What is the population of Birmingham?
Birmingham has a city population of 1,157,603. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
City profile · United Kingdom · Europe
Birmingham
City population
1,157,603
#2
in United Kingdom
#2
in England
#469
worldwide
52.481, -1.900 · 163 km from London
About Birmingham
With a metropolitan population of 2,915,000, Birmingham is the second-largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The city proper contains 1,157,603 residents across a dense area of 4,874 people per km². Annual population growth stands at 0.6%, indicating gradual expansion.
Situated at 149 m elevation in the English Midlands, Birmingham has been established since 601. Three major airports serve the region: Birmingham Airport (BHX), East Midlands Airport (EMA), and Manchester Airport (MAN), providing extensive transport connections.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
2,915,000
0.035% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+0.55%
Archive estimateDensity
4,874/km²
598 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#2of 679
Founded
601
Leadership
Yvonne Mosquito
Coordinates
52.481, -1.900
Record updated
26 June 2025
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 794 in United KingdomClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Birmingham | 1.16M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Birmingham AirportBHX
11 km from the city centre
- East Midlands AirportEMA
55 km from the city centre
- Manchester AirportMAN
100 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in United Kingdom
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 50,121,017 |
| 1960 | 52,538,548 |
| 1970 | 55,663,801 |
| 1980 | 56,282,103 |
| 1990 | 57,367,862 |
| 2000 | 59,057,338 |
| 2010 | 63,006,483 |
| 2020 | 67,351,861 |
| 2030 | 71,286,992 |
| 2040 | 73,774,626 |
| 2050 | 75,504,681 |
| 2060 | 76,010,356 |
| 2070 | 76,049,084 |
| 2080 | 75,956,251 |
| 2090 | 75,378,279 |
| 2100 | 74,305,411 |
Birmingham Population FAQ
Where is Birmingham?
Birmingham is in England, United Kingdom, 163 km from the capital, London. Its coordinates are 52.481, -1.900.
How big is Birmingham compared with other cities in United Kingdom?
It is the 2nd largest of the 794 cities listed in United Kingdom, holding 1.7% of the national population.