived at their address for less than 12 months in 2009/10:

1. Westminster – 19 per cent
2. Wandsworth – 17 per cent
3. Camden – 16 per cent
4. Lambeth – 14 per cent
5. Southwark – 13 per cent

-31. Harrow – 6 per cent

-32. Havering – 5 per cent

● Five boroughs with the highest percentage point increase between 2004 and 2009 of households in the ‘private rented’ sector:

1. Newham – 17 per cent
2. Greenwich – 11 per cent
3. Enfield – 10 per cent
4. Camden – 9 per cent
5. Harrow – 8 per cent

-32. Islington – 1 per cent

-33. Bexley – 1 per cent

● Five boroughs with the highest percentage difference in median house prices between 2007 Q4 and 2010 Q4:

1. Kensington & Chelsea – 29 per cent
2. Westminster – 19 per cent
3. Camden – 15 per cent
4. Islington – 14 per cent
5. Southwark – 10 per cent

-31. Newham – down 9 per cent

-32. Barking & D’ham – down 9 per cent