London, United Kingdom Population 2024

London's 2024 population is now estimated at 9,748,030In 1950, the population of London was 8,360,850London has grown by 99,920 in the last year, which represents a 1.04% annual change.These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of London, which typically includes London's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.

The latest official estimate of the population of London comes from the Office for National Statistics. According to their data, the estimated population of Greater London in 2016 is 8,787,892.

The Census in the United Kingdom takes place every ten years, with the most recent one completed in 2011. According to this census, the population of London was 8,173,941. The next census in England and Wales is scheduled for 2021.

London's population makes it by far the largest city in the United Kingdom. The second largest city in the UK - Birmingham - has a population of 1.1 million.

It is the third largest city in Europe, behind Istanbul (14.8 million) and Moscow (10.3 million), and the 27th most populous metro area in the world, slightly larger than Lima, Peru.

Different definitions of London

Estimating London's population is made more complicated by the various ways of defining the city. Here are just a few of the methods of breaking down London's geography along with estimates of their population.

  • City of London 7,375 (2011 Census)
  • Inner London 3,231,901 (2011 Census)
  • Outer London 4,942,040 (2011 Census)
  • Greater London 8,173,941 (2011 Census)
  • London Metropolitan Area 10-18 million (number of residents depends on the definition used)

Generally, throughout this article, we've used the term London for simplicity, but when we're referring to modern day London, we mean Greater London. The City of London is a much smaller area (just over a square mile) with less than 10,000 residents, although over 300,000 people commute there for work.

City Size and Population Density

The City of London is sometimes referred to as "The Square Mile," due to the 1.12 square miles (2.9 square kilometers) that the city itself is located on. The Greater London area is much larger, coming to about 606 square miles (1,569 square kilometers). In combination with the estimated 2017 population for the city and the Greater London area, the population density for each comes to about 7,700 residents per square mile in the city and 14,550 residents per square mile in the Greater London area.

London's Population History

Although there had been settlements in the area for centuries, London first became recognized as a significant population center during the Roman occupation of Britain. Londinium, as it was known, quickly became the capital of Rome's Britannia province, and by the 2nd century AD, Londinium was a thriving trade center with a population of around 60,000 people.

After the Romans withdrew, the settlement of Londinium was more or less abandoned in favor of Lundenwic, located a mile down the river. Lundenwic had a reduced population of around 10,000 people, and it's vulnerability to Viking raids eventually led to it being gradually moved back east to the old Londinium site to take advantage of the ancient Roman city walls.

From there, the city prospered and grew steadily again, reaching a population of 100,000 for the first time, somewhere around 1500 AD. As the British Empire expanded, so did London's importance as one of the world's major trading cities, and shortly after 1800, London reached the 1,000,000 resident milestone for the first time.

Industrialization led to increased urbanization and this, combined with London's growing prominence, led to some dramatic population increases. According to census records, the number of people living in London increased more than fivefold from 959,300 in 1801 to 5,572,012 in 1891. For much of the 19th century and the early 20th century, London was the largest city in the world.

The first half of the 20th century saw sustained, and fairly rapid growth and London's population reached its highest point in 1939. By the outbreak of the second world war, 8,615,245 people were living in London, although by then it had just lost its status as the largest city in the world to New York.

From the end of the World War II until the 1980s, London saw its population gradually decline, as the city lost its status as the hub of Empire and one of the world's greatest trading cities. By the time the 1981 census was taken, the number of people living in London had fallen to just 6,607,513, a decline of more than two million, or around 25%, in only four decades.

However, a population boom in the 1980s occurred, and increasing prosperity combined with increased immigration has once again resulted in an increase in population. Just 20 years later, the population had increased to 7,172,036 at the time of the 2001 census, and further increases are expected to push the population past 9 million by 2021. The current 2021 projection puts the London population at 9,221,300 according to the London Datastore.

Ethnicity in London

London as a city is considerably more diverse than the rest of the United Kingdom. Across England and Wales, 86% of the population is white based on the 2011 Census, but in London that number falls to 69.7%. Additionally, in 2011, Scotland's population was 96% white, while Northern Ireland's population was over 98% white.

The section on ethnicity below, compiled using 2011 census data from the ONS provides details of the ethnicity of London residents compared to residents of England and Wales.

London's diversity can also be seen in statistics for London residents' country of birth. Of the 8.88 million people living in London at the time of the most recent UK estimates, 3.32 million (37%) were born outside of the United Kingdom. Of these, approximately a third were born within European Union countries, while the other two-thirds were born outside of the European Union. The most common country of birth for London residents outside of the UK is India. According to the 2011 census, 262,247 people living in London were born in India.

Religion in London

London is the most diverse area within the UK when it comes to religious beliefs, with the highest percentage of people identifying as Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish. The latest data from the 2011 census recorded that 48.4% of Londoners considered themselves to be Christian, 12.39% considered themselves Muslim, 5% Hindu, 1.82% Jewish, 1.5% Sikh, 1% Buddhist and 0.6% Other. A large proportion, 20.73% of respondents, stated that they followed no religion. You can see the specific numbers from the 2011 census in the religion section below.

Is London a Country?

London is a large city located in the country of England. Although not a country in itself, London is the largest city in the United Kingdom and accounts for 13% of the total United Kingdom population. This city is positioned in the southeast portion of the country and is located on the River Thames. London is an economic giant with the most prominent urban economy in Europe.

London History

Signs of original settlements in London have been carbon-dated to between 1750 and 1285 BC, although the first major settlement is attributed to the Romans, in about 47 BCE. Following Roman rule, London was ruled under Danelaw as the Vikings and English shared control and political power. A critical economic and political powerhouse through the Middle Ages, London flourished as the world's largest city between 1831 and 1925. Today, London continues to exist as a world economic power.

London Demographics

London is home to about 9 million people within the borders of Greater London. Nearly 40% of all residents in London were foreign-born, giving it the second-highest immigrant population in the world. As Europe's third-most populated city, almost 300 different languages are spoken, although English is the most commonly spoken. The most significant industry in London is finance, and the city has two separate business districts.

Growth Rate
1.04%

86 Rows

Year
Population
203510,556,500
203410,493,000
203310,428,700
203210,363,300
203110,296,500
203010,228,100
202910,157,500
202810,084,400
202710,007,900
20269,927,020
20259,840,740
20249,748,030
20239,648,110
20229,540,580
20219,425,620
20209,304,020
20199,176,530
20189,046,480
20178,916,250
20168,787,890
20158,661,380
20148,536,860
20138,414,130
20128,293,330
20118,173,940
20108,044,430
20097,916,980
20087,791,710
20077,668,090
20067,546,600
20057,501,220
20047,456,170
20037,411,270
20027,366,700
20017,322,400
20007,272,820
19997,223,440
19987,174,460
19977,125,810
19967,077,560
19957,029,510
19946,981,840
19936,934,500
19926,887,550
19916,840,780
19906,794,400
19896,783,680
19886,772,990
19876,762,280
19866,751,610
19856,740,950
19846,730,330
19836,719,690
19826,709,090
19816,698,500
19806,751,200
19796,824,320
19786,898,130
19776,972,740
19767,048,050
19757,124,380
19747,201,440
19737,279,330
19727,357,950
19717,437,640
19707,509,400
19697,579,890
19687,650,940
19677,722,850
19667,795,340
19657,868,510
19647,942,260
19638,016,910
19628,092,160
19618,168,110
19608,195,770
19598,212,150
19588,228,540
19578,244,960
19568,261,400
19558,277,910
19548,294,430
19538,310,980
19528,327,550
19518,344,190
19508,360,850

86 Rows

Year
Population
Change
Growth
19508,360,8500%0
19518,344,190-0.2%-16,660
19528,327,550-0.2%-16,640
19538,310,980-0.2%-16,570
19548,294,430-0.2%-16,550
19558,277,910-0.2%-16,520
19568,261,400-0.2%-16,510
19578,244,960-0.2%-16,440
19588,228,540-0.2%-16,420
19598,212,150-0.2%-16,390
19608,195,770-0.2%-16,380
19618,168,110-0.34%-27,660
19628,092,160-0.93%-75,950
19638,016,910-0.93%-75,250
19647,942,260-0.93%-74,650
19657,868,510-0.93%-73,750
19667,795,340-0.93%-73,170
19677,722,850-0.93%-72,490
19687,650,940-0.93%-71,910
19697,579,890-0.93%-71,050
19707,509,400-0.93%-70,490
19717,437,640-0.96%-71,760
19727,357,950-1.07%-79,690
19737,279,330-1.07%-78,620
19747,201,440-1.07%-77,890
19757,124,380-1.07%-77,060
19767,048,050-1.07%-76,330
19776,972,740-1.07%-75,310
19786,898,130-1.07%-74,610
19796,824,320-1.07%-73,810
19806,751,200-1.07%-73,120
19816,698,500-0.78%-52,700
19826,709,0900.16%10,590
19836,719,6900.16%10,600
19846,730,3300.16%10,640
19856,740,9500.16%10,620
19866,751,6100.16%10,660
19876,762,2800.16%10,670
19886,772,9900.16%10,710
19896,783,6800.16%10,690
19906,794,4000.16%10,720
19916,840,7800.68%46,380
19926,887,5500.68%46,770
19936,934,5000.68%46,950
19946,981,8400.68%47,340
19957,029,5100.68%47,670
19967,077,5600.68%48,050
19977,125,8100.68%48,250
19987,174,4600.68%48,650
19997,223,4400.68%48,980
20007,272,8200.68%49,380
20017,322,4000.68%49,580
20027,366,7000.6%44,300
20037,411,2700.61%44,570
20047,456,1700.61%44,900
20057,501,2200.6%45,050
20067,546,6000.6%45,380
20077,668,0901.61%121,490
20087,791,7101.61%123,620
20097,916,9801.61%125,270
20108,044,4301.61%127,450
20118,173,9401.61%129,510
20128,293,3301.46%119,390
20138,414,1301.46%120,800
20148,536,8601.46%122,730
20158,661,3801.46%124,520
20168,787,8901.46%126,510
20178,916,2501.46%128,360
20189,046,4801.46%130,230
20199,176,5301.44%130,050
20209,304,0201.39%127,490
20219,425,6201.31%121,600
20229,540,5801.22%114,960
20239,648,1101.13%107,530
20249,748,0301.04%99,920
20259,840,7400.95%92,710
20269,927,0200.88%86,280
202710,007,9000.81%80,880
202810,084,4000.76%76,500
202910,157,5000.72%73,100
203010,228,1000.7%70,600
203110,296,5000.67%68,400
203210,363,3000.65%66,800
203310,428,7000.63%65,400
203410,493,0000.62%64,300
203510,556,5000.61%63,500

London Population Data (Urban Area)

Name
2024 Pop.
2024 Growth
London9,748,0301.04%
Manchester2,811,7600.74%
Birmingham2,684,8100.74%
West Yorkshire1,942,4700.72%
Glasgow1,708,1500.59%
Southampton959,2020.81%
Liverpool922,8710.64%
Newcastle Upon Tyne828,7120.64%
Nottingham813,0780.78%
Sheffield751,3030.73%
Bristol713,8840.91%
Belfast647,4380.69%
Brighton627,5240.81%
Leicester570,8580.81%
Edinburgh558,6760.92%
Bournemouth522,7360.81%
Cardiff491,7550.74%
Coventry449,8201.19%
Middlesbrough395,0760.58%
Stoke on Trent394,2900.6%

Other Cities in United Kingdom

  1. London Assembly - London information and statistics
  2. London Datastore - Analysis of London census data
  3. Population Estimates for UK
  4. Table KS209EW: Religion 2011 Census

Sources