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).

The population of the United Kingdom in 2024 was estimated to be approximately 69.3 million, with over 9.6 million people living in South East England. London had the next highest population, at almost 9.1 million people, followed by the North West England at 7.7 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, 3.2 million, and 1.9 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 650,000, while in Wales, it was the Cardiff Unitary Authority at around 384,000. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has eleven local government districts, the largest of which is Belfast with a population of approxiamtely 352,000.

In 2024, the population of the United Kingdom reached 69.3 million, compared with 68.5 million in 2023. The UK population has more than doubled since 1871 when just under 31.5 million lived in the UK and has grown by around 10.4 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 58.6 million people in 2024. By comparison, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland had populations of 5.5 million, 3.2 million, and 1.9 million, respectively. Within England, South East England had the largest population, at over 9.6 million, followed by the UK's vast capital city of London, at almost 9.1 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.

Estimates of the usual resident population for the UK as at 30 June of the reference year. Provided by administrative area, single year of age and sex. Source agency: Office for National Statistics Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

In 2024, over 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 just over 3.03 million, closely followed by Greater Manchester at three million, and then West Yorkshire with a population of 2.4 million. Kent, Essex, and Hampshire were the three next-largest counties in terms of population, each with just over 1.9 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 2024, the most-populated Scottish council area was Glasgow City, with over 650,000 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.

This dataset provides population estimates for the local authorities in Wales, the English regions and the UK countries 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, England, and Northern Ireland, the mid-2021 population estimates are the first population estimates to be based on the 2021 censuses for these countries. For Scotland, the census was moved to 2022. The mid-2022 population estimates are the first population estimates to be based on the 2022 Census for Scotland. 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.

The UK population was 69.3 million in 2024, with 58.6 million people living in England, by far the most populous constituent country of the UK. In this year, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland had populations of 5.5 million, 3.2 million, and 1.9 million respectively.

About this dataset

Context

This list ranks the 2 cities in the Scotland County, NC by British population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in each city over the past five years.

Content

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

• 2019-2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2014-2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Variables / Data Columns

• Rank by British Population: This column displays the rank of city in the Scotland County, NC by their British population, using the most recent ACS data available.
• City: The City for which the rank is shown in the previous column.
• British Population: The British population of the city is shown in this column.
• % of Total City Population: This shows what percentage of the total city population identifies as British. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• % of Total Scotland County British Population: This tells us how much of the entire Scotland County, NC British population lives in that city. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• 5 Year Rank Trend: This column displays the rank trend across the last 5 years.

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/.

Population by age, sex and administration area (council and health board area). Source agency: National Records of Scotland Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Population Estimates for Scotland

Dataset population: Persons, Households

Census 2021 rounded population and household estimates for local authorities and regions in England and Wales, by sex and five-year age group.

About this dataset

Context

This list ranks the 1 cities in the Scotland County, MO by British population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in each city over the past five years.

Content

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

• 2019-2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2014-2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Variables / Data Columns

• Rank by British Population: This column displays the rank of city in the Scotland County, MO by their British population, using the most recent ACS data available.
• City: The City for which the rank is shown in the previous column.
• British Population: The British population of the city is shown in this column.
• % of Total City Population: This shows what percentage of the total city population identifies as British. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• % of Total Scotland County British Population: This tells us how much of the entire Scotland County, MO British population lives in that city. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• 5 Year Rank Trend: This column displays the rank trend across the last 5 years.

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/.

Small area population estimates for data zones. Source agency: National Records of Scotland Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Small Area Population Estimates, Scotland

In 2024, the population of the United Kingdom was estimated to have grown by approximately 1.1 percent, with the population growing fastest in North West England, which grew by 1.4 compared with 2023. By contrast, growth in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was below the UK average, with the population in these countries growing by 0.7 percent, 0.6 percent, and 0.4 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 9.6 million people. In terms of the four countries of the UK, England had by far the highest population at over 58.6 million people, compared with Scotland (5.5 million) Wales (3.2 million) and Northern Ireland (1.9 million) which have comparatively smaller populations. Of these countries, Scotland was the most sparsely populated, with 71 people per square kilometer, compared with 5,782 people per square km in London. Largest cities in the UK With over nine million people living there, London is by some distance the largest city in the UK. Other large cities in the UK include the West Midlands urban area, centered around the city of Birmingham, as well as Greater Manchester in North West England. With similar populations of around three million people, these two cities, generally considered as the main contenders for being England's second-city. In this year, Scotland's largest city was Glasgow, with Cardiff being the biggest settlement in Wales, and Belfast the largest in Northern Ireland.

This dataset contains gridded human population with a spatial resolution of 1 km x 1 km for the UK based on Census 2021 (Census 2022 for Scotland) and Land Cover Map 2021 input data. Data on population distribution for the United Kingdom is available from statistical offices in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and provided to the public e.g. via the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Population data is typically provided in tabular form or, based on a range of different geographical units, in file types for geographical information systems (GIS), for instance as ESRI Shapefiles. The geographical units reflect administrative boundaries at different levels of detail, from Devolved Administration to Output Areas (OA), wards or intermediate geographies. While the presentation of data on the level of these geographical units is useful for statistical purposes, accounting for spatial variability for instance of environmental determinants of public health requires a more spatially homogeneous population distribution. For this purpose, the dataset presented here combines 2021/2022 UK Census population data on Output Area level with Land Cover Map 2021 land-use classes 'urban' and 'suburban' to create a consistent and comprehensive gridded population data product at 1 km x 1 km spatial resolution. The mapping product is based on British National Grid (OSGB36 datum).

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by population density (number of usual residents per square kilometre). The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

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. In England there are 309 lower tier local authorities. These are made up of non-metropolitan districts (181), unitary authorities (59), metropolitan districts (36) and London boroughs (33, including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities. Of these local authority types, only non-metropolitan districts are not additionally classified as upper tier local authorities.