Who are we? · People · UK and nations
How many of us are there, and how old are we?
About 69.5 million people lived in the UK in mid-2025. Compare the four nations and see the age profile of each, from the census.
Evidence last reviewed 31 October 2026
How many people live in each nation?
- England58.8 million
- Wales3.2 million
- Scotland5.5 million
- Northern Ireland1.9 million
Official estimates for 30 June 2025, including people living in care homes, student halls and other communal places. They are estimates, updated each year from the census, births, deaths and migration.
| Area | People | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 69,483,939 | 35,446,062 | 34,037,877 |
| England | 58,834,812 | 29,994,357 | 28,840,455 |
| Wales | 3,175,181 | 1,620,918 | 1,554,263 |
| Scotland | 5,545,500 | 2,853,184 | 2,692,316 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,928,446 | 977,603 | 950,843 |
For a council area, see its local page, which shows population back to 1991.
Show the workings and sources
- Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — MYE1. ONS (with NRS and NISRA). Edition: mid2025. Published 2026-09-30. Retrieved 2026-10-31. Exact file or query. Open Government Licence v3.0.
How old are we?
Census, 21 March 2021 · UK comparison tables
Scotland held its census in March 2022. In these UK tables Scotland is modelled to March 2021 from its 2011 and 2022 censuses, so that all four nations share one date. Scotland's own 2022 count is on the nation-by-nation view.
| Age | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 123,083 | 129,973 |
| 5–9 | 139,318 | 147,183 |
| 10–14 | 146,036 | 152,255 |
| 15–19 | 144,074 | 149,253 |
| 20–24 | 170,198 | 165,262 |
| 25–29 | 173,565 | 166,159 |
| 30–34 | 180,336 | 171,924 |
| 35–39 | 177,509 | 167,273 |
| 40–44 | 166,524 | 158,982 |
| 45–49 | 175,985 | 165,928 |
| 50–54 | 204,396 | 192,269 |
| 55–59 | 209,024 | 197,074 |
| 60–64 | 186,730 | 176,602 |
| 65–69 | 159,660 | 149,116 |
| 70–74 | 152,797 | 138,410 |
| 75–79 | 111,356 | 92,672 |
| 80–84 | 81,862 | 59,860 |
| 85 and over | 82,132 | 47,142 |
Show the workings and sources
Five-year groups are sums of the published single years of age in the same table. Ages 85 and over are published as one group. Each producer applied its own disclosure control before harmonisation.
- Census-based statistics, UK 2021: single year of age and sex — UK01. ONS, NRS and NISRA (NISRA Data Portal). Retrieved 2026-10-31. Exact file or query. Crown copyright (NISRA), Open Government Licence v3.0.
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Population projections, and age profiles for council areas over time. Council-area populations by broad age group are on each local page.
Built from official tables and checked by automated tests; it has not yet had independent analytical review. About these numbers.