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Population & Demographics

Population Profile

See how many people live in the UK and compare the latest official estimates for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions.

United Kingdom69,281,400Mid-2024
England58,620,082Mid-2024
Scotland5,546,900Mid-2024
Wales3,186,600Mid-2024
Northern Ireland1,927,900Mid-2024

Mid-2024 estimates

Population of the four UK nations

The UK population was estimated at 69.3 million in mid-2024. England is home to around 85% of the total population.

NationPopulationShare of UKOfficial publisher
England58,620,08284.6%Office for National Statistics
Scotland5,546,9008.0%National Records of Scotland
Wales3,186,6004.6%Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland1,927,9002.8%Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

England, Mid-2023

Population by age group

See the size of each broad age group, from children and young adults to people approaching or living in retirement.

Age 0 to 15

10,648,350

18.5% of England

Children and school-age population

Age 16 to 24

6,155,429

10.7% of England

Young adults, students and early careers

Age 25 to 49

18,959,848

32.9% of England

Core working and family-forming years

Age 50 to 64

11,143,609

19.3% of England

Later working years and retirement planning

Age 65 and over

10,783,087

18.7% of England

Retirement-age population

These broad groups help with family, education, workforce, youth-market and retirement planning. They are annual mid-year estimates, not Census 2021 counts.

Mid-2023 estimates

Population by English region

Compare the latest regional figures available through the ONS API. South East has the largest population.

RankRegionPopulationShare of England
1South East9,482,50716.4%
2London8,945,30915.5%
3North West7,657,14913.3%
4East of England6,467,62011.2%
5West Midlands6,017,02610.4%
6South West5,887,65310.2%
7Yorkshire and the Humber5,615,0809.7%
8East Midlands4,934,9398.6%
9North East2,683,0404.7%

England | Census 2021

Population by sex

Census counts of usual residents.

Census dataset
Female28,833,712
Male27,656,336
Published by Office for National Statistics. View official source

England | Census 2021

Population density

The number of usual residents per square kilometre.

Census dataset
England433.5 per km²
Published by Office for National Statistics. View official source

United Kingdom | Mid-2023 to mid-2024

Annual population growth

Estimated population change over the year to mid-2024.

Annual dataset
England1.2%
Scotland0.7%
Wales0.6%
Northern Ireland0.4%
Published by Office for National Statistics and national statistical agencies. View official source