In 2001 nearly 80 per cent of the UK population lived in urban areas, despite the fact that these made up 9 per cent of the total land area.
The UK’s ten largest urban areas are home to a third of the population – just over 19 million people. The Greater London Urban Area had the highest population density (5,100 people per square kilometre) in 2001, as well as the largest area and population. It was 2.7 times larger and its population 3.6 times greater than the West Midlands Urban Area – its closest neighbour in terms of population and area size.
After Greater London, the urban areas with the highest populations are not necessarily the most densely populated. Whereas Greater Glasgow was fifth largest by population size, it ranked 24th for population density. In contrast, the urban area for Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton was the second most densely populated area but in terms of population size was ranked 12th.
Population and area change between the 1991 and 2001 censuses
Between the 1991 and 2001 censuses the ten urban areas with the highest populations grew as a whole by 660,100 people; they also grew by 67 square kilometres. Individually, however, only five of the top ten areas showed an increase. The greatest proportional increases in population occurred in the Nottingham (9 per cent) and Greater London (8 per cent) Urban Areas. However the main reasons for growth in each area were different. The increase in the Nottingham Urban Area was mainly due to the increase in area to include Ilkeston, while London grew as a result of population growth.
The population of Greater Glasgow had the largest proportional decline in population of all the ten urban areas (3 per cent), greater than the population decrease in Scotland as a whole (1 per cent).
The populations of these ten large urban areas vary in their characteristics. Greater Glasgow had the lowest proportion (19 per cent) of its population under 16 years and Greater London had the highest proportion (65 per cent) of people of working age. In contrast, the West Midlands Urban Area had the largest proportion of people under 16 years (22 per cent) and the lowest proportion of working-age people (60 per cent).
Tyneside had 19 per cent of its population over state pension age, making it the urban area with the highest proportion of older people. Along with Greater Glasgow and Sheffield, Tyneside had higher proportions of older people than the UK as a whole (18 per cent). Conversely, Greater London had the lowest proportion of older people (15 per cent).
Sources: 1991 and 2001 Censuses, Office for National Statistics; General Register Office for Scotland
Notes: An urban area is usually considered to be an area that is relatively built up and its residents are usually regarded as being town or city dwellers. Urban areas do not adhere to administrative boundaries even though their names may be similar, for example, Greater London Urban Area is not the same as the Government Office Region for London. The definition of urban areas differs between statistical agencies.
The working-age population refers to those aged 16 to state pension age.
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