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).

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.

The population of the United Kingdom in 2023 was estimated to be approximately 68.3 million in 2023, with almost 9.48 million people living in South East England. London had the next highest population, at over 8.9 million people, followed by the North West England at 7.6 million. With the UK's population generally concentrated in England, most English regions have larger populations than the constituent countries of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which had populations of 5.5 million, 3.16 million, and 1.92 million respectively. English counties and cities The United Kingdom is a patchwork of various regional units, within England the largest of these are the regions shown here, which show how London, along with the rest of South East England had around 18 million people living there in this year. The next significant regional units in England are the 47 metropolitan and ceremonial counties. After London, the metropolitan counties of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire were the biggest of these counties, due to covering the large urban areas of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds respectively. Regional divisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The smaller countries that comprise the United Kingdom each have different local subdivisions. Within Scotland these are called council areas whereas in Wales the main regional units are called unitary authorities. Scotland's largest Council Area by population is that of Glasgow City at over 622,000, while in Wales, it was the Cardiff Unitary Authority at around 372,000. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has eleven local government districts, the largest of which is Belfast with a population of around 348,000.

Mid-year (30 June) estimates of the usual resident population for electoral wards in England and Wales.

Mid-year (30 June) estimates of the usual resident population for health geographies in England and Wales.

The mid-year estimates refer to the population on 30 June of the reference year and are produced in line with the standard United Nations (UN) definition for population estimates. They are the official set of population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries, the regions and counties of England, and local authorities and their equivalents.

In 2023, there were approximately 14,850 centenarians living in England and Wales, compared with 14,920 in the previous year.

The population of England was estimated to have reached almost 57.7 million in 2023, compared with 53.9 million ten years earlier in 2013. Compared with 1971, the population of England has grown by over ten million.

Mid-year (30 June) estimates of the usual resident population for Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England and Wales by broad age groups and sex.

In 2023, the population of England and Wales was approximately 60.9 million, compared with around 60.2 million in the previous year.

This release provides insights into self-reported health in England and Wales in 2021, broken down by age and sex. Key findings are presented at country, regional and local authority level. Additional analyses compare general health to the 2011 Census and examines the relationship between deprivation and health at a national decile (England) or quintile (Wales) level can be found here.

In 2021 and 2011, people were asked “How is your health in general?”. The response options were:

• Very good
• Good
• Fair
• Bad
• Very bad

Age specific percentage

Age-specific percentages are estimates of disability prevalence in each age group, and are used to allow comparisons between specified age groups. Further information is in the glossary.

Age-standardised percentage

Age-standardised percentages are estimates of disability prevalence in the population, across all age groups. They allow for comparison between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure. Further information is in the glossary.

Details on usage of Age-standardised percentage can be found here

Count

The count is the number of usual residents by general health status from very good to very bad, sex, age group and geographic breakdown. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, counts and populations have been rounded to the nearest 5, and counts under 10 have not been included..

General health

A person's assessment of the general state of their health from very good to very bad. This assessment is not based on a person's health over any specified period of time.

Index of Multiple Deprivation and Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation

National deciles and quintiles of area deprivation are created through ranking small geographical populations known as Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs), based on their deprivation score from most to least deprived. They are then grouped into 10 (deciles) or 5 (quintiles) divisions based on the subsequent ranking. We have used the 2019 IMD and WIMD because this is the most up-to-date version at the time of publishing.

Population

The population is the number of usual residents of each sex, age group and geographic breakdown. To ensure that individuals cannot be identified in the data, counts and populations have been rounded to the nearest 5, and counts under 10 have not been included.

Usual resident

For Census 2021, a usual resident of the UK is anyone who, on census day, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

This dataset provides the components of change within the official population estimates for the local authorities in Wales. These estimates are consistent with the results of Census 2011 and show the contributions that natural change (births less deaths); different elements of migration and other smaller adjustments make to the changing population estimates in each local authority over the period since 1991. It should be noted that there are some definitional changes for mid-2020 (particularly affecting the migration components) compared to mid-2019 populations estimates data and it is advised that users read the Quality and Methodology Information section on the Office for National Statistics website. Internal migration estimates for mid-2023 have been produced using a different method to previous years, following a change to the variables available in the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data. This has resulted in Wales level data for internal inward and internal outward migration being unavailable for mid-2023. This material is Crown Copyright and may be re-used (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

Admin-based population estimates for all local authorities in England and Wales from the dynamic population model

In 2023, almost nine million people lived in Greater London, making it the most populated ceremonial county in England. The West Midlands Metropolitan County, which contains the large city of Birmingham, was the second-largest county at 2.98 million inhabitants, followed by Greater Manchester and then West Yorkshire with populations of 2.95 million and 2.4 million, respectively. Kent, Essex, and Hampshire were the three next-largest counties in terms of population, each with around 1.89 million people. A patchwork of regions England is just one of the four countries that compose the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with England, Scotland and Wales making up Great Britain. England is therefore not to be confused with Great Britain or the United Kingdom as a whole. Within England, the next subdivisions are the nine regions of England, containing various smaller units such as unitary authorities, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts. The counties in this statistic, however, are based on the ceremonial counties of England as defined by the Lieutenancies Act of 1997. Regions of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Like England, the other countries of the United Kingdom have their own regional subdivisions, although with some different terminology. Scotland’s subdivisions are council areas, while Wales has unitary authorities, and Northern Ireland has local government districts. As of 2022, the most-populated Scottish council area was Glasgow City, with over 622,000 inhabitants. In Wales, Cardiff had the largest population among its unitary authorities, and in Northern Ireland, Belfast was the local government area with the most people living there.

Interactive analysis of estimated population change for England and Wales, by geography, age and sex. Annual estimates are from mid-2011 onwards.

The statistic shows the total population in the United Kingdom from 2015 to 2019, with projections up until 2025. The population grew steadily over this period.

Population of the United Kingdom

Despite a fertility rate just below the replacement rate, the United Kingdom’s population has been slowly but steadily growing, increasing by an average of 0.6 percent every year since 2002. The age distribution has remained roughly the same for the past ten years or so, with the share of the population over 65 years old seeing a slight increase as the baby boomer generation enters into that age bracket. That share is likely to continue growing slightly, as the United Kingdom has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

The population of the island nation is predominantly white Christians, but a steady net influx of immigrants, part of a legacy of the wide-reaching former British Empire, has helped diversify the population. One of the largest ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom is that of residents of an Indian background, born either in the UK, India, or in other parts of the world. India itself is experiencing problems with rapid population growth, causing some of its population to leave the country in order to find employment. The United Kingdom’s relatively lower levels of unemployment and the historical connection between the two countries (which has also resulted in family connections between individuals) are likely reasons that make it a popular destination for Indian emigrants.

Key information about United Kingdom population

• The United Kingdom population reached 68.3 million people in Dec 2023, compared with the previously reported figure of 67.6 million people in Dec 2022
• The data reached an all-time high of 68.3 million people in Dec 2023 and a record low of 48.9 million people in Dec 1946

• In the latest reports, United Kingdom Unemployment Rate dropped to 3.9 % in Oct 2023
• Monthly earnings of the United Kingdom population was 3,547.0 USD in Jul 2024
• United Kingdom Labour Force Participation Rate dropped to 62.8 % in Oct 2023

This dataset provides population estimates for the local authorities in Wales, for the period from 1991 onwards by sex and single year of age, together with some aggregated age groups. It should be noted that for mid-2020 there are some definitional changes (particularly affecting the migration components) compared with mid-2019 population estimates data, and it is advised users read the Quality and Methodology Information section on the Office for National Statistics website. For Wales, the mid-2021 population estimates are the first population estimates to be based on Census 2021. Internal migration estimates for mid-2023 have been produced using a different method to previous years, following a change to the variables available in the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data. This material is Crown Copyright and may be re-used (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence.