Lincoln's 2026 population is now estimated at 106,418. In 2025, the population of Lincoln was 105,764. Lincoln has grown by 654 in the last year, which represents a 0.62% annual change. These population values and projections come from World Population Review Internal Projections .
Lincoln is a city located in Lincolnshire, England. The population according to the latest estimates from 2016 put the population of the city and borough of Lincoln at 97,541. The urban population is 130,200, while the metro population is estimated to be 189,000.
The city and borough of Lincoln cover a total area of nearly 13.78 square miles (35.69 square kilometers). The population density comes to about 3,642 people living per square kilometer.
Breaking down the population by race in Lincoln shows that 95.6% of the population is white. There are also small populations of South Asian, Irish, Chinese and African inhabitants – each making up less than 1% of the total population. The majority of people living in Lincoln were originally born in England. These inhabitants make up over 87% of the population. About 1.8% of residents were born in Scotland. Other countries of origin include Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, India, China, and Nigeria, to name a few.
Almost 94% of people living in Lincoln speak the official language, English. There are other languages spoken in specific regions, including Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian.
Over half of residents – 58% — are Christian. Almost 32% of the population is not affiliated with a religion, while others identify as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jewish.
The city’s population in 2012 was 94,600. In 2016, this rose to exceed 97,000. While Lincoln isn’t experiencing growth at the rapid rate of other cities across the world, it is expected to see continued slow yet steady growth until it surpasses 100,000 inhabitants residing in the city proper in the near future.
| City | 2026 Pop. ↓ | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| London | 9,188,200 | 0.54% |
| Birmingham | 1,199,447 | 0.67% |
| Leeds | 860,894 | 0.92% |
| Glasgow | 663,221 | 0.99% |
| Manchester | 605,521 | 1.34% |
| Cornwall | 591,594 | 0.71% |
| Sheffield | 588,768 | 0.54% |
| Bradford | 570,186 | 0.58% |
| County Durham | 543,515 | 0.51% |
| Edinburgh | 540,101 | 0.88% |
| Wiltshire | 531,890 | 0.78% |
| Liverpool | 518,060 | 0.89% |
| Bristol | 504,401 | 1.01% |
| Kirklees | 451,654 | 0.42% |
| Cheshire East | 431,445 | 1.2% |
| Croydon | 415,854 | 0.79% |
| Barnet | 411,361 | 0.78% |
| Leicester | 397,462 | 1.17% |
| Ealing | 392,217 | 0.8% |
| Cardiff | 391,495 | 0.98% |