What is the population of the UK?

The United Kingdom incorporates the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – but how many people live there?

This know how guide looks at the population for each nation, the collective total, as well as some other interesting facts about driving in the UK.

What is the population of the UK?

According to the latest date released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in October 2024, there were an estimated 68.3 million people living in the UK.

This marked a 1% increase from mid-2022.

What is the population of England?

The ONS data also revealed that the population of England is 57,690,300 – an estimated increase of 577,800 compared to 2023.

What is the population of Scotland?

The National Records of Scotland’s latest data set from 2023 showed that there was a population of 5,490,100.

This is an increase of around 43,000 compared to the previous year.

What is the population of Northern Ireland?

The population of Northern Ireland is 1,920,400, and according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, this is a 0.5% growth compared to 2023 – just under 10,000 people.

What is the population of Wales?

The Office for National Statistics data showed that there is a population of 3,164,000 people in Wales at the end of 2023. This was a 31,700 growth from the previous 12 months.

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How many drivers in the UK?

According to the Government, there are ‘50 million people with a driving licence in Great Britain and around 40 million licenced vehicles’.

In the 2023 Plan for drivers, they stated that there were 42.1 million licence holders.

The difference is from a mixture of foreign drivers, learner drivers and other factors relating to motoring law changes.

How many drivers in England?

The National Travel Survey from 2023 stated that there were 34.52 million English residents over the age of 17 who hold a full UK driving licence.

This equates to around 74% of the eligible population.

How many drivers in Scotland?

Transport Scotland’s data from 2022 revealed that there were approximately 2.26 million of residents that held a full driving licence – around 73% of the population at the time.

There were also around 3.1 million vehicles registered in the country.

How many drivers in Northern Ireland?

According to the Northern Ireland Department of Infrastructure, at the end of June 2023, there were 1,153,567 full driving licence holders in the country.

This is the highest on record for Northern Ireland.

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How many HGV drivers in the UK?

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there are around 271,800 HGV drivers in the UK.

Many of them work in the UK, and travel across Europe in their vehicles.

This is a 5% drop when compared to 2022.

How many taxi drivers in the UK?

As of 1 April 2024, the total count of licensed taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licenses, along with driver licenses in England, has continued its long-term growth, reaching 313,000 and 381,100 respectively. The rise since 2023 is largely due to a 10.5% increase in PHVs, which now total 256,600. Meanwhile, the number of licensed taxis has declined by 1.4% over the same period, falling to 56,400.

How many Uber drivers in the UK?

In 2023, Uber released a report where they stated that ‘Uber enables people across the UK to access safe, reliable and affordable transport, while providing flexible work for over 100,000 drivers on the platform’.

How many bus drivers in the UK?

At the end of 2023, the Government released a report stating that there were 87,000 full time members of staff that were linked to the local bus operators. However, not all of these are drivers as this includes maintenance and admin staff.

This also signified a 1.1% drop in the number of employees.