Actual value and historical data chart for United Kingdom Urban Population Percent Of Total

In 2024, the urban population of the United Kingdom was approximately 58.8 million, while the rural population was around 10.5 million.

The degree of urbanization in the United Kingdom amounted to 84.88 percent in 2024. This shows almost a three percentage point increase over the past decade. The upward trend, though slow, has been consistently positive. What is urbanization? The rate of urbanization indicates the shift away from rural living as people come together in densely populated cities. The United Kingdom is much more urban than the worldwide average. This puts people in closer proximity to jobs, health care, stores, and social opportunities, leading to better economic, health, and social outcomes. For example, areas with higher urbanization have a higher average life expectancy at birth. The darker side of urbanization London is the United Kingdom’s largest city and arguably the financial capital of Europe. However, this economic success has led to increasingly high rental prices, which is an indication of the high cost of living in the city. The higher population density can also lead in an increase in crime. London has one of the highest homicide rates in England and Wales. In spite of these drawbacks, London continues to draw millions of overseas tourists every year.

United Kingdom UK: Urban Population Growth data was reported at 0.958 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.028 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Urban Population Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 0.352 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.132 % in 2008 and a record low of -0.098 % in 1982. United Kingdom UK: Urban Population Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

Actual value and historical data chart for United Kingdom Urban Population Growth Annual Percent

In the year 1500, the share of Western Europe's population living in urban areas was just six percent, but this rose to 31 percent by the end of the 19th century. Despite this drastic change, development was quite slow between 1500 and 1800, and it was not until the industrial revolution when there was a spike in urbanization. As Britain was the first region to undergo the industrial revolution, from around the 1760s until the 1840s, these areas were the most urbanized in Europe by 1890. The Low Countries Prior to the 19th century, Belgium and the Netherlands had been the most urbanized regions due to the legacy of their proto-industrial areas in the medieval period, and then the growth of their port cities during the Netherlands' empirical expansion (Belgium was a part of the Netherlands until the 1830s). Belgium was also quick to industrialize in the 1800s, and saw faster development than its larger, more economically powerful neighbors, France and Germany. Least-urban areas Ireland was the only Western European region with virtually no urbanization in the 16th and 17th century, but the industrial growth of Belfast and Dublin (then major port cities of the British Empire) saw this change by the late-1800s. The region of Scandinavia was the least-urbanized area in Western Europe by 1890, but it saw rapid economic growth in Europe during the first half of the following century.

United Kingdom UK: Urban Population: % of Total Population data was reported at 83.143 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 82.886 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Urban Population: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 78.382 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 83.143 % in 2017 and a record low of 77.030 % in 1971. United Kingdom UK: Urban Population: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

In 2020, about 82.66 percent of the total population in the United States lived in cities and urban areas. As the United States was one of the earliest nations to industrialize, it has had a comparatively high rate of urbanization over the past two centuries. The urban population became larger than the rural population during the 1910s, and by the middle of the century it is expected that almost 90 percent of the population will live in an urban setting. Regional development of urbanization in the U.S. The United States began to urbanize on a larger scale in the 1830s, as technological advancements reduced the labor demand in agriculture, and as European migration began to rise. One major difference between early urbanization in the U.S. and other industrializing economies, such as the UK or Germany, was population distribution. Throughout the 1800s, the Northeastern U.S. became the most industrious and urban region of the country, as this was the main point of arrival for migrants. Disparities in industrialization and urbanization was a key contributor to the Union's victory in the Civil War, not only due to population sizes, but also through production capabilities and transport infrastructure. The Northeast's population reached an urban majority in the 1870s, whereas this did not occur in the South until the 1950s. As more people moved westward in the late 1800s, not only did their population growth increase, but the share of the urban population also rose, with an urban majority established in both the West and Midwest regions in the 1910s. The West would eventually become the most urbanized region in the 1960s, and over 90 percent of the West's population is urbanized today. Urbanization today New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with a population of 8.3 million, while California has the largest urban population of any state. California also has the highest urbanization rate, although the District of Columbia is considered 100 percent urban. Only four U.S. states still have a rural majority, these are Maine, Mississippi, Montana, and West Virginia.

United Kingdom UK: Urban Population data was reported at 54,892,898.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 54,369,540.000 Person for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 44,584,501.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 54,892,898.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 41,104,656.000 Person in 1960. United Kingdom UK: Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Sum;

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;

This scatter chart displays urban population (people) against fertility rate (births per woman) in the United Kingdom. The data is about countries per year.

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).

Actual value and historical data chart for United Kingdom Access To Electricity Urban Percent Of Urban Population

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.

(File Size - 29 KB). The 2011 rural-urban classification (RUC) of clinical commissioning groups (CCG) in England is based on the 2011 RUC of output areas published in August 2013, and allows users to create a rural/urban view of clinical commissioning group level products. The classification was produced by the University of Sheffield and was sponsored by a cross-Government working group comprising Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department of the Communities and Local Government and Office for National Statistics. Also included are a range of population counts for each CCG including - Total Rural population (2011), Urban City and Town population (2011), Urban Minor Conurbation population (2011), Urban Major Conurbation population (2011), Total Urban population (2011), Total population (2011), Hub towns (rural related) population included in Urban population (2011), Rural including hub towns (rural & rural related) population (2011) and Rural including hub towns (rural & rural related) population as % of Total population (2011).

United Kingdom UK: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million: as % of Total Population data was reported at 28.773 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 28.669 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million: as % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 27.768 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 31.416 % in 1960 and a record low of 26.678 % in 1991. United Kingdom UK: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million: as % of Total 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 urban agglomerations of more than one million is the percentage of a country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2000 had a population of more than one million people.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted Average;

United Kingdom UK: People Practicing Open Defecation: Urban: % of Urban Population data was reported at 0.000 % in 2015. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for 2014. United Kingdom UK: People Practicing Open Defecation: Urban: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.000 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2015, with 16 observations. United Kingdom UK: People Practicing Open Defecation: Urban: % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. People practicing open defecation refers to the percentage of the population defecating in the open, such as in fields, forest, bushes, open bodies of water, on beaches, in other open spaces or disposed of with solid waste.; ; WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation (http://www.wssinfo.org/).; Weighted average;

Actual value and historical data chart for United Kingdom Population In The Largest City Percent Of Urban Population

United Kingdom UK: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million data was reported at 18,996,735.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 18,805,436.000 Person for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million data is updated yearly, averaging 15,794,376.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18,996,735.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 15,318,776.000 Person in 1990. United Kingdom UK: Population in Urban Agglomerations of More Than 1 Million 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 urban agglomerations of more than one million is the country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2000 had a population of more than one million people.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;