Photo taken from http://www.world-wallpaper.com/wallpaper/london-night_w354.html
Photo taken from http://www.world-wallpaper.com/wallpaper/london-night_w354.html
Population / Ethnicity
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London Population 2014
The latest official estimate of the population of London comes from the Office of National Statistics. According to their data, the population of Greater London in July 2010 was 7,825,200.
To figure out how many people live in London, we can look at the most recent census. The census is taken every 10 years, with the last one completed on March 27th 2011. Based on the 2011 numbers, the population of London stands at 8,173,941.
London is the largest city in the United Kingdom by some distance (the next largest city in the UK -Birmingham - has a population of almost exactly 1 million), and the largest city in the European Union (more than twice as large as its nearest rival, Berlin).
It is the third largest city in the continent of Europe, behind Istanbul (13.5 million) and Moscow (11.5 million), and the 22nd most populous city in the world, slightly smaller than New York (20th position) and Lagos (21st).
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 ways of breaking down London's geography along with estimates of their population.
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City of London 11,700 (2010 estimate)
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Inner London 2,859,400 (2001)
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Greater London 7,172,036 (2001)
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London Metropolitan Area 12-18 million (number of residents depends on the definition you use)
Generally, throughout this article, we've used the term London for simplicity, but when we're referring to modern day London, we really mean Greater London.
SOURCE: LINK
Ethnicity in London
London as a city is considerably more diverse than the rest of the United Kingdom. Across Englandas a whole, 87.5% of the population is considered to be white, but in London that number falls to 69.7%. As you can see from the map below, the further from the centre one goes, the higher the proportion of the London population that is white.
Table 1 below, compiled using 2009 data from statistics.gov.uk, provides details of the ethnicity of London residents compared to residents of England as a whole (note, not the entire United Kingdom).
Ethnicity London England
White 69.7% 87.5%
Mixed 3.5% 1.9%
Asian or Asian British 13.2% 6.0%
Black or Black British 10.1% 2.9%
Chinese or Other Ethnic Group 3.5% 1.6%
Table 1. Ethnicity in London and England. Source: LINK
If you take a look at the original source data, you can see more detail, as well as data for the population of the City of London. Iterestingly, although the population of London as a whole is more diverse than the rest of England, the much smaller City of London is actually much closer to the average for the rest of England (albiet, still more diverse than England).
London’s diversity can also be seen in statistics for London residents’ country of birth. Of the 7.17 million people living in London at the time of the 2001 census, only 5.23 million had actually been born in the United Kingdom. The remaining two million people were born outside the UK. The most common country of birth for London residents (other than the UK) was India – 172,162 people living in London in 2001 were born there – followed closely by the Republic of Ireland (172,162) people.
SOURCE: LINK
POPULATION ON A MAP:
Multicultural London: an example of racial integration or segregation? This impressive ethnic map of the city as illustrated by Figure 1 is based on census data and has been developed at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It charts the density of ethnic populations in Greater London, divided under white British, white non-British, black or black British, and Asian or Asian British. The full data will be released in the next couple of days, but for now the map gives a general idea of where different ethnic groups live in London, with each dot representing ten people. The map was developed by Chris Grundy, Lecturer in Geographical Information Systems, and epidemiologist Rebecca Steinbach. Kathryn Bromwich.
Source: LINK
Figure 1. London's ethnicities mapped. Source: LINK
LONDON'S POPULATION BY COUNTRY OF BIRTH:
Figure 2. London's population by country of birth. Source: LINK
The number of people in London born in Romania has increased over 10-fold since 2001 (but remains under 50,000) and the number born in Poland has increased 6-fold. The population of people born in Ghana and Philippines was previously small enough to not be recorded, but is now in the top 20 countries. Whilst the number of people from most of the counties shown has increased, the number born in Ireland and Kenya has decreased.
Data used - ONS, Census 2001 and 2011
SOURCE: LINK
London's population high: Top metropolis facts
London's population has increased by 12% since 2001
London's population has hit 8.6m people, according to the Greater London Authority - and the last time it was that big was 76 years ago. The metropolis is already Europe's largest city and the 6th richest place on Earth. Here are some key facts about the capital.
1. Fastest growing borough
Tower Hamlets in east London is expected to see the fastest growth according to the Greater London Authority's (GLA) figures. Between 2015 and 2039 its population is forecast to grow by 101,000. Newham will see predicted growth of 91,000 between 2015 and 2039. Followed by Barnet which expects to see growth of 76,000 between 2015-2039.
Towering numbers: Tower Hamlets has the fastest growing population
2. Largest growth
Hillingdon is the borough projected to see the largest growth. In 1939 there were 159,000 residents. By 2039 there will be 316,000 people living there - a rise of 82%. Havering closely follows with an increase of 80%. In 1939 there were 139,000 residents but by 2039 there will be 291,000 people living there.
Hillingdon is the borough projected to see the largest growth
3. Water, water everywhere
To cope with 8.6m Londoners, Thames Water has 10,000 miles of pipes under the city and deals with 4.4bn litres of wastewater per day. The company reports that Londoners use 10% more water a day than anywhere else in the UK.
The Victorian sewage system under London is being updated to cope
London's sewerage network was built following a series of outbreaks of cholera that killed 40,000 people in the first half of the 19th Century - the Victorians believed the disease was contracted through airborne "miasma" due to sewage in the open air.
The sewers overflow on a weekly basis, flushing 39m tonnes of raw sewagestraight into the Thames each year. To cope with the growing population a £4.2bn, 15-mile (25km) long "super sewer" - officially known as the Thames Tideway Tunnel - should be operational by 2023.
4. Buses, trains and automobiles
The capital's masses need to get around and London Underground set new historic records for passenger numbers at the end of last year - a record 4.725m in one day during November, beating the 4.5m recorded during the London 2012 Games. London's red buses are now dealing with 6.25m passenger journeys every day, the highest demand since the late 1950s according to Transport for London.
There are 6.25m people on buses in London each day
Meanwhile the London Drivers Association reports there are 24,500 cabbies picking-up and dropping-off across the city.
5. The decline and rise of inner London
The GLA figures show inner London's population dropped between the 1940s and late 1980s. In Westminster, the population stood at 347,000 in 1939 but fell to 172, 000 by 1988. In 2011 it increased again to 219,000. Tower Hamlets, meanwhile, fell from 419,000 in 1939 to 159,000 in 1988. However, by 2011 it had shot up again to 254,000. The overall inner London population was 4.4m in 1939, had declined to 2.5m by 1988 but returned to 3.2m by 2011.
Queues for London buses during an Tube strike in 1939
The post-1939 decline in London's population has been attributed in part to the Blitz and evacuations during World War 2, and the construction of new towns that followed.
6. London's packed classrooms
London, unlike anywhere else in the country, is a graduate economy. According to the Office for National Statistics, 60% of the working-age population in inner London has a degree.
More than 80% of children in inner London primary schools are from ethnic minorities
In terms of the diversity of the population, more than 80% of children in inner London primary schools are from ethnic minorities and more than half do not speak English as a first language.
7. Slowest growth
The City of London is in line for the slowest growth. Between 2015 and and 2039 its population is forecast to grow by 4,000 people.
The City of London has the slowest predicted population growth
Richmond has the second slowest population increase, where the number of people is expected to expand by 15,000 between 2015 and 2039, while Sutton follows with a predicted 19,000 increase.
8. All squeezed in...
The total area of London is 1,572 sq km (607 sq m) with a population density of 5,491 people per sq km.
Despite feeling overcrowded, London's population density is dwarfed by cities like Mumbai, Seoul and Lagos
9. Hatched and dispatched
According to GLA figures there were 131,011 births in 2013 - that's 359 babies born each day.
And during 2013, some 48,078 Londoners died - equivalent to 132 people passing away each day.
SOURCE: LINK
Just under 3 million people in London were born outside the UK, among which the largest group by far, at 260,000, are those born in India. Overall 62% of Indians in London were not born in the UK, but the highest level was among people belonging to the ethnic group 'other White' at 85%. Figure 2 below shows the 20 most common countries of birth of people in London outside the UK in 2011 and compares it to 2001.