London was by far the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom in 2025, with an estimated population of *** million people, more than three times as large as Manchester, the UK’s second-biggest urban agglomeration. The agglomerations of Birmingham and Leeds / Bradford had the third and fourth-largest populations, respectively, while the biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow, was the fifth largest.
Largest cities in Europe
Two cities in Europe had larger urban areas than London, with Istanbul having a population of around **** million and the Russian capital Moscow having a population of over **** million. The city of Paris, located just over 200 miles away from London, was the second-largest city in Europe, with a population of more than **** million people. Paris was followed by London in terms of population size, and then by the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona, at *** million and *** million people, respectively. The Italian capital, Rome, was the next largest city at *** million, followed by Berlin at *** million.
London’s population growth
Throughout the 1980s, the population of London fluctuated from a high of **** million people in 1981 to a low of **** million inhabitants in 1988. During the 1990s, the population of London increased once again, growing from ****million at the start of the decade to **** million by 1999. London's population has continued to grow since the turn of the century, and despite declining between 2019 and 2021, it reached *** million people in 2023 and is forecast to reach almost *** million by 2047.
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United Nations. (August 1, 2019). Largest urban agglomerations in the United Kingdom in 2025 (in 1,000s) [Graph]. In ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Retrieved August 01, 2026, from /statistics/294645/population-of-selected-cities-in-united-kingdom-uk/
United Nations. "Largest urban agglomerations in the United Kingdom in 2025 (in 1,000s)." Chart. August 1, 2019. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. Accessed August 01, 2026. /statistics/294645/population-of-selected-cities-in-united-kingdom-uk/
United Nations. (2019). Largest urban agglomerations in the United Kingdom in 2025 (in 1,000s). ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ. ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc.. Accessed: August 01, 2026. /statistics/294645/population-of-selected-cities-in-united-kingdom-uk/
United Nations. "Largest Urban Agglomerations in The United Kingdom in 2025 (in 1,000s)." ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ Inc., 1 Aug 2019, /statistics/294645/population-of-selected-cities-in-united-kingdom-uk/
United Nations, Largest urban agglomerations in the United Kingdom in 2025 (in 1,000s) ÌÇÐÄÆÆ½â°æ, /statistics/294645/population-of-selected-cities-in-united-kingdom-uk/ (last visited August 01, 2026)
Largest urban agglomerations in the United Kingdom in 2025 (in 1,000s) [Graph], United Nations, August 1, 2019. [Online]. Available: /statistics/294645/population-of-selected-cities-in-united-kingdom-uk/