Urban population

In 2022-23, IBISWorld estimates that 84.4% of the total UK population will live in an urban area, an increase of 0.3 percentage points on the previous year. The United Nations uses definitions of urban areas that are determined by national statistical offices. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) defines an urban area as a built-up area with a population of 10,000 or more based on census data. Changes in the proportion of the population in urban area are determined by the relative growth of the urban population compared to the overall population.

Over the five years through 2022-23, the percentage of the population living in urban areas is projected to increase by 1.3 percentage points. This means that the urban population has grown at faster average rate over the period than the total population. Th United Kingdom has historically been one of the most urbanised countries in the world, in part due to historical factors, such as being the birthplace of the industrial revolution. This is still the case, with the United Kingdom having a higher urban population rate than other UN developed regions such as Northern Europe (83.1%), Western Europe (80.6%) and Northern America (83%).

In terms on land area rather than population, the United Kingdom is not as urbanised. According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, only 8.3% of land in England was under developed use in 2018, which includes residential, transport and utilities use. Whereas 91.5% was classified as non-developed use, with 21% of land area classified as forest, open land and water and 62.8% under agricultural use. England is the most urbanised home country, meaning that Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will have less developed land use.