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.

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.

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

United Kingdom UK: Urban Land Area data was reported at 58,698.750 sq km in 2010. This stayed constant from the previous number of 58,698.750 sq km for 2000. United Kingdom UK: Urban Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 58,698.750 sq km from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 58,698.750 sq km in 2010 and a record low of 58,698.750 sq km in 2010. United Kingdom UK: Urban Land Area 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: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban land area in square kilometers, based on a combination of population counts (persons), settlement points, and the presence of Nighttime Lights. Areas are defined as urban where contiguous lighted cells from the Nighttime Lights or approximated urban extents based on buffered settlement points for which the total population is greater than 5,000 persons.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Sum;

The data collected for the paper UK Smart Cities Present and Future: An Analysis of British smart Cities Through Current and Emerging Technologies and Practices.

Population of Urban Agglomerations with 300,000 Inhabitants or more in 2014, by city, 1950-2030 (thousands). Data for 1,692 cities contained in the Excel file. Note: Each country has its own definition of what is 'urban' and therefore use exercise caution when comparing cities in different countries. Data available from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, CD-ROM Edition. Further detail of population estimates, land area, and population density for world urban areas with over 500,000 people (924 areas) is available with Demographia's World Urban Areas report (2014). Much of this data is based on the UN urban agglomerations, though a range of other sources are also used.

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

The Urban Atlas is providing pan-European comparable land use and land cover data for Large Urban Zones with more than 100.000 inhabitants as defined by the Urban Audit. Urban Atlas' mission is to provide high-resolution hotspot mapping of changes in urban spaces and indicators for users such as city governments, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and European Commission departments.

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 file contains the digital vector boundaries for Urban Audit Greater Cities, in the United Kingdom, as at December 2016. The boundaries are generalised (20m) - clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark). Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.REST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE View Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/Urban_Audit_GC_(Dec_2016)_GCB_in_the_UK/MapServerREST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE Feature DownloadService – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/Urban_Audit_GC_Dec_2016_Generalised_Clipped_Boundaries_in_the_UK/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilitiesREST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/Urban_Audit_GC_Dec_2016_GCB_in_the_UK_2022/FeatureServer

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

Rural Urban ClassificationThe 2021 RUC is a statistical classification to provide a consistent and standardised method for classifying geographies as rural or urban. This is based on address density, physical settlement form, population size, and Relative Access to Major towns and cities (populations of over 75,000 people). The classification is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with advice from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Government and colleagues from the Government Geography Profession (GGP).This is the 2021 rural-urban classification (RUC) of the 2021 Local Authority Districts in England and Wales. This means that the 2021 RUC methodology has been applied to the 2021 LAD boundaries. LAD classifications are divided into four categories based on their populations:<!--1. Majority Rural: had at least 50% of their population residing in Rural OAs.<!--2. Intermediate Rural: 35-50% rural population<!--3. Intermediate Urban: 20-35% rural population<!--4. Urban: 20% or less of the population live in rural OAs.Each 2021 LAD category is split into one of two Relative Access categories, using the same data as the 2021 Output Area RUC. If more than 50% of a LAD population lives in ‘nearer to a major town or city’ OAs, it is deemed ‘nearer a major town or city’; otherwise, it is classified as ‘further from a major town or city.

Where data is unavailable for Super Output Area geographies, it may be appropriate for users to undertake analysis at the LAD level. At this level, the categorisation works slightly differently in that most areas will include a mix of both rural and urban areas - so the LAD RUC categorisation is a reflection of this. A statistical geography may contain substantial portions of open countryside but still be given an ‘Urban’ classification if the majority of the population within the area live in settlements that are urban in nature. Users should take this into consideration to ensure correct interpretations of any analysis of RUC LAD categories

The urban areas geography consists of major urban agglomerations, cities, and smaller towns defined in terms of their physical extent rather than by any administrative boundaries Source: Census 2001 / Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) Publisher: Nomis Geographic coverage: England and Wales Time coverage: 2001 Notes: Urban areas have been defined starting with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's areas of urban land use - areas in England and Wales of at least 20 hectares in extent identified using a tangible bricks-and-mortar approach. Major urban areas and others with more than one central focus are divided where possible to produce figures about localities within them. Previously separate urban areas, where urban land has merged, are also recognised by subdivisions where possible. Subdivisions often follow the boundaries of local authorities existing before reorganisation in 1974, or the boundaries of current authorities within urban areas.

European City Statistics (Urban Audit) provides reliable and comparable information on European cities, with more than 100 variables across a range of themes.

Urban design strategy document for the Sunderland central area

This short article explores a variety of different data for 12 large cities in the UK compared with a selection of other European cities. It is designed to highlight the variety of data on offer through the Urban Audit IV data source and to explore some aspects of the quality of life experienced in these cities. Data for UK cities are published alongside this article.

Source agency: Office for National Statistics

Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Urban Audit IV – United Kingdom cities compared with other European cities

(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).