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The population of London reached over **** million in 2024, an increase of almost *** million people when compared with the early 1980s. Throughout the 1980s, the population of the United Kingdom's capital grew at a relatively slow rate, before accelerating to a much faster rate in the 1990s. London is by far the largest city / urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom, more than three times larger than the next largest cities of Manchester and Birmingham. London’s forecasted population is expected to continue growing at much the same pace it has been growing since the mid-1990s and reach almost *** million by 2042.

London boroughs

As of 2024, the London borough with the highest population was Croydon, at approximately **, followed by Barnet at **. Overall, London is divided into 33 different boroughs, with London's historic center, the City of London, having by far the smallest population, at just *. Residents of the City of London, however, have the highest average median weekly earnings among all of London's boroughs, at  pounds per week, compared with just *** pounds per week in Redbridge, the lowest average weekly earnings among London boroughs. While the overall unemployment rate for London was 5** percent in early 2025, this ranged from ****percent in Newham, to just *** percent in Richmond upon Thames.  

Economic imbalance 

Aside from being the UK's largest city in terms of population, London is also undoubtedly the UK's cultural, political and economic center. As of 2023, the GDP of Greater London was approximately ***billion British pounds, almost a quarter of the UK's overall GDP.  In the same year, GDP per person in London was *pounds compared with the UK average of * pounds. Additionally, productivity in London is far higher than the UK average. As measured by output per hour worked, London was ****percent more productive than the rest of the UK.