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.

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.

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).

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.

This statistic shows the distribution of ethnic groups of Inner London, United Kingdom (UK) at the time of the 2011 National Census. 'White' is the largest group, at 57.2 percent of the population, followed by 'Black / African / Caribbean / Black British,' and Asian / Asian British.'

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).

UK residents by individual countries of birth and citizenship, broken down by UK country, local authority, unitary authority, metropolitan and London boroughs, and counties. Estimates from the Annual Population Survey.

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 table shows resident population broken down into country of birth, showing data for London's largest communities (over 10,000 people) in 2004, and 2008 to 2014 from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The 2011 Census data is also provided in the spreadsheet to provide a comparison to the APS data.

The table also shows the percentage of the UK community that live in London.

The Annual Population Survey (APS) sampled around 325,000 people in the UK (around 28,000 in London). As such all figures must be treated with some caution. 95% confidence interval levels are provided.

All populations of fewer than 10,000 have been suppressed.
Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.

The APS is the only inter-censal data source that can provide estimates of the population stock by nationality. The data have a range of limitations, particularly in relation to their poor coverage of short-term migrants or recent arrivals. They also struggle to provide estimates for small migrant populations due to small sample sizes.

Information about Londoners by Country of Birth using APS data, can be found in DMAG Briefing 2008-05 http://legacy.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/factsandfigures/dmag-briefing-2008-05.pdf

This statistic shows the distribution of ethnic groups of Outer London, United Kingdom (UK), at the time of the 2011 National Census. 'White' is by far the largest group, at **** percent of the population, followed by 'Asian / Asian British' at **** percent.

This table shows resident population of London broken down by nationality, showing data for London's largest communities in 2004, and 2008 to 2012.

Also shows the percentage of the UK community that live in London.
The Annual Population Survey (APS) sampled around 325,000 people in the UK (around 28,000 in London). As such all figures must be treated with some caution. 95% confidence interval levels are provided.

All numbers based on fewer than 50 surveys have been suppressed.
Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

The APS is the only inter-censal data source that can provide estimates of the population stock by nationality. The data have a range of limitations, particularly in relation to their poor coverage of short-term migrants or recent arrivals. They also struggle to provide estimates for small migrant populations due to small sample sizes.
Information about Londoners by Country of Birth using APS data, can be found in DMAG Briefing 2008-05 http://legacy.london.gov.uk/gla/publications/factsandfigures/dmag-briefing-2008-05.pdf

ONS website

In 2021, there were approximately ******* Indian residents living in London, the most of any foreign nationality. Nigerian nationals numbered *******, and were the second most common nationality in this year.

As of 2023, the population density in London was by far the highest number of people per square km in the UK, at *****. Of the other regions and countries which constitute the United Kingdom, North West England was the next most densely populated area at *** people per square kilometer. Scotland, by contrast, is the most sparsely populated country or region in the United Kingdom, with only ** people per square kilometer. Countries, regions, and cities According to the official mid-year population estimate, the population of the United Kingdom was just almost **** million in 2022. Most of the population lived in England, where an estimated **** million people resided, followed by Scotland at **** million, Wales at **** million and finally Northern Ireland at just over *** million. Within England, the South East was the region with the highest population at almost **** million, followed by the London region at around *** 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 *** billion British pounds, almost a quarter of UK GDP overall. In terms of GDP per capita, Londoners had a GDP per head of ****** pounds, compared with an average of ****** 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 **** 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.

In 2023, London had the highest percentage of children aged between 0 and 4 in its overall population, among regions of England and Wales, at *** percent.

In 2019, people from most ethnic minority groups were more likely than White British people to live in the most deprived neighbourhoods.

In 2021, 20.1% of people from the Indian ethnic group were in higher managerial and professional occupations – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups in this socioeconomic group.

There were approximately 4.6 million women and 4.34 million men living in London in 2023, a total population of around 8.9 million people.

70% of White British households owned their own homes – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

39.8% of workers from the Indian ethnic group were in 'professional' jobs in 2021 – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups in this role.

The Labour Market Indicators spreadsheet for boroughs and regions will no longer be updated from March 2015. The final version from March 2015 will still be available to download at the bottom of this page. Most of the data is available within datasets elsewhere on the Datastore.

Workforce Jobs
Unemployment
Model based Unemployment for Boroughs
Claimant Count rates for Boroughs and Wards
Employment Rate Trends
Employment rates by Gender, Age and Disability
Number of Self Employed, Full and Part Time Employed
Employment by Occupation
Employment by Industry
Employment, Unemployment, Economic Activity and Inactivity Rates by Disability
Employment by Ethnicity
Economic Inactivity by Gender and Reason
Qualifications of Economically Active, Employed and Unemployed
Qualification levels of working-age population
Apprenticeship Starts and Achievements
Young People Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET), Borough
19 year olds Qualified to NVQ Level 3
GCE A level examination results of 16-18 year olds
GCSE Results by Pupil Characteristics
People Claiming Out-of-Work Benefits
People Claiming Incapacity Benefit
Children Living in Workless Households
Gross Value Added, and Gross Disposable Household Income
Earnings by place of residence
Earnings by place of work
Business Demographics
Employment projections by sector
Jobs Density
Population Estimates
Population Migration

Core Indicators

Number of London residents of working age in employment
Employment rate
Number of male London residents of working age in employment
Male employment rate
Number of female London residents of working age in employment
Female employment rate
Workforce jobs
Jobs density
Number of London residents of working age who are economically inactive
Economic inactivity rate
Number of London residents aged 16+ who are unemployed (model based)
Proportion of London residents aged 16+ who are unemployed (model based)
Claimant unemployment
Claimant Count as a proportion of the working age population
Incidence of skill gaps (Numbers and rates)
GCSE (5+ A*–C) attainment including English and Maths
Number of working age people in London with no qualifications
Proportion of working age people in London with no qualifications
Number of working age people in London with Level 4+ qualifications
Proportion of working age people in London with Level 4+ qualifications
Number of people of working age claiming out of work benefits
Proportion of the working age population who claim out of work benefits
Number of young people aged 16-18 who are not in employment, education or training NEET)
Proportion of 16-18 year olds who are NEET

Additional Indicators

Economy and Productivity
Business Demography (active enterprises, births and deaths of enterprises)
Business Demography (active enterprises, births and deaths of enterprises): Index
Business Demography (National indicators)

Demand for labour: Jobs, vacancies and skills needs
Total vacancies reported by employers
Skill shortage vacancies
JobCentre vacancies - notified
JobCentre vacancies - unfilled
Number employed by industry (working age)
Employment rates by industry (working age)
Number employed by occupation
Employment rates by occupation
Working age who are self-employed
Numbers employed in the civil service

Population and supply of labour
Population estimates (working age)
National Insurance Number Registrations of overseas nationals
Employment projections
Number employed by ethnic groups (working age)
Employment rates by ethnic groups (working age)
Number employed by age groups
Employment rates by age groups
Number employed by disability (working age)
Employment rates by disability (working age)
Employment: Part time/ Full time
Inactivity by reason (working age)
Inactivity rates by reason (working age)
JSA claimants by ethnic groups
Incapacity Benefit claimants by duration
Working age benefit claimants by statistical group
Aged 18-24, claiming JSA for over 6 months
Aged 18-24, claiming JSA for over 9 months
Aged over 25, claiming JSA for over 1 year
JSA claimant flows
JSA claimant flows: index

Skills and learning
Total achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc. English & Mathematics by characteristics
Percentage achieving 5+ A*-C grades inc. English & Mathematics by characteristics
GCE A level examination results of 16-18 year olds
Working age population by qualification level and sex
Working age rates by qualification level and sex
Qualification levels of those in employment (working age)
Number with no adult learning (working age)
Proportion with no adult learning (working age)
Received job related training in last 13 wks (working age)
Apprenticeship Programme starts and achievements - summary
Apprenticeship Programme starts and achievements - index
Apprenticeship Programme starts by level and age
Apprenticeship Programme achievements by level and age
Number of 19 year olds qualified to Level 3
Proportion of 19 year olds qualified to Level 3

Worklessness and NEETS
Worklessness by sex and age (working age)
Worklessness rates by sex and age (working age)
Worklessness numbers and rates by qualification levels (working age)

Within the borough spreadsheet, statistics are shown for boroughs, inner London, outer London, Thames Gateway London, Olympic Host Boroughs, West London, and West London Alliance.

Further Labour Market Indicator tools are available from the CESI website.

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