United Kingdom · region of England
East Midlands population 2026
East Midlands has 5,085,641 people on the latest official figure, for mid-2025, 25,401 more than a year earlier (+0.50%). It is 8th of the UK’s 9 English regions by population, home to 7.3% of the UK’s people.
If last year’s change continues: about 5.1 million by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.
East Midlands in numbers
- Population
- 5.1 million mid-2025
- Change in a year
- +0.50% +25,401 people
- Change since 2020
- +4.74% from 4.9 million
- Share of the UK
- 7.3% 8th of 9 English regions
- Population density
- 326per km² 15,624 km²
- Births in the year
- 45 thousand deaths: 50 thousand
- International migration
- +16 thousand net arrivals from abroad
- Moves within the UK
- +14 thousand more people moved in than left
In the latest year deaths outnumbered births by 4,263, 15,550 more people arrived from abroad than left, and 13,623 more people moved in from the rest of the UK than moved out.
That is about as many people as Kuwait (5.1 million).
Population of East Midlands by year
› Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 4,537,448 |
| 2012 | 4,570,702 |
| 2013 | 4,604,568 |
| 2014 | 4,642,629 |
| 2015 | 4,681,640 |
| 2016 | 4,731,615 |
| 2017 | 4,778,346 |
| 2018 | 4,815,151 |
| 2019 | 4,844,001 |
| 2020 | 4,855,469 |
| 2021 | 4,881,559 |
| 2022 | 4,938,201 |
| 2023 | 5,006,942 |
| 2024 | 5,060,240 |
| 2025 | 5,085,641 |
| Year | Population | Change | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5,085,641 | +25,401 | +0.50% |
| 2024 | 5,060,240 | +53,298 | +1.06% |
| 2023 | 5,006,942 | +68,741 | +1.39% |
| 2022 | 4,938,201 | +56,642 | +1.16% |
| 2021 | 4,881,559 | +26,090 | +0.54% |
| 2020 | 4,855,469 | +11,468 | +0.24% |
| 2019 | 4,844,001 | +28,850 | +0.60% |
| 2018 | 4,815,151 | +36,805 | +0.77% |
| 2017 | 4,778,346 | +46,731 | +0.99% |
| 2016 | 4,731,615 | +49,975 | +1.07% |
| 2015 | 4,681,640 | +39,011 | +0.84% |
| 2014 | 4,642,629 | +38,061 | +0.83% |
| 2013 | 4,604,568 | +33,866 | +0.74% |
| 2012 | 4,570,702 | +33,254 | +0.73% |
| 2011 | 4,537,448 | – | – |
East Midlands among the UK’s English regions
Full ranking →| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South East England | 9,691,844 | +0.55% | 13.9% | 508 |
| 2 | London | 9,122,909 | −0.29% | 13.1% | 5,804 |
| 3 | North West England | 7,772,854 | +0.73% | 11.2% | 551 |
| 4 | East of England | 6,613,801 | +0.65% | 9.5% | 346 |
| 5 | West Midlands | 6,205,854 | +0.39% | 8.9% | 477 |
| 6 | South West England | 5,906,997 | +0.38% | 8.5% | 248 |
| 7 | Yorkshire and the Humber | 5,672,166 | +0.28% | 8.2% | 368 |
| 8 | East Midlands | 5,085,641 | +0.50% | 7.3% | 326 |
| 9 | North East England | 2,762,746 | +0.51% | 4.0% | 322 |
Largest cities in East Midlands
City proper, not the wider metro area; latest figure in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), so years differ.
- Leicester368,600
- Nottingham323,632
- Derby270,468
- Northampton245,899
- Mansfield171,958
- Lincoln103,813
Questions
What is the population of East Midlands in 2026?
Is East Midlands’s population growing or shrinking?
How does East Midlands rank in the UK?
What is the population density of East Midlands?
What is the largest city in East Midlands?
Source and method
Office for National Statistics, mid-year population estimates. Open Government Licence v3.0. Standard area measurements, ONS. The ONS publishes new mid-year estimates once a year. Ranks, shares and changes are our arithmetic on the published figures. National figures can differ from the UN’s projection for the UK, which uses a different method. The 2026 figure above carries last year’s change forward; it does not come from the source.
Cite this page: East Midlands population, Office for National Statistics, mid-2025. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/united-kingdom/east-midlands/
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