Population forecast for London 2025-2043, by gender

By 2043 it is expected that there will be approximately 4.99 million men and 4.82 million women living in London, compared with 4.66 million men and almost 4.6 million women in 2025. 

London’s population since 1981

Between 1981 and 1988, the population of London declined from 6.8 million, to 6.73 million. This period of gradual population decline was, however, followed by a sustained era of population growth, with London's population reaching a peak of 8.9 million in 2019. In the years since that peak, the population of the capital has declined slightly and, as of 2022, was 8.86 million. 

London's boroughs

London is currently split up into 32 boroughs, as well as the historic center of the city, the City of London. The City of London had a population of just 10,847 people in 2022, compared with 392,224 in Croydon, the London Borough with the highest population that year. London's historic center also had the highest average weekly salary in the city, at 1,138 pounds, compared with 588 pounds in the Borough of Redbridge.