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.

The population of London was approximately *** million in 2023, an increase of over *** 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 *** million by 2042. London boroughs As of 2022, the London borough with the highest population was Croydon, at approximately *******, followed by Barnet at *******. 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 ******. Residents of the City of London, however, have the highest average median weekly earnings among all of London's boroughs, at ***** pounds per week, compared with just *** pounds per week in Redbridge, the lowest average weekly earnings among London boroughs. While the overall unemployment rate for London was *** percent in early 2023, this ranged from *** percent in Brent, to just *** 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 ***** billion British pounds, just over ** percent of the UK's overall GDP. In the same year, GDP per person in London was ****** pounds compared with the UK average of ****** pounds. Additionally, productivity in London is far higher than the UK average. As measured by output per hour worked, London was **** percent more productive than the rest of the UK.

Annual historical data for UK residents by broad country of birth and citizenship groups, broken down by UK country, local authority, unitary authority, metropolitan and London boroughs, and counties.

By 2047 it is expected that there will be approximately *** million men and **** million women living in London, compared with *** million men and **** million women in 2025. By 2046, the population of the United Kingdom as a whole is forecast to reach 76 million, compared with around 69 million in 2026. London’s population since 1981 Between 1981 and 1988, the population of London declined from *** million, to *** million. This period of gradual population decline was, however, followed by a sustained era of population growth, with London's population reaching *** million in 2023. There was a slight fall in London's population between 2019 and 2021, when the population declined by around 89,000. As of 2023, the largest age group in the city was that of 25 to 29-year-olds, of which there were around ******* people. London's boroughs London is currently split up into 32 boroughs, as well as the historic center of the city, the City of London. The City of London had a population of around ****** people in 2023, compared with ******* in Croydon, the London Borough with the highest population that year. London's historic center also had the highest average weekly salary in the city, at ***** pounds, compared with *** pounds in the Borough of Redbridge.

Estimates of London's population between 1801 and 2001 (persons present 1801 to 1991 and residents for 2001 onwards) derived from historic Census data.

Sources: years to 1971 - Greater London Council Research Memorandum 413, The Changing Population of the London Boroughs; 1981 Census Small Area Statistics, Table 1; 1991 Census Small Area Statistics, Table 1. Figure for Year-1939 is a mid-year estimate for the year 1939. Figure for Year-2001 onwards is the number of residents because the number of persons present is not available from 2001. Note that totals for Greater London may not match due to rounding errors. Figures are estimates to the nearest thousand.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the London, Canada metro area from 1950 to 2025.

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).

🇬🇧 United Kingdom English Estimates of London's population between 1801 and 2021 (persons present 1801 to 1971 and usual residents for 1981 to 2021) derived from historic Census data. Figures for years before 1931 are estimates by the Greater London Council published in Research Memorandum 413, 'The Changing Population of the London Boroughs'. Figures for 1931, 1951, and 1961 were published in 'Census 1961 Greater London Tables'; Figures for 1971 to 2021 are taken from individual censuses.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the data for the London, OH population pyramid, which represents the London population distribution across age and gender, using estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. It lists the male and female population for each age group, along with the total population for those age groups. Higher numbers at the bottom of the table suggest population growth, whereas higher numbers at the top indicate declining birth rates. Furthermore, the dataset can be utilized to understand the youth dependency ratio, old-age dependency ratio, total dependency ratio, and potential support ratio.

Key observations

• Youth dependency ratio, which is the number of children aged 0-14 per 100 persons aged 15-64, for London, OH, is 30.2.
• Old-age dependency ratio, which is the number of persons aged 65 or over per 100 persons aged 15-64, for London, OH, is 27.7.
• Total dependency ratio for London, OH is 57.9.
• Potential support ratio, which is the number of youth (working age population) per elderly, for London, OH is 3.6.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group for the London population analysis. Total expected values are 18 and are define above in the age groups section.
• Population (Male): The male population in the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Population (Female): The female population in the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Total Population: The total population of the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for London Population by Age. You can refer the same here

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.

United Kingdom Population: London data was reported at 8,825.001 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 8,769.659 Person th for 2016. United Kingdom Population: London data is updated yearly, averaging 7,154.000 Person th from Jun 1971 (Median) to 2017, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8,825.001 Person th in 2017 and a record low of 6,729.000 Person th in 1988. United Kingdom Population: London data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G001: Population.

According to the 2021 Census, 62.9% (37.5 million) of the overall population of England and Wales was of ‘working age’ (between 16 and 64 years old).

There were ******* people living in London who were aged between 25 and 29 in 2023, the most of any group. The four largest age cohorts were all clustered between the ages of 25 and 44.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the data for the London, AR population pyramid, which represents the London population distribution across age and gender, using estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. It lists the male and female population for each age group, along with the total population for those age groups. Higher numbers at the bottom of the table suggest population growth, whereas higher numbers at the top indicate declining birth rates. Furthermore, the dataset can be utilized to understand the youth dependency ratio, old-age dependency ratio, total dependency ratio, and potential support ratio.

Key observations

• Youth dependency ratio, which is the number of children aged 0-14 per 100 persons aged 15-64, for London, AR, is 42.6.
• Old-age dependency ratio, which is the number of persons aged 65 or over per 100 persons aged 15-64, for London, AR, is 14.8.
• Total dependency ratio for London, AR is 57.4.
• Potential support ratio, which is the number of youth (working age population) per elderly, for London, AR is 6.7.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group for the London population analysis. Total expected values are 18 and are define above in the age groups section.
• Population (Male): The male population in the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Population (Female): The female population in the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Total Population: The total population of the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for London Population by Age. You can refer the same here

The trend-based projections include a range of variants based on different assumptions about future levels of migration. The projections are produced for all local authorities in England & Wales.

The datasets include summary workbooks with population and summary components of change as well as zip archives with the full detailed outputs from the models, including components of change by single year of age and sex.

The most recent set of trend-based population projections currently available are the 2022-based projections (August 2024). Additional documentation, including updated information about methodologies and assumptions will be published in the coming days.

For more information about these projections, see the accompanying blog post.

The 2022-based projections comprise three variants based on different periods of past migration patterns and assumed levels of future fertility rates.

Trend-based projections don't explicitly account for future housing delivery. For most local planning purposes we generally recommend the use of housing-led projections

These projections are based on modelled back series of population estimates produced by the GLA and available here

* 14 July 2023 - following a minor update to the modelled population estimates series, we have made available an additional version of the projections based on these updated inputs. At this time we have no plans to update or replace the outputs and documentation published in January 2023. However, we recommend users looking to use the projections in analysis or as inputs to onward modelling consider using these updated outputs.

• Documentation page
• Back to projections homepage

Excel Age-Range creator for Office for National Statistics (ONS) Mid year population estimates (MYE) covering each year between 1999 and 2016 These files take into account the revised estimates for 2002-2010 released in April 2013 down to Local Authority level and the post 2011 estimates based on the Census results. Scotland and Northern Ireland data has not been revised, so Great Britain and United Kingdom totals comprise the original data for these plus revised England and Wales figures. This Excel based tool enables users to query the single year of age raw data so that any age range can easily be calculated without having to carry out often complex, and time consuming formulas that could also be open to human error. Simply select the lower and upper age range for both males and females and the spreadsheet will return the total population for the range. Please adhere to the terms and conditions of supply contained within the file. Tip: You can copy and paste the rows you are interested in to another worksheet by using the filters at the top of the columns and then select all by pressing Ctrl+A. Then simply copy and paste the cells to a new location. ONS Mid year population estimates Open Excel tool (London Boroughs, Regions and National, 1999-2016) Also available is a custom-age tool for all geographies in the UK. Open the tool for all UK geographies (local authority and above) for: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. This full MYE dataset by single year of age (SYA) age and gender is available as a Datastore package here. Ward Level Population estimates Single year of age population tool for 2002 to 2015 for all wards in London. New 2014 Ward boundary estimates Ward boundary changes in May 2014 only affected three London boroughs - Hackney, Kensington and Chelsea, and Tower Hamlets. The estimates between 2001-2013 have been calculated by the GLA by taking the proportion of a the old ward that falls within the new ward based on the proportion of population living in each area at the 2011 Census. Therefore, these estimates are purely indicative and are not official statistics and not endorsed by ONS. From 2014 onwards, ONS began publishing official estimates for the new ward boundaries. Download here.

According to the 2021 Census, London was the most ethnically diverse region in England and Wales – 63.2% of residents identified with an ethnic minority group.

Population Estimate, Total, Hispanic or Latino (5-year estimate) in New London County, CT was 30806.00000 Persons in January of 2021, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Estimate, Total, Hispanic or Latino (5-year estimate) in New London County, CT reached a record high of 30806.00000 in January of 2021 and a record low of 17576.00000 in January of 2009. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Estimate, Total, Hispanic or Latino (5-year estimate) in New London County, CT - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

The GLA Demography Team offers a bespoke population projection service to London local authorities. Boroughs can request population projections based on their own choice of assumptions about future housing delivery. These assumptions are submitted to the team via a standard template. The resulting projections are referred to as the Borough Preferred Option (or BPO) and are commonly used to help support local planning and service delivery.

The GLA does not make the BPO projections and submitted housing trajectories publicly available or share them with anyone other than the commissioning borough. Boroughs wishing to publish BPO projections themselves are free to do so.

This service is offered as an optional, free of charge service to London authorities, and is intended to provide users with an alternative to the standard projections that the GLA publishes on the London Datastore.

Access to outputs

The BPO projections are shared with users via private pages on the London Datastore. These pages include all outputs produced under the service since 2019.

To access outputs, users must have a current Datastore account linked to their local government email address and contact the Demography Team to request permissions be granted for the individual pages relating to their local authority.

Notes on completing the development data template

What periods do the year labels in the template refer to?

The year labels in the template nominally refer to periods ending in the middle of that year (i.e. `2025` refers to the 12 month period ending June 30th 2025). However, development data is often readily available only for financial years and it is common to submit data on this basis, with financial year 2024/25 aligning with `2025` in the template.

Development trajectory

The cells in the template represent annual net changes in the number of dwellings.

The current template covers the period 2012-2041 and are pre-populated with estimated annual net dwelling changes for the period 2012-2019, based on modelling of data from the London Development Database.

For the 2022-based and subsequent projections, dwelling stock estimates are anchored to the results of the 2021 Census and it is not essential to include data for dwelling stock changes that occured prior to this point (i.e. up to and including '2021').

Past development data from 2022 up to the base year of the projections, affects the projected population in all future years as dwelling stock in the base year is used in the estimation of relationships between housing and population in the model.

We are not yet able to pre-populate templates with estimated dwelling changes for years after 2019. In future rounds of projections we intend to incorporate data from the Planning Data Hub.

Blank cells are treated as missing rather than no change, and data based on the 2017 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) will be substituted in its place. To indicate no net change in dwellings in a ward in a particular year, users must explicitly enter a zero in the relevant cell.

Self-contained and Non-self-contained development

Self-contained development should be used for standard residential development (e.g. new build/conversion).

Non-self-contained development should be used for development such as student accommodation. This should be added to the template as the equivalent of self-contained units (i.e. a ratio of non-self-contained to self-contained should be applied). The London Plan ratios are:

· 2.5:1 for student housing

· 1:1 for housing for older people (C2)

· 1.8:1 for all other non-self-contained housing

Requesting projections based on multiple different housing scenarios

While we are willing to try and accommodate requests for multiple sets of projections, capacity in the team is limited and there is no guarantee that we will be able to do so in a timely manner.

Please do not

• Add rows or columns to the template
• Change ward names or codes
• Include formulas or new formatting
• Add notes or comments to the template
• Return data in a different version of the template to those included here

Please return completed templates to:

<a href="mailto:demography@london.gov.uk"

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the data for the London, KY population pyramid, which represents the London population distribution across age and gender, using estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. It lists the male and female population for each age group, along with the total population for those age groups. Higher numbers at the bottom of the table suggest population growth, whereas higher numbers at the top indicate declining birth rates. Furthermore, the dataset can be utilized to understand the youth dependency ratio, old-age dependency ratio, total dependency ratio, and potential support ratio.

Key observations

• Youth dependency ratio, which is the number of children aged 0-14 per 100 persons aged 15-64, for London, KY, is 40.2.
• Old-age dependency ratio, which is the number of persons aged 65 or over per 100 persons aged 15-64, for London, KY, is 32.7.
• Total dependency ratio for London, KY is 72.9.
• Potential support ratio, which is the number of youth (working age population) per elderly, for London, KY is 3.1.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group for the London population analysis. Total expected values are 18 and are define above in the age groups section.
• Population (Male): The male population in the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Population (Female): The female population in the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Total Population: The total population of the London for the selected age group is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for London Population by Age. You can refer the same here