The population size of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and United Kingdom; over the centuries
The population size of England from 1086, Wales & Scotland from 1680, Northern Ireland from 1687 and the United Kingdom from 1922
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes population estimates for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom on a regular basis, the latest estimates for 2024 were released on the 26th September 2025 and can be viewed here.
The ONS estimates the following population sizes for 2024:
United Kingdom: 69,281,400 (69.28m)
England: 58,620,100 (58.62m)
Wales: 3,186,600 (3.19m)
Scotland: 5,546,900 (5.55m)
Northern Ireland: 1,927,900 (1.93m)
These official estimates go so far back as 1971, even though estimates exist prior to this date, with the first census being conducted in England, Scotland & Wales in 1801 and the first census for Northern Ireland being conducted in 1926.
The Bank of England has a dataset titled “A millennium of macroeconomic data”, a massive Microsoft Excel document, at 28MB in size. This document encompasses an incredible amount of data on wages, exchange rates, debt, populations, agriculture, immigration, emigration, inflation & more.
With this data, which is compiled from a plethora of different sources, all of which are cited on the ‘Front page’ table, we can plot the population of England from 1086, Wales & Scotland from 1680, Northern Ireland from 1687 and the United Kingdom from 1922.
The population of the United Kingdom has increased from 44.39 million in 1922 to 69.28 million in 2024. Population growth levelled off after the early 1970s, when the birth rate in England & Wales fell below replacement and started accelerating again after the late 1990s, due to increased international immigration.
It’s expected the population of the United Kingdom will exceed 70 million sometime in 2026.
The population for England goes back much further, all the way back to 1086, nearly 1,000 years ago.
The population of England is estimated at 1.71 million in 1086, increasing to 58.62 million in 2024.
Note the impact of the Black Death between 1346 and 1353. Across Europe, it’s estimated this pandemic killed between 25 to 50 million people, potentially wiping out as much as 50% of Europe’s population.
The population of Wales is estimated at just shy of 350,000 in 1680 and is currently 3.19 million.
Wales suffered a severe economic difficulties in the mid 1920s. The economy of Wales was largely built on exporting coal and steel, which were hit by increased production from South America, poor exchange rates and Germany paying reparations in coal, reducing demand for coal from Wales. It’s estimated around 390,000 emigrated from Wales between 1925 and 1939.
The population of Scotland was estimated at 1.1 million in 1680 and is currently at 5.55 million. Scotland has seen relatively mild population growth in recent decades.
The birth rate in Scotland is the lowest of any country in the United Kingdom. The uptick in recent years is the result of internal migration and international migration, though immigration into Scotland remains much below the levels seen in England.
One explanation for increased internal migration could be the increasing number of retirees choosing to reside in Scotland, according to a post on LinkedIn from 2022, since 2018, nearly 11,000 additional retirees have resided in Scotland.
The population of Northern Ireland was estimated at 383,000 in 1687 and is currently at 1.93 million.
Northern Ireland has the highest birth rate of any country in the United Kingdom and little international migration compared to England, Wales and Scotland.
The population of Northern Ireland declined massively after 1840s due to the Great Famine, or as it’s sometimes also called, the Potato Famine or Great Hunger.
Note: from 1801 to 1922, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Chart below is for Northern Ireland only.
This famine resulted in estimated 1 million deaths in Ireland, with many more emigrating to Britain or America.
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