Norwich's 2026 population is now estimated at 149,154.In 2025, the population of Norwich was 148,165.Norwich has grown by 989 in the last year, which represents a 0.67% annual change.These population values and projections come from World Population Review Internal Projections.
Norwich has been a part of England since the 10th century. The original name was North Wic, a word used for an inland port city. With Norwich situated along a river, it has always been a place for trade and transportation to larger bodies of water. Today, Norwich is a growing city that is constantly bringing in new ideas, challenges, and technologically advanced structures to the landscape.
The last census for the city of Norwich was carried out in 2011 and, during that time, the population was 132,512 people. The population density of the city is quite high in comparison to other parts of the United Kingdom with 3,480 people per square kilometer. The previous growth rate for the city was 1.32% and, by that number, the estimated population for 2017 is around 143,000 people. 51% of the population is female while only 49% are male and the average age for citizens is 37 years old.
Norwich has a reputation for being among the least religious cities in the country. Possibly influenced by a large student population, the percentage of people claiming no religious affiliation was 42.5%. Those claiming Christianity as their religion remain the majority in Norwich at 44.9% of the population. Other religions in the city are Muslims at .2%, Hindus at .8%, Buddhists at .7% Jews at .2%, Sikhs at .1%, and .7% claim that they are part of some other religion. The remaining 8.2% did not state their religion.
Norwich does not seem to be very culturally diverse as its ethnicities reflect that 84.8% of the city is comprised of people born in England and therefore 92.1% of the city speaks English. The census does show that 1.30% of the population is Scottish born. Other countries of origin include .9% from India, .8% from China, .6% from Wales, .5% from Ireland, .5% from the Philippines, .4% from the United States, .4% from Northern Ireland, and .3% from South Africa. The remaining 9.5% of the population are from a range of other countries throughout the world.
In 2014, Norwich had quite a large percentage of people filing for unemployment benefits. 8,440 people claimed unemployment benefits in Nice in the yaer 2014, but since then that number has dropped to 6,385 people. However, even though unemployment numbers are falling, Norwich has is still above the national average for unemployment. The national average unemployment rate is currently 5.3%, while Norwich comes in at 9.1%. The reason for such large numbers is the fact that much of Norwich falls below the poverty level. The government has stepped into some of these areas to aid in the rising unemployment numbers and therefore the unemployment rate should continue to fall. Norwich currently has the highest unemployment rate in the country, second to that of Luton at 7%.
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% |