Liverpool is a city in Merseyside, England on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. Founded in 1207, Liverpool has long been a major port and known for its innovation in public health, transportation, infrastructure, and social reform. Liverpool has an estimated population of 467,000 in 2014, which ranks 9th in the country.
Liverpool’s estimated population of 467,000 is up very slightly from the census population of 466,000 in 2011.
The Liverpool city region, which includes Warrington, Wirral, Flintshire, Chester and several other areas, has a population estimated at 2 million. The Liverpool metropolitan area (Merseyside), on the other hand, includes the Merseyside municipal county, the borough of Halton, Wigan, the city of Chester and several towns in Cheshire and Lancashire with a population of 1.38 million.
In many cases, Manchester and Liverpool are considered a single polynuclear metropolitan area (megalopolis), with a combined population of over 1 million in the cities proper.
City Size and Population Density
The city proper has a population density of 10,070 people per square mile (3,889/sq km). This density comes from the growing number of residents living in a total surface area of 43.2 square miles (111.8 square kilometers).
Liverpool Demographics
With its history as a port city, it is no surprise that Liverpool has a diverse population from around the world. It is home to the oldest Black African community in the United Kingdom, which dates to at least 1730. Some Black Liverpudlians can trace back their lineage in the city ten generations. Many early black settlers in the city were seamen, children of traders, and freed slaves, as any slaves who entered the country after 1722 were considered free men.
Liverpool also has the oldest Chinese community in all of Europe. The first residents of Liverpool’s Chinatown arrived in the 19th century as seamen.
Liverpool is also known for having a large Irish population and a historical Welsh population. In 1813, 10% of the population was Welsh, which gave the city the nickname of “the capital of North Wales.” After the famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852, over 2 million Irish migrated to the city in a single decade, many of whom eventually left for the United States. By 1851, over 20% of the population was Irish.
The 2001 census found that 1.2% of the population were Welsh-born while 0.75% were born in the Republic of Ireland and 0.5% were born in Northern Ireland. Many more people in the city are of Irish or Welsh ancestry, however.
Liverpool is also known for having large Indian, Latin American, Malaysian, African-Caribbean, Ghanaian, Somali and Yemeni populations, each with at least several thousand people.
In 2009, the population of Liverpool was estimated to be:
- White: 91% (86.3% White British, 1.0% White Irish, 3.7% Other White)
- Asian or Asian British: 3% (1.5% Indian, 0.7% Pakistani, 0.3% Bangladeshi, 0.5% other Asian)
- Black or Black British: 1.9% (1.1% Black African, 0.5% Black Caribbean, 0.3% other black)
- Mixed race: 2% (0.6% Black Caribbean and White, 0.4% Black African and White, 0.5% South Asian and White, 0.5% other)
- Chinese: 1.1%
- Other: 1.0%
Liverpool has a population younger than England’s average, with 42% of the population below the age of 30, compared to 37% for the country as a whole. Liverpool also has a large lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community which is comparable to that of San Francisco, per capita.
Liverpool History
In 1190, the area of present-day Liverpool was known as “Liuerpul,” or a muddy pool or creek. The history of the city goes back to the 1st century AD when a settlement first appeared that grew into a thriving fishing community by 1200. King John’s letters patent in 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, but the population remained low at just 500 by the 16th century.
The 17th century saw slow progress, both in terms of economy and growth. In 1699, the city was made a parish, and that same year its first slave ship left for Africa. It was then that Liverpool began to grow on profits from the slave trade.
By the beginning of the 19th century, large trade was passing through the city, and large buildings began to reflect its wealth. Manchester and Liverpool became the first cities with an intercity rail link in 1830, and the population continued rapid growth, particularly during the mid-19th century when Irish people began arriving by the hundreds of thousands during the family.
Starting in 1919, thousands of families were rehoused from the inner city to new suburbs, with many large, private homes built over the next decade. Air raids damaged almost half of the households during the Second World War, and massive rebuilding followed in the next decade.
Since WWII, Liverpool has become known as a cultural center of Europe and the “World Capital City of Pop,” as Liverpool artists have produced more #1 singles than any other city, with bands like The Beatles and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Liverpool Population Growth
Liverpool reached a population peak in 1931 at 846,000, but it has posted negative population growth in every decade since then, with the most substantial loss of 100,000 people between 1971 and 1981. It also had the 9th largest percentage loss of any UK unitary authority between 2001 and 2006.
