Source ~ Whitaker's Almanac 1941
Previous to 1801 there existed no official return of the population of either England or Scotland; nor was it till 1813 that statesmen had anything more than surmise to guide them respecting Ireland, and the census then taken of that country was far from correct. The estimate formed of the English population at various periods, calculated from the numbers of baptisms, burials, and marriages, were in the years - |
Year | Population | Year | Population |
1570 | 4,160,221 | 1600 | 4,811,718 |
1630 | 5,600,517 | 1670 | 5,773,646 |
1700 | 6,045,008 | 1750 | 6,517,035 |
The first general census of Great Britain and Ireland was taken in 1801 and the population count since that time was - |
Year | Population | Year | Population |
1801 | 16,345,646 | 1811 | 18,509,116 |
1821 | 20,983,092 | 1831 | 24,132,294 |
1841 | 26,854,969 | 1851 | 27,533,755 |
1861 | 29,070,930 | 1871 | 31,629,299 |
1881 | 35,026,108 | 1891 | 37,880,764 |
1901 | 41,609,091 | 1911 | 45,370,530 |
1921 | 42,769,196 | 1931 | 44,790,485 |
The figures for 1921 and 1931 are for Great Britain only.
The population of Great Britain and Ireland a month before the outbreak of the War of 1914-18 was officially estimated at 46,089,249. |
Go to Table of Population for: | |
England & Wales | Scotland |
Ireland | The Islands |
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Year | Males | Females | Total |
1811 | 4,873,605 | 5,290,651 | 10,164,256 |
1821 | 5,850,319 | 6,149,917 | 12,000,236 |
1831 | 6,771,196 | 7,125,601 | 13,896,797 |
1841 | 7,777,586 | 8,136,562 | 15,914,148 |
1851 | 8,781,225 | 9,146,384 | 17,927,609 |
1861 | 9,776,259 | 10,289,965 | 20,066,224 |
1871 | 11,058,934 | 11,653,332 | 22,712,266 |
1881 | 12,639,902 | 13,334,537 | 25,974,439 |
1891 | 14,052,901 | 14,949,624 | 29,002,525 |
1901 | 15,728,613 | 16,799,230 | 32,527,843 |
1911 | 17,445,608 | 18,624,884 | 36,070,492 |
1921 | 18,075,239 | 19,811,460 | 37,886,699 |
1931 | 19,133,020 | 20,819,367 | 39,952,377 |
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Year | Males | Females | Total |
1811 | 826,296 | 979,568 | 1,805,864 |
1821 | 982,623 | 1,108,898 | 2,091,521 |
1831 | 1,114,456 | 1,249,930 | 2,364,386 |
1841 | 1,241,862 | 1,378,322 | 2,620,184 |
1851 | 1,375,479 | 1,513,263 | 2,888,742 |
1861 | 1,449,848 | 1,612,446 | 3,062,294 |
1871 | 1,603,143 | 1,756,875 | 3,360,018 |
1881 | 1,799,475 | 1,936,098 | 3,735,573 |
1891 | 1,942,717 | 2,082,930 | 4,025,647 |
1901 | 2,173,755 | 2,298,348 | 4,472,103 |
1911 | 2,308,839 | 2,452,065 | 4,760,904 |
1921 | 2,347,642 | 2,534,855 | 4,882,497 |
1931 | 2,325,513 | 2,517,457 | 4,842,980 |
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Year | Males | Females | Total |
1831 | 3,794,880 | 3,972,521 | 7,767,401 |
1841 | 4,019,576 | 4,155,548 | 8,175,124 |
1851 | 3,190,630 | 3,361,755 | 6,552,385 |
1861 | 2,837,370 | 2,961,597 | 5,798,967 |
1871 | 2,639,753 | 2,772,624 | 5,412,377 |
1881 | 2,533,277 | 2,641,559 | 5,174,836 |
1891 | 2,318,953 | 2,385,797 | 4,704,750 |
1901 | 2,200,040 | 2,258,735 | 4,458,775 |
1911 | 2,192,048 | 2,198,171 | 4,390,219 |
1926 | 2,114,977 | 2,113,576 | 4,228,553 |
The arrival in 1845 of the American potato blight in Ireland caused one of the worst famines to strike the Western world in modern times. Between 1845 and 1850, about one million people died and another million emigrated. Movement of starving people in search of food encouraged the rapid spread of disease, including dysentery and typhus. There was a 20% fall in Ireland's population between 1841 and 1851. Every area except for Dublin and Belfast lost population; Ulster was less deeply ravaged than other parts. |
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Year | Males | Females | Total |
1881 | 66,081 | 75,179 | 141,260 |
1891 | 69,555 | 78,287 | 147,842 |
1901 | 70,576 | 79,794 | 150,370 |
1911 | 70,166 | 78,749 | 148,915 |
1921 | 69,070 | 81,444 | 150,514 |
1931 | 66,447 | 75,952 | 142,399 |
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