London was by far the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom in 2025, with an estimated population of *** 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 Istanbul having a population of around **** million and the Russian capital Moscow having a population of over **** 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 **** million people. Paris was followed by London in terms of population size, and then by the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona, at *** million and *** million people, respectively. The Italian capital, Rome, was the next largest city at *** million, followed by Berlin at *** million. London’s population growth Throughout the 1980s, the population of London fluctuated from a high of **** million people in 1981 to a low of **** million inhabitants in 1988. During the 1990s, the population of London increased once again, growing from ****million at the start of the decade to **** million by 1999. London's population has continued to grow since the turn of the century, and despite declining between 2019 and 2021, it reached *** million people in 2023 and is forecast to reach almost *** million by 2047.

This statistic shows the ten largest cities in the United Kingdom in 2021. In 2021, around 8.78 million people lived in London, making it the largest city in the United Kingdom.

In 2025, Moscow was the largest city in Europe with an estimated urban agglomeration of 12.74 million people. The French capital, Paris, was the second largest city in 2025 at 11.35 million, followed by the capitals of the United Kingdom and Spain, with London at 9.84 million and Madrid at 6.81 million people. Istanbul, which would otherwise be the largest city in Europe in 2025, is excluded as it is only partially in Europe, with a sizeable part of its population living in Asia. Europe’s population is almost 750 million Since 1950, the population of Europe has increased by approximately 200 million people, increasing from 550 million to 750 million in these seventy years. Before the turn of the millennium, Europe was the second-most populated continent, before it was overtaken by Africa, which saw its population increase from 228 million in 1950 to 817 million by 2000. Asia has consistently had the largest population of the world’s continents and was estimated to have a population of 4.6 billion. Europe’s largest countries Including its territory in Asia, Russia is by far the largest country in the world, with a territory of around 17 million square kilometers, almost double that of the next largest country, Canada. Within Europe, Russia also has the continent's largest population at 145 million, followed by Germany at 83 million and the United Kingdom at almost 68 million. By contrast, Europe is also home to various micro-states such as San Marino, which has a population of just 30 thousand.

United Kingdom UK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 19.234 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 19.203 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 18.336 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.939 % in 1960 and a record low of 17.256 % in 1973. United Kingdom UK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted Average;

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).

This report was released in September 2010. However, recent demographic data is available on the datastore - you may find other datasets on the Datastore useful such as: GLA Population Projections, National Insurance Number Registrations of Overseas Nationals, Births by Birthplace of Mother, Births and Fertility Rates, Office for National Statistics (ONS) Population Estimates

FOCUSONLONDON2010:POPULATIONANDMIGRATION

London is the United Kingdom’s only city region. Its population of 7.75 million is 12.5 per cent of the UK population living on just 0.6 per cent of the land area. London’s average population density is over 4,900 persons per square kilometre, this is ten times that of the second most densely populated region.

Between 2001 and 2009 London’s population grew by over 430 thousand, more than any other region, accounting for over 16 per cent of the UK increase.

This report discusses in detail the population of London including Population Age Structure, Fertility and Mortality, Internal Migration, International Migration, Population Turnover and Churn, and Demographic Projections.

Population and Migration report is the first release of the Focus on London 2010-12 series. Reports on themes such as Income, Poverty, Labour Market, Skills, Health, and Housing are also available.

PRESENTATION:

To access an interactive presentation about population changes in London click the link to see it on Prezi.com

FACTS:

• Top five boroughs for babies born per 10,000 population in 2008-09:
• 1. Newham – 244.4
• 2. Barking and Dagenham – 209.3
• 3. Hackney – 205.7
• 4. Waltham Forest – 202.7
• 5. Greenwich – 196.2
• ...
• 32. Havering – 116.8
• 33. City of London – 47.0
• In 2009, Barnet overtook Croydon as the most populous London borough. Prior to this Croydon had been the largest since 1966
• Population per hectare of land used for Domestic building and gardens is highest in Tower Hamlets
• In 2008-09, natural change (births minus deaths) led to 78,000 more Londoners compared with only 8,000 due to migration. read more about this or click play on the chart below to reveal how regional components of populations change have altered over time.

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.

By 1800, London had grown to be the largest city in Western Europe with just under one million inhabitants. Paris was now the second largest city, with over half a million people, and Naples was the third largest city with 450 thousand people. The only other cities with over two hundred thousand inhabitants at this time were Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin. Another noticeable development is the inclusion of many more northern cities from a wider variety of countries. The dominance of cities from France and Mediterranean countries was no longer the case, and the dispersal of European populations in 1800 was much closer to how it is today, more than two centuries later.

Rome is the most populous city in Italy. With 2.75 million inhabitants, the capital of the country put ahead Milan and Naples. Compared to the number of citizens in 2012, the resident population of Rome increased by over 140,000 individuals. Regional data Rome is located in the center of Italy in the Lazio region. Lazio is the second-largest region in terms of population size after Lombardy. In 2024, the region counts roughly 5.7 million inhabitants, whereas Lombardy has over ten million individuals. The third-largest region is Campania, with 5.6 million people. Naples, the major center of Campania, has around 910,000 inhabitants at the beginning of 2024. Nevertheless, this city was, back in the 19th century, one of the largest cities in Western Europe. Tourism in Rome The Eternal City is also the main tourist destination in Italy and was the eighth most-visited city in Europe. The largest groups of international visitors in Rome came from the United States of America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Every year, more and more tourists also enjoy the best-known tourist attractions in Rome, like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill, which together recorded almost ten million visitors in 2022.

In 2016, it was estimated that Birmingham had the largest Muslim population of any local authority in England and Wales at approximately 280 thousand people. Newham and Tower Hamlets, both boroughs of London, had the second and third-largest Muslim populations at 135 and 128 thousand respectively.

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.

Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK with a population of over 1.1m people (according to the 2020 ONS estimates). The City is approximately 103 square miles and is divided into 69 wards. This Ward Profiles bring together data from a wide range of sources to enable a richer understanding of local areas.

This is NOT a raw population dataset. We use our proprietary stack to combine detailed 'WorldPop' UN-adjusted, sex and age structured population data with a spatiotemporal OD matrix.

The result is a dataset where each record indicates how many people can be reached in a fixed timeframe (90 Mins in this case) from that record's location.

The dataset is broken down into sex and age bands at 5 year intervals, e.g - male 25-29 (m_25) and also contains a set of features detailing the representative percentage of the total that the count represents.

The dataset provides 48420 records, one for each sampled location. These are labelled with a h3 index at resolution 7 - this allows easy plotting and filtering in Kepler.gl / Deck.gl / Mapbox, or easy conversion to a centroid (lat/lng) or the representative geometry of the hexagonal cell for integration with your geospatial applications and analyses.

A h3 resolution of 7, is a hexagonal cell area equivalent to: - ~1.9928 sq miles - ~5.1613 sq km

Higher resolutions or alternate geographies are available on request.

More information on the h3 system is available here: https://eng.uber.com/h3/

WorldPop data provides for a population count using a grid of 1 arc second intervals and is available for every geography.

More information on the WorldPop data is available here: https://www.worldpop.org/

One of the main use cases historically has been in prospecting for site selection, comparative analysis and network validation by asset investors and logistics companies. The data structure makes it very simple to filter out areas which do not meet requirements such as: - being able to access 70% of the UK population within 4 hours by Truck and show only the areas which do exhibit this characteristic.

Clients often combine different datasets either for different timeframes of interest, or to understand different populations, such as that of the unemployed, or those with particular qualifications within areas reachable as a commute.

Crude rate per 100,000 population: the number of fast food outlets is divided by the population of the area and multiplied by 100,000.

Rationale

The environment in which we live and work has positive and negative effects on our health and wellbeing. One component of the built-up environment is food outlets and the choices they provide. Meals eaten outside of the home tend to be associated with higher calories, and portion sizes tend to be bigger, which can make it more challenging to eat healthily [1,2]. The neighbourhood food environment is one important modifiable determinant of dietary behaviour and obesity [3].

The availability of fast food in our environment is one issue, within a complex system [4], which is associated with a range of negative health outcomes and contributes to the obesogenic nature of some of our neighbourhoods. Fast food is more abundantly available in the most deprived areas of England where obesity in children and adults and the associated health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are most prevalent [5,6].

This indicator is designed to help users understand the number of fast food outlets in an area taking the size of the population into account. It is intended to support national policy making and influence planning activities in local authorities [7] with the aim of reducing the availability of fast food, where this is deemed desirable, in order to improve health outcomes.

References

Sugar reduction programme: industry progress 2015 to 2020 - GOV.UK
Calorie reduction programme: industry progress 2017 to 2021 - GOV.UK
Dietary inequalities: What is the evidence for the effect of the neighbourhood food environment?
A foresight whole systems obesity classification for the English UK biobank cohort
The Association between Fast Food Outlets and Overweight in Adolescents Is Confounded by Neighbourhood Deprivation
The association between the presence of fast-food outlets and BMI
No new fast-food outlets allowed! Evaluating the effect of planning policy on the local food environment in the North East of England

Definition of numerator The numerator is a count, at a specific point in time, of fast food outlets in each geographic area. The inclusion criteria for counting fast food outlets is described in the methodology section below.

Definition of denominator Count of the population in each geographic area from Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year population estimates 2023.

Caveats

The Impact of Food Delivery Services In recent years there has been a large growth of food delivery services and meal delivery apps (MDAs). These companies allow customers to order food via mobile apps or websites for delivery to a chosen address. The availability of fast food through MDAs expands the geographic coverage of fast food outlets, increasing the likelihood that customers will order from outlets in neighbouring local authority areas, especially in urban settings. These apps extend the reach of fast food outlets beyond the immediate resident or visiting population.

Cross Local Authority Movements Some individuals may travel to neighbouring local authorities to access fast food outlets. Therefore, data showing fast food outlets within a specific area may underestimate actual exposure for the resident population. Users should consider data from neighbouring areas to gain a more comprehensive understanding of fast food exposure.

The Impact of Non-Resident Populations Movements for work, shopping, entertainment, or tourism also affect exposure. Local authorities with high numbers of fast food outlets per 100,000 residents may have large non-resident populations who are not included in the population denominator but are still exposed to these outlets.

Data Source and Methods The data may not fully capture all fast food outlets. Many businesses are multi-functional—offering dine-in, takeaway, and delivery—and may be categorized as restaurants or cafés, thus excluded from fast food counts. Inclusion based on business names helps mitigate this, but some outlets may still be missed. Conversely, some outlets categorized as ‘Takeaway/sandwich shop’ may not be considered fast food.

Data from the FSA FHRS is presumed accurate, but errors in collection, collation, and entry are possible. Categorization may vary between local authorities. For example, an outlet selling sandwiches and tea might be recorded as a Restaurant/Café/Canteen in one area and as a Takeaway/sandwich shop in another.

Different data sources use varying definitions and categorizations, so numbers may differ across datasets. The data here counts businesses identified as fast food outlets, not direct access for individuals, which is influenced by factors like opening hours, pricing, parking, and delivery options. It reflects premises use rather than individual access.

The city of Paris in France had an estimated gross domestic product of 757.6 billion Euros in 2021, the most of any European city. Paris was followed by the spanish capital, Madrid, which had a GDP of 237.5 billion Euros, and the Irish capital, Dublin at 230 billion Euros. Milan, in the prosperous north of Italy, had a GDP of 228.4 billion Euros, 65 billion euros larger than the Italian capital Rome, and was the largest non-capital city in terms of GDP in Europe. The engine of Europe Among European countries, Germany had by far the largest economy, with a gross domestic product of over 4.18 trillion Euros. The United Kingdom or France have been Europe's second largest economy since the 1980s, depending on the year, with forecasts suggesting France will overtake the UK going into the 2020s. Germany however, has been the biggest European economy for some time, with five cities (Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Frankfurt) among the 15 largest European cities by GDP. Europe's largest cities In 2023, Moscow was the largest european city, with a population of nearly 12.7 million. Paris was the largest city in western Europe, with a population of over 11 million, while London was Europe's third-largest city at 9.6 million inhabitants.

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.

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 2024, Russia had the largest population among European countries at ***** million people. The next largest countries in terms of their population size were Turkey at **** million, Germany at **** million, the United Kingdom at **** million, and France at **** million. Europe is also home to some of the world’s smallest countries, such as the microstates of Liechtenstein and San Marino, with populations of ****** and ****** respectively. Europe’s largest economies Germany was Europe’s largest economy in 2023, with a Gross Domestic Product of around *** trillion Euros, while the UK and France are the second and third largest economies, at *** trillion and *** trillion euros respectively. Prior to the mid-2000s, Europe’s fourth-largest economy, Italy, had an economy that was of a similar sized to France and the UK, before diverging growth patterns saw the UK and France become far larger economies than Italy. Moscow and Istanbul the megacities of Europe Two cities on the eastern borders of Europe were Europe’s largest in 2023. The Turkish city of Istanbul, with a population of 15.8 million, and the Russian capital, Moscow, with a population of 12.7 million. Istanbul is arguably the world’s most famous transcontinental city with territory in both Europe and Asia and has been an important center for commerce and culture for over 2,000 years. Paris was the third largest European city with a population of ** million, with London being the fourth largest at *** million.

When surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2024, it was found that York was the most popular city in the United Kingdom among residents of the UK. In total, 76 percent of the UK public had a popular opinion of the city, which is famed for its historical architecture.

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.