UK cities by population 2023

This article has a list of cities in the United Kingdom and their populations. It also explains what cities are in the UK – they’re slightly different to cities in many other countries.

This article also answers a number of frequently asked questions, including which are the largest, smallest and oldest cities in the UK and each of its four nations.

What makes a city a city in the UK?

Most countries in the world define a city as a large town or settlement – just a large urban area where lots of people live. The exact rules vary, but this basic principle applies.

In the UK though, a city only becomes a city if the monarch – the reigning queen or king – gives permission. This leads to the oddity of London being widely recognised as one of the largest cities in Europe and the world when it isn’t technically a recognised city in the UK.

Today the monarch grants city status through a royal charter. In practice, the monarch’s decision is based on the advice of the government. Places that want to become a city must apply, their bids are then reviewed by a government department (at the time of writing in 2022, this is the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) and finally a recommendation is made to the monarch.

Often competitions are held to grant city status at nationally important times – for example, a competition was held to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Forty cities applied, and eight cities were granted city status in 2022, including two cities outside of the UK mainland on British overseas territories and Crown Dependencies.

Other recent competitions have been held in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee – where three new cities were created – in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee – where five new cities were created – and in 2000 to mark the millennium – where three new cities were created.

Does a city have to have a cathedral?

From the 16th century to the late 19th century, towns with cathedrals were recognised as cities. Henry VIII rejected the authority of the Pope in 1534, so in practice they had to be Anglican cathedrals rather than Catholic Cathedrals, or those from any other Christian denomination.

This led to places that are – today at least – quite small being recognised as cities, while other much larger places without cathedrals or a royal charter are still towns. Examples of small cities in the UK are Wells in Somerset and Bangor in Wales.

Birmingham was the first town in England to become a city without having a cathedral. Its city status was granted in 1889.

Is London a city?

London is home to almost 9 million people.

Everyone knows that, in practical terms at least, London is a city. It is home to over 9 million people, and is the largest settlement in the United Kingdom. It used to be the largest city in the world. And it is the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

However, in the eyes of the law, London is not a city in the UK. It has never been granted city status of its own. Instead, London is a collection of places, including boroughs and two smaller cities. It is also a ceremonial county called Greater London and a region called, simply, London.

The two cities that are in London are:

• the confusingly named City of London, which is (1) a city, (2) a ceremonial county entirely surrounded by the ceremonial county of Greater London and (3) a local government district. The City of London is in the centre of London and houses its financial district. It has a permanent population of less than 10,000 people, making it one of England’s smallest cities.
• the city of Westminster, which is (1) a city and (2) one of London’s 32 boroughs. Also in the centre of London, Westminster is the heart of the UK’s government district, home to the House of Parliament and Downing Street. It is also a large residential area and, at the 2011 census, Westminster had a population of 219,396 people.

List of UK cities by population

This table lists every city in the UK, including its population, which country it is in, and when it was granted city status.

Rank	City	Year granted	Population	Nation
1	Birmingham	1883	1,092,330	England
2	Leeds	1893	751,485	England
3	Glasgow	18th century	593,245	Scotland
4	Sheffield	1893	552,698	England
5	Bradford	1897	522,452	England
6	Manchester	1853	503,127	England
7	Edinburgh	18th century	476,626	Scotland
8	Liverpool	1880	466,415	England
9	Bristol	1542	428,234	England
10	Cardiff	1905	346,090	Wales
11	Belfast	1888	333,871	N Ireland
12	Leicester	1919	329,839	England
13	Wakefield	1888	325,837	England
14	Coventry	1102	316,915	England
15	Nottingham	1897	305,680	England
16	Newcastle upon Tyne	1882	280,177	England
17	Sunderland	1992	275,506	England
18	Brighton & Hove	2001	273,369	England
19	Kingston upon Hull	1897	256,406	England
20	Plymouth	1928	256,384	England
21	Wolverhampton	2001	249,470	England
22	Stoke-on-Trent	1925	249,008	England
23	Milton Keynes	2022	248,800	England
24	Derby	1977	248,752	England
25	Swansea	1969	239,023	Wales
26	Southampton	1964	236,882	England
27	Salford	1926	233,933	England
28	Aberdeen	1891	222,793	Scotland
29	Westminster	1540	219,396	England
30	Portsmouth	1926	205,056	England
31	York	time immemorial	198,051	England
32	Colchester	2022	194,706	England
33	Peterborough	1541	183,631	England
34	Southend-on-Sea	2022	173,658	England
35	Chelmsford	2012	168,310	England
36	Oxford	1542	151,906	England
37	Canterbury	time immemorial	151,145	England
38	Dundee	1889	147,268	Scotland
39	Newport	2002	145,736	Wales
40	St Albans	1877	140,644	England
41	Preston	2002	140,202	England
42	Lancaster	1937	138,375	England
43	Norwich	1094	132,512	England
44	Exeter	time immemorial	127,709	England
45	Cambridge	1951	123,867	England
46	Gloucester	1541	121,688	England
47	Winchester	time immemorial	116,595	England
48	Doncaster	2022	110,000	England
49	Derry	1604	107,877	N Ireland
50	Carlisle	1133	107,524	England
51	Worcester	time immemorial	98,768	England
52	Durham	995	94,375	England
53	Lincoln	1072	93,541	England
54	Chester	1541	91,733	England
55	Bath	1090	88,859	England
56	Inverness	2001	79,415	Scotland
57	Wrexham	2022	61,603	Wales
58	Bangor, NI	2022	61,011	N Ireland
59	Hereford	time immemorial	58,896	England
60	Dunfermline	2022	49,706	Scotland
61	Perth	2012	45,770	Scotland
62	Lisburn	2002	45,370	N Ireland
63	Salisbury	1227	40,302	England
64	Stirling	2002	34,790	Scotland
65	Lichfield	time immemorial	32,219	England
66	Newry	2002	29,946	N Ireland
67	Chichester	1075	26,795	England
68	Ely	1109	20,256	England
69	Bangor, Wales	time immemorial	18,808	Wales
70	Truro	1877	18,766	England
71	Ripon	1865	16,702	England
72	Armagh	1994	14,777	N Ireland
73	Wells	time immemorial	10,536	England
74	City of London	time immemorial	7,375	England
75	St Asaph	2012	3,355	Wales
76	St Davids	1994	1,841	Wales

List of cities in British overseas territories and Crown Dependencies

This table lists the four recognised cities outside of the UK mainland, including two that were created in 2022 to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

They are among the smallest cities recognised by the Crown – the largest is Douglas on the Isle of Man, which was granted city status in 2022 and has a population of 27,938, the next largest is Port Stanley in the Falklands Islands, with a population of 2,460.

Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda, and Jamestown, the capital of St Helena are two of the smallest recognised cities, with populations of 854 and 629 people respectively.

Rank	City	Year	Population	Location
1	Douglas	2022	27,938	Isle of Man
2	Stanley	2022	2,460	Falkland Islands
3	Hamilton	1897	854	Bermuda
4	Jamestown	1859	629	St Helena

Add table here

How many cities are there in the UK?

There are 76 cities in the United Kingdom. This figure includes the 6 new cities created in the UK during the Queen’s Jubilee in May 2022.

Of these cities:

• There are 55 cities in England
• There are 8 cities in Scotland
• There are 7 cities in Wales
• There are 6 cities in Northern Ireland

There are a further four cities in British overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

What is the largest city in the UK?

The largest city in the United Kingdom is London. But, also, as we noted above, it’s not. Because London is technically not a city in the United Kingdom.

If we only count places that have formally been granted city status, then Birmingham, home to 1,092,330 people in 2011, is actually the largest official city in the UK.

Birmingham is followed by Leeds (population 751,485) and Glasgow in Scotland (population 593,245).

What is the largest city in England?

As above, London is the largest city in England by most people’s definition.

But, officially, Birmingham is the largest officially recognised city in England, followed by Birmingham, Sheffield, Bradford and Manchester.

What is the largest city in Scotland?

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. In 2011 its population was 593,245.

Despite being the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh is only the second largest city in Scotland. It is home to 476,626 people, more than a hundred thousand people fewer than Glasgow.

Other cities in Scotland with a population larger than 100,000 people are Aberdeen (222,793) and Dundee (147,268).

What is the largest city in Wales?

Cardiff is the largest city in Wales. The capital city of Wales was home to 346,090 people at the time of the 2011 census. Cardiff is also the 10th largest city in the UK.

Other major cities in Wales are Swansea (population 239,023), Newport (145,736) and Wrexham (population 61,603).

What is the largest city in Northern Ireland?

Belfast is the largest city in Northern Ireland. Its population (333,871) is more than three times as large as Derry, the second largest city, which has a population of 107,877.

Other mid-sized cities in Northern Ireland are Bangor, home to 61,011 people and Lisburn with 45,370 residents according to the 2011 census.

What is the smallest city in the UK?

St David’s is the smallest city in the United Kingdom and Wales. Home to St David’s cathedral, the place of St David’s was first made a city in the 12th century. It lost its city status in 1886 during a local government re-organisation and only regained it in 1994 because Queen Elizabeth II requested it be reinstated as a city.

However, if we count British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, then St David’s is only the third smallest city. Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda, and Jamestown, the capital of St Helena, both have populations of fewer than 1,000 people.

What is the smallest city in England

The smallest city in England is the City of London, with a population of just 7,375 people. It is also the smallest ceremonial county in England. Located in the heart of ‘city but not technically a city’ Greater London, the City of London covers most of what was Roman Londinium.

The next smallest cities in England are Wells in Somerset, which has been a city since time immemorial, Ripon in Yorkshire and the Humber which has been a city since 1865, and Truro in Cornwall, which has been a city since 1877.

What is the smallest city in Scotland

Stirling is the smallest city in Scotland. It gained city status in 2002 and has a population of 34,790.

Other cities in Scotland with a population of under 100,000 people are Perth (population 45,770), Dunfermline (49,706) and Inverness (79,415).

All four of Scotland’s smallest cities gained city status in the 21st century.

What is the smallest city in Wales

As noted above, St David’s is the smallest city in Wales as well as the smallest city in the UK.

Wales is also home to St Asaph, the second smallest city in the UK, which was granted city status in 2012 and has a population of just 3,355 people. St Asaph is the smallest city in the United Kingdom that does not have a cathedral.

The two other cities in Wales with a population of under 100,000 people are Bangor (18,808) and Wrexham (61,603).

What is the smallest city in Northern Ireland

Armagh is the smallest of the six cities in Northern Ireland. Home to just 14,777 people it is the 72nd largest city in the United Kingdom. Armgh became a city in 1994.

Other small cities in Northern Ireland are Newry (population 29,946) and Lisburn (population 45,370).

Oldest cities?

Many of the cities in the UK have been considered cities since ‘time immemorial’. There are no written records of when they were first referred to as cities. Examples of this in England are Canterbury, York, Exeter, Wells and the City of London. Examples in Wales are Bangor and St David’s.

There are several places that claim to be the oldest settlement in Britain, including Colchester, which was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in 77AD. Colchester was only incorporated as a city in 2022 as a part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebration which makes it both one of England’s oldest cities and its youngest.

2022 new cities

Eight towns have been made cities in 2022 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The list includes three cities in England, plus one each in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland.

For the first time, cities outside of the mainland UK, in Crown Dependencies and British overseas territories were considered, and city status was also awarded to the Isle of Man and the Falkland Islands, bringing the total number of awards to eight.

The table below lists each newly recognised city.

Rank	City	Population	Nation
23	Milton Keynes	248,800	England
32	Colchester	194,706	England
34	Southend-on-Sea	173,658	England
48	Doncaster	110,000	England
57	Wrexham	61,603	Wales
58	Bangor, Northern Ireland	61,011	N Ireland
60	Dunfermline	49,706	Scotland
–	Douglas	27,938	Isle of Man,
–	Stanley	2,460	Falkland Islands,

The cities were awarded following an honours competition which took in 38 places from across the UK. Prospective cities were required to explain their local community identity, their cultural heritage, their royal links.