How Many People Live in London

London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who called it Londinium. London’s ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

The population of London on May 2012 is approximately 7,870,000. (Extrapolated from a population of 7,556,900 on April 2009 and a population of 7,754,000 on March 2011.)

Religion in London

Christians constitute the largest religious group in London (58.2 percent of the city’s population), followed by those of no religion (15.8 percent), Muslims (8.5 percent), Hindus (4.1 percent), Jews (2.1 percent), Sikhs (1.5 percent), Buddhists (0.8 percent) and other (0.5 percent), though 8.7 percent of people did not answer this question in the Census.