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Population up by more than 25% in 23 areas of UK since 2001

Figures also show that 18 areas have seen their population go down.

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A view of Canary Wharf in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Some 23 areas of the UK have seen their population increase in size by more than a quarter since 2001, new estimates show.

The biggest jumps have been in London, with the borough of Tower Hamlets seeing a rise of 61.5%, followed by Newham (41.6%) and Hackney (35.6%).

Outside London, the largest rise has been in Corby in Northamptonshire, where the population has gone up by 35.2%.

Other areas outside the capital with big leaps include Uttlesford in Essex (up 32.4%), South Derbyshire (31.2%) and Dartford in Kent (31.0%).

The figures have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and show the change in estimated population size for local authority areas in the UK from mid-2001 to mid-2019.

The 23 areas with increases above 25% are all in England.

POLITICS Population Growth
(PA Graphics)

Mid-Ulster saw the biggest percentage rise in Northern Ireland (up by 24.7%), while in Scotland it was East Lothian (up 18.8%) and in Wales it was Cardiff (up 18.3%).

However, not everywhere has seen a growth in population since 2001, with 18 local authority areas showing a decrease.

The largest fall was in Inverclyde in Scotland, where the population is estimated to have dropped by 7.5%.

Three other areas in Scotland have seen a fall: Argyll & Bute (down 5.9%), West Dunbartonshire (down 4.7%) and North Ayrshire (down 0.8%).

Barrow-in-Furness has seen its population fall by 6.8% – the biggest percentage decrease in England.

Two areas of Wales showed a drop – Ceredigion (down 3.6%) and Blaenau Gwent (down 0.2%) – while there were no decreases in Northern Ireland.

Several of the UK’s big cities have got even bigger since 2001.

The ONS estimates Manchester’s population to have risen from 422,915 to 552,858 – a jump of 30.7%.

Birmingham has gone from having a population just under a million (984,642) to more than a million (1,141,816), a rise of 16.0%.

Edinburgh’s population has leapt from an estimated 449,020 to 524,930 (up 16.9%), while Leeds has increased from 715,609 to 793,139 (up 10.8%).

The area with the biggest estimated numerical fall in population is Sunderland, which has shed nearly 7,000 people since 2001 – a decline in size of 2.4%.

Here is the full list of the 23 local authority areas in the UK with an estimated increase in population of more than 25% from mid-2001 to mid-2019:

1. Tower Hamlets 61.5%
2. Newham 41.6%
3. Hackney 35.6%
4. Corby 35.2%
5. Islington 35.2%
6. Camden 33.3%
7. Greenwich 32.4%
8. Uttlesford 32.4%
9. City of London 32.1%
10. South Derbyshire 31.2%
11. Dartford 31.0%
12. Manchester 30.7%
13. Barking & Dagenham 28.5%
14. Westminster 28.5%
15. Peterborough 28.5%
16. South Norfolk 27.1%
17. Milton Keynes 26.7%
18. Ashford 26.2%
19. Redbridge 26.2%
20. Welwyn Hatfield 26.1%
21. Boston 25.8%
22. Hounslow 25.7%
23. Leicester 25.3%

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