Cramped London grows faster than any other region

21 Apr 2013
Published in Population
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London's population is huge! Couple that with its small land area - how cramped are we in London?

It is probably unsurprising that London has a higher population density than the rest of England but we take a look at the details to find just how cramped we really feel.

Population of London

According to Census 2011 data London has the second largest population in England. Here are the 9 regions of England ordered from most populated to least, so how many people live in London:

RegionPopulation (millions)
20112001
South East 8.6 8.0
London 8.2 7.2
North West 7.1 6.7
East of England 5.8 5.4
West Midlands 5.6 5.3
South West 5.3 4.9
Yorkshire and The Humber 5.3 5.0
East Midlands 4.5 4.2
North East 2.6 2.5

 

Population density

So London is the second most populated region of England, hosting over 15% of England's population on only 1.8% of England's land. Taking land mass into account we can find London's population density and how that ranks against the rest of England. Brace yourself…

London has a population density of 5,121/km2. To put that into context, the second most densly populated region of England is North West with just 470/km2; the South West has just 220/km2! If you were to fill a football pitch to the same density as London it would have 55 players whereas the rest of England would have just 4.

Growing London

Given London is already 15 times as densly populated as the rest of England you might be surprised to hear it is growing almost 3 times faster than the rest of England.

The rest of England's (much larger) regions gained in population by an average 350,000 people in the 10 years from Census 2001. London grew by just over 1,000,000 people!

Are you feeling a bit squashed?

If you live in London let us know how you feel living here. Do you love or hate the hustle and bustle? Are you put off moving to London or did it cause you to leave? Please let us know in the comment box below.

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