Population figures for urban and rural areas

Release date:
12 December 2022

FOI ref: FOI/2022/4639

You asked

I would like the most recent population figures for urban and rural populations (based on ONS BUAs or built-up areas) split into:

  • England
  • Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • UK

We said

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Request regarding population figures for urban and rural areas.

The built-up areas (BUAs) classification is only available for England and Wales. You can find this on our interactive NOMIS webservice.

For the BUAs, please see the following instructions:

  • Open the following link: NOMIS webservice
  • Go to Query data
  • Go to Population estimates- Small area based by single year of age - England and Wales
  • Choose built-up areas and whether you want some, or all, choose the years you require
  • Choose the age and sex you require
  • Then check the summary of selections and download the data

Please also see this live sample of the data.

Please note that urban and rural classifications are different in each country of the UK as population estimates are a devolved matter as they are usually derived from each country's census. Please contact each of the devolved countries for further information.

You may also be interested in the following release on Population estimates for urban/rural populations are regularly produced by Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for England: DEFRA: Rural Population and Migration.

When accessing any of our files, please read the 'notes, terms and conditions' contained within them. 

Should you require anything further, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at pop.info@ons.gov.uk.

Making an FOI request

Everything you need to know about Freedom of Information and how to go about making a request.