Area type
Metropolitan District
Land area
552 square kilometres
Fertility rate
1.51
Birth rate
11.4
Death rate
9.2
internal migration
-0.1%
international migration
0.6%
View trend
View trend
View trend
The population of Leeds is 809,036 according to mid-2021 population figures published by the ONS. Based on recent growth rates we estimate the current 2023 population of Leeds to be 818,000. In the year between mid-2020 and mid-2021, the population in Leeds grew by an estimated 10,250 people, and in the ten years prior to mid-2021, the population grew by 51,470. Compare population by area.
Leeds's population growth rate between mid-2020 and mid-2021 was 1.3%, which is 0.5% higher than the average population growth rate in Leeds for the ten years prior to mid-2021 (0.7%).
Leeds covers an area of 552 square kilometres (213 square miles) and has a population density of 1,466 people per square kilometre (km2), based on the latest population estimates taken in mid-2021. That figure has increased by 93 people per km2 over the past decade.
Between mid-2019 and mid-2020, net internal migration out of Leeds was 788, and net international migration into Leeds was 4,742.
Leeds's fertility rate (the total number of children that would be born to the average woman in Leeds if she were to live to the end of her child-bearing years) of 1.51, and birth rate (the number of live births per thousand of population per year) of 11.4, led to population increases of 9,026 during the year, and Leeds's death rate or mortality rate (the number of deaths per thousand of population per year) of 9.2 resulted in a 7,282 population decrease. In total, a net 1,744 person natural increase.
During the past decade, internal migration has fallen from a net inflow of 1,397 in 2011 to a net 788 outflow. International migration has risen from a net inflow of 1,494 in 2011 to an inflow of 4,742 in 2021.
The natural increase in population, due to births and deaths, has fallen from an annual net increase of 3,954 people in 2011 to 1,744 in 2021.
Births and deaths was the largest driver of population change over the past decade, representing circa 62% of the total change in population.
Leeds Salary
Rental Market of Leeds
Leeds Economy
Leeds's population, population density, and population growth rate, over the past decade.
Figures reported by the ONS in 2022.
Year | Population | Growth rate | Population Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 809,036 | 1.28% | 1,466 |
| 2020 | 798,786 | 0.71% | 1,448 |
| 2019 | 793,139 | 0.50% | 1,438 |
| 2018 | 789,194 | 0.55% | 1,430 |
| 2017 | 784,846 | 0.48% | 1,423 |
| 2016 | 781,087 | 1.02% | 1,416 |
| 2015 | 773,213 | 1.02% | 1,401 |
| 2014 | 765,430 | 0.60% | 1,387 |
| 2013 | 760,894 | 0.44% | 1,379 |
| 2012 | 757,566 | 1,373 |
Leeds's forecast, population density, and population growth rate, over the next twenty years. Figures reported by the ONS in 2018.
The population of Leeds is forecast to be 806,609 in 2025 and 819,468 in 2030.
Year | Population | Growth rate | Population Density |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 801,994 | 1,454 | |
| 2024 | 804,219 | 0.28% | 1,458 |
| 2025 | 806,609 | 0.30% | 1,462 |
| 2026 | 809,145 | 0.31% | 1,467 |
| 2027 | 811,849 | 0.33% | 1,472 |
| 2028 | 814,403 | 0.31% | 1,476 |
| 2029 | 816,912 | 0.31% | 1,481 |
| 2030 | 819,468 | 0.31% | 1,485 |
| 2031 | 821,994 | 0.31% | 1,490 |
| 2032 | 824,198 | 0.27% | 1,494 |
Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2022. Data sources: ONS Local statistics