United Kingdom · region of England
West Midlands population 2026
West Midlands has 6,205,854 people on the latest official figure, for mid-2025, 24,221 more than a year earlier (+0.39%). It is 5th of the UK’s 9 English regions by population, home to 8.9% of the UK’s people.
If last year’s change continues: about 6.2 million by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.
West Midlands in numbers
- Population
- 6.2 million mid-2025
- Change in a year
- +0.39% +24,221 people
- Change since 2020
- +4.62% from 5.9 million
- Share of the UK
- 8.9% 5th of 9 English regions
- Population density
- 477per km² 12,998 km²
- Births in the year
- 63 thousand deaths: 60 thousand
- International migration
- +30 thousand net arrivals from abroad
- Moves within the UK
- −9 thousand more people left than moved in
In the latest year births outnumbered deaths by 3,247, 30,051 more people arrived from abroad than left, and 9,330 more people moved to the rest of the UK than moved in.
That is about as many people as Denmark (6 million).
Population of West Midlands by year
› Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 5,608,667 |
| 2012 | 5,640,325 |
| 2013 | 5,676,945 |
| 2014 | 5,716,882 |
| 2015 | 5,756,287 |
| 2016 | 5,812,248 |
| 2017 | 5,855,052 |
| 2018 | 5,889,328 |
| 2019 | 5,920,977 |
| 2020 | 5,931,924 |
| 2021 | 5,956,226 |
| 2022 | 6,020,620 |
| 2023 | 6,105,177 |
| 2024 | 6,181,633 |
| 2025 | 6,205,854 |
| Year | Population | Change | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6,205,854 | +24,221 | +0.39% |
| 2024 | 6,181,633 | +76,456 | +1.25% |
| 2023 | 6,105,177 | +84,557 | +1.40% |
| 2022 | 6,020,620 | +64,394 | +1.08% |
| 2021 | 5,956,226 | +24,302 | +0.41% |
| 2020 | 5,931,924 | +10,947 | +0.18% |
| 2019 | 5,920,977 | +31,649 | +0.54% |
| 2018 | 5,889,328 | +34,276 | +0.59% |
| 2017 | 5,855,052 | +42,804 | +0.74% |
| 2016 | 5,812,248 | +55,961 | +0.97% |
| 2015 | 5,756,287 | +39,405 | +0.69% |
| 2014 | 5,716,882 | +39,937 | +0.70% |
| 2013 | 5,676,945 | +36,620 | +0.65% |
| 2012 | 5,640,325 | +31,658 | +0.56% |
| 2011 | 5,608,667 | – | – |
West 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 West Midlands
City proper, not the wider metro area; latest figure in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), so years differ.
- Birmingham1,157,603
- Coventry345,324
- Wolverhampton263,700
- Stoke-on-Trent258,366
- Dudley199,059
- Worcester101,659
Air quality in West Midlands today
Hourly AQI and a 48-hour forecast.
Questions
What is the population of West Midlands in 2026?
Is West Midlands’s population growing or shrinking?
How does West Midlands rank in the UK?
What is the population density of West Midlands?
What is the largest city in West 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: West Midlands population, Office for National Statistics, mid-2025. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/united-kingdom/west-midlands/
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