If you’re interested in visiting the UK and you want to know where all the people live so you can have some interesting experiences, you might want to check out the most densely populated cities in the UK.
I live in New York City, so I’m quite familiar with heavily populated streets and people all over the place constantly. Every day at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. I’m faced with crowded train cars full of a combination of lost tourists and people just trying to get back and forth to their jobs in the city and their apartments on the outskirts. If there’s an empty train car or a completely empty street, there’s something wrong with it. I’ve become quite conditioned to the amount of people I see on a daily basis and it would be wrong for me to have any less interactions than I usually do.
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The UK is a much smaller country than the US and it’s comprised of England, North Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It’s a small island-type country, so it’s surrounded by water and is quite beautiful. Surprisingly, a lot of people live in such a small area and they tend to congregate in the bigger cities. You may only be familiar with London, as it’s the most popular, but there are in fact other cities where people live in the UK. These places aren’t for the faint of heart, and if you’re not interested in a lot of traffic, whether it be foot, car, or otherwise, you might want to stay away from places with such a high population density. It’d be interesting to see if any of these UK cities ended up on our list of the most densely populated cities in the world vs. Manhattan.
In order to start creating this list of most densely populated cities in the UK, we first have to figure out what population density is. Population density is basically the population per unit of area. For the purposes of this list, we’ll use the number of people per square mile to evaluate the places where there are the most people. This type of data is readily available online, so we took a took at the Office for National Statistics and The Geographist to get our data. The cities are ranked, obviously, with the most amount of people per square mile being at the top of the list.
Continue reading on to learn about the most densely populated cities in the UK.
10. Cardiff
People per square mile: 9,626
Cardiff is on the south coast of Wales and is known for high-speed trading and a heritage of fine arts and music. It became the capital of Wales in 1955. It’s a little overcrowded, as many important places are within the city limits.
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9. Nottingham
People per square mile: 10,964
Nottingham is a beautiful city, but as evidenced by its position on our list, there are a lot of people living here.
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8. Manchester
People per square mile: 11,439
Manchester is one of the most prominent cities in the northwest region of England. It has a rich industrial heritage alongside the Castlefield conservation area’s elaborate canal system that dates back to the 18th century. The city used to be a textile powerhouse. It’s one of the largest economic hubs in England to this day.
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7. Leicester
People per square mile: 11,800
Leicester is located in the east midlands region of England. This city is the resting place of King Richard III. Now, the city is a hub of activity for modern day trading and bustling city life.
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6. Birmingham
People per square mile: 11,840
This city is the biggest in the west midlands region of England. Like Manchester, Birmingham was an industrial powerhouse in the 1800s. However, this city was a famous manufacturing powerhouse as well.
5. Stoke-on-Trent
People per square mile: 11,939
This city is located in Staffordshire, England. It’s one of the smallest cities on the list with regard to actual size, but it’s still one of the most densely populated cities in the UK because a lot of people live here. Despite its small size, it serves as the unitary authority area in Staffordshire.
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4. Liverpool
People per square mile: 12,790
Liverpool has been a major maritime city in northwest England since the 18th century. It’s situated at the point where the River Mersey meets the Irish Sea. It’s one of the most important locations in England when it comes to trade and migration.
3. Bristol
People per square mile: 13,398
Bristol is located right near the bank of the Avon Rivel. Just like Liverpool, Bristol has a rich and long maritime history and it’s a bustling center for trade and travel.
2. London
People per square mile: 13,870
London is England and the UK’s capital, so it’s natural that it’s one of the most densely populated cities. Many immigrants choose to move to London.
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1. Portsmouth
People per square mile: 15,336
Portsmouth is a port city and there is a naval base situated within the city limits. This is why so many people flock to live here.
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That concludes our list of the most densely populated cities in the UK. If you’re looking to make a trip overseas soon, maybe this list helped you pick out some top spots to take a look at and visit since so many people enjoy them as homes.
