Demographics of the United Kingdom
The population of the United Kingdom was estimated at almost 67.6 million people in 2022.[1] It is the 21st most populated country in the world and has a population density of 279 people per square kilometre (720 people/sq mi), with England having significantly greater density than Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.[1] Almost a third of the population lives in south east England, which is predominantly urban and suburban, with about 9 million in the capital city, London, whose population density is just over 5,200 per square kilometre (13,468 per sq mi).[3]
Demographics of the United Kingdom
67,596,281 (2022)[1]
279/km2 (720/sq mi) (2022)[1]
0.53% (2022 est.)
10.79 per 1,000 (2022)
9.07 per 1,000 (2022)
81.94 years (2022)
79.95 years of age (2022)
84.04 years of age (2022)
1.61 (2021)
3.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2022)
3.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
17.6% (2020)
63.9%
18.5%
1.05 male(s)/female
1.05 male(s)/female (2022)
0.73 male(s)/female (2022)
White: 82.9%
White British/Irish: 74.4% (2021)
Asian British: (6.3%)
Black British: (3.0%)- British Mixed: (2.0%)
- Other: (0.9%)
The population of the UK has undergone demographic transition—that is, the transition from a (typically) pre-industrial population, with high birth and mortality rates and slow population growth, through a stage of falling mortality and faster rates of population growth, to a stage of low birth and mortality rates with, again, lower rates of growth. This growth through 'natural change' has been accompanied in the past two decades by growth through net immigration into the United Kingdom, which since 1999 has exceeded natural change.[4]
The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99% at age 15 and above)[5] is attributable to universal state education, introduced at the primary level in 1870 (Scotland 1872, free 1890[6]) and at the secondary level in 1900. Parents are obliged to have their children educated from the ages of 5 to 16 years. In England, 16-17 year olds should remain in education, employment or training (for example, in the form of A-Levels, vocational training, and apprenticeships), until the age of 18.[7]
The United Kingdom's population is predominantly White British (81.88% at the 2011 Census), but due to migration from Commonwealth nations, Britain has become ethnically diverse. The second and third largest non-white racial groups are Asian British at 7% of the population, followed by Black British people at 3%.
The main language of the country is British English. Some Celtic languages, namely Scottish Gaelic and Irish, are still spoken by minorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland, respectively, and Cornish has been revived to a limited degree in Cornwall; but the predominant language in all these areas is English. Welsh is widely spoken as a first language in parts of North and West Wales, and to lesser extent in South East Wales, where English is the dominant first language.
History[edit]
Before the census, 200–1800[edit]
Roman Britain had an estimated population between 2.8 million and 3 million at the end of the second century AD. At the end of the fourth century, it had an estimated population of 3.6 million, of whom 125,000 consisted of the Roman army and their families and dependents.[8] The urban population of Roman Britain was about 240,000 people at the end of the fourth century.[8] Roman Britain's capital city, Londinium, is estimated to have had a population of about 60,000.[9][10]
Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, Germanic tribes from continental Europe such as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes began a period of significant migration to the southeastern part of the island, notably bringing their language, Old English.[11] Nevertheless, the overall population is believed to have fallen precipitously due to political upheavals and plagues.[12][13] By the time of the compilation of the Domesday Book in the eleventh century, there may have between 1.25 and 2 million people living in England.[14] Though the Domesday Book did not count the English population, it has been regarded as one of the first attempts to produce a census of the country.[15]
Between the years of 1086 and 1750, the English population fluctuated in size due to civil war, famines and plagues.[4] By the end of the 13th century, the population was estimated to have reached between four and six million people, but a combination of factors such as widespread famine and disease in the following century collapsed the population dramatically. An agricultural crisis in 1315 to 1322 and the Black Death in 1348 to 1350 collapsed the population by over a third of its pre-existing number, and the growth rate.[4] By 1377, the population was estimated on a poll-tax of all people aged 14 and over, depending on the population amount of those under 14, to be around 2.2 million to 3.1 million.[4]
Periods of instability over the 15th century such as the War of the Roses caused the population to, while grow, increase at a slowed pace.[4] The general factors behind the slow increase was a high mortality rate due to war, less marriages within the population and late marriages, keeping fertility levels lower than they should have been for the time and a net emigration of English people out of the country.[4] However, in contrast to the preceding century, by the 16th century, this situation has elevated itself due to political stability under the Tudor monarchy and little civil unrest which would have resulted in a higher mortality rate.[4] While this was overturned with the English Civil War in 17th century, it allowed the population to grow at a faster pace, causing the population of England to reach a pre-collapse total of 5.74 million by 1750.[4] In Scotland, population growth was not to the same extent as it was in England, which resulted in being significantly lower in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, which is often ascribed to similar factors halting it such as a high mortality rate, especially for infants, and later marriage and childbearing patterns.[4] Ireland on the other hand before the 19th century consistently had rapid population growth, which has been ascribed to higher fertility rates and earlier marriage than England. Furthermore, the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century also affected the population total of Scotland with an estimated 100,000 Scots migrating to Ulster, additionally, the Jacobite rebellion in 1745 also caused significant emigration.[4] The estimated population total of Scotland in 1691 was 1.23 million.[4]
The impetus to collect population data was reinforced due to food supply concerns and war against France in the late 18th century and the beginning of the early 19th century.[4] In 1800, the Census Act was passed, authorising the first modern census in British history to be conducted.[4]
Number of marriages in the United Kingdom 1887–2016
Opposite sex marriage rate over time in England and Wales
Number of divorces in England and Wales 1858–2020
Opposite sex divorce rate in England and Wales
Median age at divorce in England and Wales
Culmulative percentage of marriages ending in divorce by year of marriage in England and Wales
Leading causes of death for males
Leading causes of death for females
Unemployment rate 1881–2017
Percentage of labour force working in each (broad) sector
UK employment by broad industry sector
UK employment by public or private sector
Average weekly earnings over time (seasonally adjusted)
Average household income 1977–2021
Percentage of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET)
Economically inactive percentage of population in local authorities in 2021
Gross disposable household income (GDHI) across the UK mapped in 2020
The Median Individual Disposable income as of 2018
The Median Gross Household Income as of 2018
Foreign born population in the UK in 2021
Christians (59.5%)
English only
British only
Welsh only
English and British identity
UK and Non-UK identity
Non-UK identity
Respondents to the 2011 UK census gave their national identities as follows.