Demographic overview of the UK city
Manchester is a populous city in the North West of England . Its total population as of 2021 is 551,938.
This article focuses on the district, that being the City of Manchester rather than the built-up urban area.
Historically the population of Manchester began to increase rapidly during the Victorian era , estimated at 354,930 for Manchester and 110,833 for Salford in 1865,[ 4] and peaking at 766,311 in 1931. From then the population began to decrease rapidly, due to slum clearance and the increased building of social housing overspill estates by Manchester City Council after the Second World War such as Hattersley and Langley .
The population of Manchester currently sits at 551,938 as of 2021.
Population pyramid of Manchester over time
1861
1881
1891
1911
1931
1951
1961
1971
1981
1991
2001
2011
2021
UK and foreign born population pyramid of Manchester in 2021. Males and females representing the UK born population while foreign males and females representing the foreign born population.
Country of birth
Year
1981[ 5]
1991[ 6]
2001[ 7]
2011[ 8]
2021[ 9]
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
United Kingdom
388,622
88.8%
358,399
88.5%
334,771
85.3%
376,066
74.7%
378,730
68.6%
Foreign born
49,040
11.2%
46,462
11.5%
58,048
14.7%
127,061
25.3%
173,208
31.4%
Total
437,662
100%
404,861
100%
392,819
100%
503,127
100%
551,938
100%
Manchester ethnic demography over time
Population pyramid of Manchester by ethnicity in 2021
Ethnic makeup of Manchester by single year age groups
Manchester is an ethnically diverse city, comprising a vast degree of ethnicities from all over the world. The ethnic makeup of the city during the 21st century has changed, with 81% defining themselves as White and 74.5% White British in 2001, and 56.8% defining themselves as white and 48.7% White British in 2021. Asian British people have risen from around 6.6% of the city in 1991, to a total of 20.9% in 2021, with the majority being of Pakistani ethnicity. Black British people have additionally risen, in conjunction with Mixed ethnicity people and Other ethnic groups category, rising from 4.7% in 1991 to 12%, 3.2% in 2001 to 5.2% and 1.4% in 1991 to 5.1% respectively.
Below shows the estimations of the ethnicity of Manchester for 1971 and 1981, and the census results for Manchester's ethnicity in 1991 to 2021.
Ethnic group
Year
1966 estimations[ 10]
1971 estimations[ 11]
1981 estimations[ 12]
1991 census[ 13]
2001 census[ 14]
2011 census[ 15]
2021 census[ 16]
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
White : Total
–
–
512,936
95.8%
413,954
91.3%
382,377
87.2%
318,013
81%
335,109
66.6%
313,632
56.8%
White: British
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
292,498
74.5%
298,237
59.3%
268,572
48.7%
White: Irish
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
14,826
3.8%
11,843
2.4%
9,442
1.7%
White: Traveller of Irish heritage
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
509
0.1%
597
0.1%
White: Gypsy/Roma
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
883
0.2%
White: Other
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
10,689
2.7%
24,520
4.9%
34,138
6.2%
Asian / Asian British : Total
–
–
–
–
19,263
4.2%
29,223
6.7%
41,003
10.4%
85,986
17.1%
115,109
20.9%
Asian / Asian British: Indian
–
–
–
–
3,489
4,819
5,817
11,417
2.3%
14,857
2.7%
Asian / Asian British: Pakistani
–
–
–
–
10,912
16,999
23,104
5.9%
42,904
8.5%
65,875
11.9%
Asian / Asian British: Bangladeshi
–
–
–
–
1,112
2,214
3,654
6,437
1.3%
9,673
1.8%
Asian / Asian British: Chinese
–
–
–
–
2,419
3,205
5,126
13,539
2.7%
12,644
2.3%
Asian / Asian British: Other Asians
–
–
–
–
1,331
1,986
3,302
11,689
2.3%
12,060
2.2%
Black / Black British : Total
–
–
–
–
15,947
3.5%
20,866
4.8%
17,739
4.5%
43,484
8.6%
65,893
12%
Black: African
–
–
–
–
2,684
3,769
6,655
1.7%
25,718
5.1%
47,858
8.7%
Black: Caribbean
–
–
–
–
9,103
11,473
9,044
2.3%
9,642
1.9%
10,472
1.9%
Black: Other Blacks
–
–
–
–
4,160
5,624
2,040
8,124
1.6%
7,563
1.4%
Mixed / British Mixed
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
12,673
3.2%
23,161
4.6%
29,026
5.2%
White and Black Caribbean
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
5,295
8,877
1.8%
9,987
1.8%
White and Black African
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2,412
4,397
0.9%
5,992
1.1%
White and Asian
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2,459
4,791
1%
6,149
1.1%
Any other mixed background
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2,507
5,096
1%
6,898
1.2%
Other: Total
–
–
–
–
4,258
0.9%
6,033
1.3%
3,391
0.9%
15,387
3.1%
28,278
5.1%
Other: Arab
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
9,503
1.9%
15,028
2.7%
Other: Any other ethnic group
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
3,391
0.9%
5,884
1.2%
13,250
2.4%
Ethnic minority
14,000
–
22,484
4.2%
39,468
8.7%
56,122
12.8%
74,806
19%
168,018
33.4%
238,306
43.2%
Total:
–
100%
535,420
100%
453,422
100%
438,499
100%
392,819
100%
503,127
100%
551,938
100%
Ethnic group
School year[ 17] [ 18]
1971[ 19]
2004/2005
2021/2022
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
White : Total
–
94%
34,860
64%
34,609
37.6%
White: British
–
–
33,698
61.9%
29,591
32.2%
White: Irish
–
–
373
320
0.3%
White: Traveller of Irish heritage
–
–
106
87
0.1%
White: Gypsy/Roma
–
–
23
286
0.3%
White: Other
–
–
658
4,325
4.7%
Asian / Asian British : Total
–
–
8,893
16.3%
23,594
25.9%
Asian / Asian British: Indian
–
–
770
2,163
2.4%
Asian / Asian British: Pakistani
–
–
6,204
15,838
17.3%
Asian / Asian British: Bangladeshi
–
–
971
2,157
2.4%
Asian / Asian British: Chinese
–
–
390
1,073
1.2%
Asian / Asian British: Other Asians
–
–
558
2,363
2.6%
Black / Black British : Total
–
–
4,700
8.6%
15,699
17.1%
Black: Caribbean
–
–
1,517
1,324
1.4%
Black: African
–
–
2,618
11,014
12.0%
Black: Other Blacks
–
–
564
3,361
3.7%
Mixed / British Mixed
–
–
3,530
6.5%
8,808
9.5%
Other: Total
–
–
1,690
3.1%
7,448
8.1%
Unclassified
–
–
793
1.5%
1,628
1.8%
Non-White: Total
–
6%
36%
62.4%
Total:
–
100%
54,470
100%
91,786
100%
Faith in Manchester (2021)[ 20]
Christian (36.2%)
No Religion (32.4%)
Muslim (22.3%)
Hindu (1.1%)
Buddhist (0.6%)
Sikh (0.5%)
Jewish (0.5%)
Other Religions (0.5%)
Religion Not Stated (5.9%)
Religion in Manchester is complex. In recent decades, the city has seen a large degree of expansion of its Islamic population, now as of 2021 constituting 22.3% of the population, while Christians have declined in pre-dominance to 36.2% in 2021, from 62.4% in 2001.
Religion
2001[ 21]
2011[ 22]
2021[ 23]
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Christian
245,203
62.4
245,247
48.7
199,873
36.2
Muslim
35,806
9.1
79,496
15.8
122,962
22.3
Hindu
2,849
0.7
5,452
1.1
6,048
1.1
Buddhist
2,144
0.5
3,879
0.8
3,219
0.6
Sikh
1,708
0.4
2,292
0.5
2,718
0.5
Jewish
3,076
0.8
2,613
0.5
2,632
0.5
Other religion
1,111
0.3
1,889
0.4
2,736
0.5
No religion
62,744
16.0
127,485
25.3
179,037
32.4
Religion not stated
38,178
9.7
34,774
6.9
32,713
5.9
Total
392,819
100%
503,127
100%
551,938
100%
A variety of languages are spoken in Manchester. 18.3% do not speak English as their main language, although just 2% or fewer residents are unable to speak English at all.[ 24]
Main language (aged 3+)
2011[ 25]
2021[ 26]
Number
%
Number
%
English
400,886
83.4%
434,289
81.7%
Non-English
79,852
16.6%
97,194
18.3%
Total
480,738
100%
531,483
100%
Manchester's industry sectors over time
Industry sector
Manchester (aged 16 and over in employment)
2021[ 27]
Number
%
A: Agriculture, Forestry and fishing
205
0.1%
B: Mining and quarrying
86
–
C: Manufacturing
10,303
4.4%
D: Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
969
0.4%
E: Water supply; Sewerage, Waste management and Remediation activities
861
0.4%
F: Construction
11,817
5.0%
G: Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
36,174
15.4%
H: Transport and storage
14,042
6.0%
J: Information and communication
16,420
7.0%
I: Accommodation and food service activities (Distribution or catering; 1981 + 1991)
12,331
5.3%
K: Financial and insurance activities
7,419
3.2%
L: Real estate activities
3,535
1.5%
M: Professional, scientific and technical activities
17,909
7.6%
N: Administrative and support service activities
15,445
6.6%
P: Education
9,945
4.2%
Q: Human health and social work activities
25,443
10.9%
O: Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
40,867
17.4%
R, S, T, U: Other and not stated
10,519
4.5%
Total
234,290
100.0
Method of transportation to work
Method of transportation
Manchester (aged 16 and over in employment)
2021[ 28]
Number
%
Work mainly at or from home
73,964
31.6%
Underground, metro, light rail, tram
6,152
2.6%
Train
2,848
1.2%
Bus, minibus or coach
23,669
10.1%
Taxi
3,654
1.6%
Motorcycle, scooter or moped
462
0.2%
Driving a car or van
82,379
35.2%
Passenger in a car or van
8,217
3.5%
Bicycle
7,305
3.1%
On foot
22,647
9.7%
Other method of travel to work (or Not stated)
2,986
1.3%
Total
234,283
100%
National identity
2021[ 29]
Number
%
British only
310,709
56.3
English only
48,800
8.8
Welsh only
2,310
0.4
Scottish only
–
–
Northern irish only
–
–
Any combination of UK only identities
6,985
1.3
English and British only
56,401
10.2
Welsh and British only
891
0.2
Scottish and British only
–
–
Northern Irish and British only
–
–
Irish only
6,175
1.1
Irish and at least one UK identity
990
0.2
Other identity only
103,748
18.8
Other identity and at least one UK identity
14,929
2.7
Total
551,938
100%
Level of qualification
Manchester (aged 16 and over, not in education)
2021[ 30]
Number
%
No qualifications
86,110
19.7%
Level 1 and entry level qualifications
34,988
8.0%
Level 2 qualifications
45,164
10.3%
Apprenticeship
15,322
3.5%
Level 3 qualifications
79,621
18.2%
Level 4 qualifications or above
164,763
37.6%
Other qualifications
11,990
2.7%
Total
437,958
100.0
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