According to the 2021 Census, 81.7% of the population of England and Wales was white, 9.3% Asian, 4.0% black, 2.9% mixed and 2.1% from other ethnic groups.

According to the 2021 Census, London was the most ethnically diverse region in England and Wales – 63.2% of residents identified with an ethnic minority group.

Census 2021 data: 19 tick-box ethnic groups, by age, sex, and age and sex.

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.

Experimental statistics for population estimates by ethnic group broken down into age and sex at a national regional level for England and Wales.

In 2024, there were estimated to be 976,481 people who were aged 33 in the United Kingdom, the most of any age in this year. The two largest age groups during this year were 30-34, and 35-39, at 4.8 million and 4.78 million people respectively. There is also a noticeable spike of 673,831 people who were aged 77, which is due to the high number of births that followed the end of the Second World War. Over one million born in 1964 In post-war Britain, there have only been two years when the number of live births was over one million, in 1947 and in 1964. The number of births recorded in the years between these two years was consistently high as well, with 1955 having the fewest births in this period at 789,000. This meant that until relatively recently, Baby Boomers were the largest generational cohort in the UK. As of 2024, there were approximately 13.4 million Baby Boomers, compared with 14 million in Generation X, 15 million Millennials, and 13.6 million members of Gen Z. The youngest generation in the UK, Generation Alpha, numbered approximately 9.2 million in the same year. Median age to hit 44.5 years by 2050 The population of the United Kingdom is aging at a substantial rate, with the median age of the population expected to reach 44.5 years by 2050. By comparison, in 1950 the average age in the United Kingdom stood at 34.9 years. This phenomenon is not unique to the United Kingdom, with median age of people worldwide increasing from 23.6 years in 1950 to a forecasted 41.9 years by 2100. As of 2024, the region with the oldest median age in the UK was South West England, at 43.7 years, compared with 35.7 in London, the region with the youngest median age.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for the United Kingdom (SPPOPGROWGBR) from 1961 to 2024 about United Kingdom, population, and rate.

Key information about United Kingdom population

• The United Kingdom population reached 68.3 million people in Dec 2023, compared with the previously reported figure of 67.6 million people in Dec 2022
• The data reached an all-time high of 68.3 million people in Dec 2023 and a record low of 48.9 million people in Dec 1946

• In the latest reports, United Kingdom Unemployment Rate dropped to 3.9 % in Oct 2023
• Monthly earnings of the United Kingdom population was 3,547.0 USD in Jul 2024
• United Kingdom Labour Force Participation Rate dropped to 62.8 % in Oct 2023

In 2020/21 there were approximately 696,000 Polish nationals living in the United Kingdom, the highest non-British population at this time. Indian and Irish were the joint second-largest nationalities at approximately 370,000 people.

United Kingdom UK: Population: Total: Aged 15-64 data was reported at 42,103,444.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 42,001,358.000 Person for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Population: Total: Aged 15-64 data is updated yearly, averaging 37,311,429.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 42,103,444.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 34,108,693.000 Person in 1960. United Kingdom UK: Population: Total: Aged 15-64 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. Total population between the ages 15 to 64. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; World Bank staff estimates using the World Bank's total population and age/sex distributions of the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Sum;

Population ages 65 and above (% of total population) in United Kingdom was reported at 19.5 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - Population ages 65 and above (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

United Kingdom UK: Population: Male: Ages 65-69: % of Male Population data was reported at 5.331 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.474 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Population: Male: Ages 65-69: % of Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 4.441 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.523 % in 2015 and a record low of 3.636 % in 1960. United Kingdom UK: Population: Male: Ages 65-69: % of Male 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. Male population between the ages 65 to 69 as a percentage of the total male population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;

Population ages 15-64, total in United Kingdom was reported at 43830571 Persons in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - Population ages 15-64, total - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

United Kingdom UK: Population: Male: Ages 10-14: % of Male Population data was reported at 5.753 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.657 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: Population: Male: Ages 10-14: % of Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 6.885 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.936 % in 1977 and a record low of 5.605 % in 2015. United Kingdom UK: Population: Male: Ages 10-14: % of Male 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. Male population between the ages 10 to 14 as a percentage of the total male population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on age/sex distributions of United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; ;

These datasets provide a breakdown of ethnic group by age and sex, ethnic group by age and ethnic group by sex

Information from Census 2021 on the sex and age characteristics of ethnic groups and how this has changed since 2011 in England and Wales.

Since 1991, the census for England and Wales has included a question about ethnic group.

In 2021, the ethnic group question had two stages. Firstly, a person identified through one of the following five high-level ethnic groups:

• "Asian, Asian British, Asian Welsh"

• "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African"

• "Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups"

• "White"

• "Other ethnic group"

Secondly, a person identifies through 1 of the 19 available response options, which include categories with write-in response options.

Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) in United Kingdom was reported at 17.9 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - Population ages 0-14, male (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

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.; ;

In 2024, there were estimated to be around 4.1 million people aged between 30 and 34 living in England, the most of any age group. Those aged 35 to 39 comprised the next highest age group, at four million, while the age group with the fewest people was among those aged 90 and over.

Annual historical data for UK residents by broad country of birth and citizenship groups, broken down by UK country, local authority, unitary authority, metropolitan and London boroughs, and counties.

The population of England was estimated to have reached almost 58.6 million in 2024, compared with 54.4 million ten years earlier in 2013. Compared with 1971, the population of England has grown by over 12 million.