Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the London, UK metro area from 1950 to 2025.

By 2047 the population of London is expected to reach 9.97 million people, an increase of almost 699,500 when compared with 2025. While there has been quite a steep rise in its population in recent years, London’s population growth was relatively stagnant throughout the 1980s and even decreased slightly towards the end of that decade. After peaking at 8.89 million in 2019, the population of London has fallen slightly, to 8.8 million by 2021. UK population forecast Like London, the population of the United Kingdom is forecast to continue to grow well into the middle of the century. By 2046, the population of the UK is estimated to be over 76.3 million people, an increase of over 20 million people when compared with the population figures for 1976. Additionally, the average age of the population is predicted to increase from 39.5 years in 2020 to 44.5 years by the mid-2040s, and continue to increase towards the end of the century. London looms large In the UK, London is by far the largest urban agglomeration in the country, dwarfing the UK's next largest cities of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. London also has a dominant economic position in the UK, with the city accounting for around a quarter of the total GDP in the country. The UK capital also has a far higher GDP per head than the rest of the county, at over ****** pounds in 2023, compared with the UK average of ****** pounds.

London's Population Over Time

For trend prediction London's population

By Eva Murray [source]

About this dataset

This file contains data on the projected population of London from 2011 to 2050. The data comes from the London Datastore and offers a glimpse into the future of one of the world's most populous cities

How to use the dataset

Research Ideas

• Predicting crime rates based on population growth
• Determining which areas of London will need more infrastructure to accommodate the growing population
• Planning for different marketing and advertising strategies based on demographics

Acknowledgements

Data Source

License

License: Dataset copyright by authors - You are free to: - Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially. - Adapt - remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. - You must: - Give appropriate credit - Provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. - ShareAlike - You must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. - Keep intact - all notices that refer to this license, including copyright notices.

Columns

File: central_trend_2017_base.csv | Column name | Description | |:--------------|:------------------------------------| | gss_code | The GSS code for the area. (String) | | district | The name of the district. (String) | | component | The population component. (String) | | sex | The sex of the population. (String) | | age | The age of the population. (String) | | 2011 | The population in 2011. (Integer) | | 2012 | The population in 2012. (Integer) | | 2013 | The population in 2013. (Integer) | | 2014 | The population in 2014. (Integer) | | 2015 | The population in 2015. (Integer) | | 2016 | The population in 2016. (Integer) | | 2017 | The population in 2017. (Integer) | | 2018 | The population in 2018. (Integer) | | 2019 | The population in 2019. (Integer) | | 2020 | The population in 2020. (Integer) | | 2021 | The population in 2021. (Integer) | | 2022 | The population in 2022. (Integer) | | 2023 | The population in 2023. (Integer) | | 2024 | The population in 2024. (Integer) | | 2025 | The population in 2025. (Integer) | | 2026 | The population in 2026. (Integer) | | 2027 | The population in 2027. (Integer) | | 2028 | The population in 2028. (Integer) | | 2029 | The population in 2029. (Integer) | | 2030 | The population in 2030. (Integer) | | 2031 | The population in 2031. (Integer) | | 2032 | The population in 2032. (Integer) | | 2033 | The population in 2033. (Integer) | | 2034 | The population in 2034. (Integer) | | 2035 | The population in 2035. (Integer) | | 2036 | The population in 2036. (Integer) | | 2037 | The population in 2037. (Integer) | | 2038 | The population in 2038. (Integer) | | 2039 | The population in 20 |

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit Eva Murray.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the London population over the last 20 plus years. It lists the population for each year, along with the year on year change in population, as well as the change in percentage terms for each year. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population change of London across the last two decades. For example, using this dataset, we can identify if the population is declining or increasing. If there is a change, when the population peaked, or if it is still growing and has not reached its peak. We can also compare the trend with the overall trend of United States population over the same period of time.

Key observations

In 2023, the population of London was 7,596, a 0.42% increase year-by-year from 2022. Previously, in 2022, London population was 7,564, an increase of 0.08% compared to a population of 7,558 in 2021. Over the last 20 plus years, between 2000 and 2023, population of London increased by 232. In this period, the peak population was 8,054 in the year 2018. The numbers suggest that the population has already reached its peak and is showing a trend of decline. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Data Coverage:

• From 2000 to 2023

Variables / Data Columns

• Year: This column displays the data year (Measured annually and for years 2000 to 2023)
• Population: The population for the specific year for the London is shown in this column.
• Year on Year Change: This column displays the change in London population for each year compared to the previous year.
• Change in Percent: This column displays the year on year change as a percentage. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

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 Year. You can refer the same here

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.

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.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the New London population over the last 20 plus years. It lists the population for each year, along with the year on year change in population, as well as the change in percentage terms for each year. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population change of New London across the last two decades. For example, using this dataset, we can identify if the population is declining or increasing. If there is a change, when the population peaked, or if it is still growing and has not reached its peak. We can also compare the trend with the overall trend of United States population over the same period of time.

Key observations

In 2023, the population of New London was 968, a 1.36% increase year-by-year from 2022. Previously, in 2022, New London population was 955, an increase of 1.17% compared to a population of 944 in 2021. Over the last 20 plus years, between 2000 and 2023, population of New London decreased by 37. In this period, the peak population was 1,005 in the year 2000. The numbers suggest that the population has already reached its peak and is showing a trend of decline. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Data Coverage:

• From 2000 to 2023

Variables / Data Columns

• Year: This column displays the data year (Measured annually and for years 2000 to 2023)
• Population: The population for the specific year for the New London is shown in this column.
• Year on Year Change: This column displays the change in New London population for each year compared to the previous year.
• Change in Percent: This column displays the year on year change as a percentage. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

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 New London Population by Year. You can refer the same here

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

IMPORTANT NOTE: These projections have been superceded, please see https://data.london.gov.uk/demography/ for the latest GLA projections. The 2013 round of projections featured a large number of variants including: Three variants of trend-based projection (Central, High, Low) that used different migration assumptions and which were used to inform the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) and Further Alterations to the London Plan (FALP). A further trend-based projection that took the migration assumptions from the Central projection, but updated the fertility assumptions to be in line with assumptions taken from ONS’s 2012-based National Population Projections. Two variants of development-linked projections using development trajectories derived from the 2013 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment. These variants make use of different methodologies to incorporate development data into the population projections. Two Updates were released as part of the 2013 round. These detailed results and methodologies for the initial projection releases. The capped-household size model was released subsequently in response to demand from colleagues in some local authorities. An explanation of this and other methodologies is presented in the Technical Note. For general use, the GLA advises the use of the SHLAA-based projection using the capped household size model. This gives rise to a broadly similar total population for London as the Central trend-based projection used in the SHMA/FALP, but with a geographical distribution of population growth that better reflects likely future development. For the 2013 round, the decision was made to release the results of the ward-based projections by single year of age and gender, rather than in five-year age bands as in previous years. This change was to allow users to aggregate to the age bands of interest to them. It is important to note that the provision of these projections by single year of age and at unit level is to facilitate their subsequent use and is not an indication of their level of accuracy. Users should be aware that small area population estimates and projections are subject to high levels of uncertainty and potential inaccuracy. The custom-age population tool is here .

Cambridge was the fastest growing city in the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2023, with its population increasing by 17.3 percent. Exeter, Milton Keynes, and Peterborough also grew quite fast, with their populations increasing by 15.2 percent, 14.9 percent, and 14 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 2023, the gross domestic product of Greater London was approximately 569 billion British pounds, compared with 101 billion for Greater Manchester, and 85 billion in the West Midlands Metropolitan Area centered around Birmingham. UK population growth In 2023, the overall population of the United Kingdom was estimated to have reached approximately 68.3 million, compared with around 58.9 million in 2000. Since 1970, 2023 was also the year with the highest population growth rate, growing by 0.98 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.

In 2023, Croydon had the largest population among London's 32 boroughs at 397,741, while Kensington and Chelsea had the smallest population, at 147,460.

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.

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).

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.

In 2020, the population of the United Kingdom was estimated to have grown by approximately 0.4 percent, with the population growing fastest in the South West and East Midlands, which reported growth rates of 0.6 percent in this year. By contrast, growth in Northern Ireland and Scotland was below the UK average, at just 0.1 percent and zero percent, respectively. Four countries of the UK Within the UK, South East England had the highest population of the regions that comprise the United Kingdom, at more than 9.37 million people. In terms of the four countries of the UK, England had by far the highest population at over 57.7 million people, compared with Scotland (5.5 million) Wales (3.13 million) and Northern Ireland (1.9 million people) which have comparatively smaller populations. Largest cities in the UK With 8.9 million people living there, London is one of the most heavily population regions of the UK, and by far the largest city. Other large cities in the UK include West Midlands urban area, centered around the city of Birmingham at 2.95 million people, along with Greater Manchester at 2.91 million, with these two cities generally considered as the main contenders for being the country's second-city.

As of 2019, the population of the London metropolitan area was approximately 14.37 million people, an increase of 2.3 million when compared with 2002. The London metropolitan area covers an area that is larger than Greater London, and includes areas from which it is possible to commute to London for work.

The housing-led projections reconcile future population growth with available housing supply by incorporating a housing supply trajectory. The housing-led projections are recommended for most local planning purposes, and the 10-year variant can be considered the default variant. Users in London local authorities are able to request bespoke projections based on alternative housing scenarios through the GLA Population Projection Service. The most recent set of projections are the 2022-based round (August 2024) which comprise three variants based on different migration and fertility assumptions. All 2022-based projections are based on a common scenario of assumed future housing delivery that is derived from capacity identified in the 2017 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment. These projections are based on modelled back series of population estimates produced by the GLA and available here. 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 housing-led projections include projections for London Boroughs and London wards (2022 boundaries). The release also includes components of change (births, deaths and migration data). Documentation page Back to projections homepage

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).

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.

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