How many people live in inner london

9,540,576

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.

London Population 2022

London Population Data (Urban Area)

Ethnicity in London vs Rest of United Kingdom

Religion in London (2011 Census Data)

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