Manchester, United Kingdom Population

Manchester is a large city in the northwest of England in the United Kingdom. It has a population of 2.7 million people in the urban area and 396 thousand people in the city area. After a stagnant population growth and even a drop in the 1990s, Manchester has seen a strong increase in population—going from its lowest number of 2.2 million in 1991, to its current population of 2.7 million. By 2035, the city is predicted to have a population of just over 3 million people.

Manchester has a rich industrial heritage, especially pertaining to the Second World War, and a fascinating scientific history. The city is landlocked and has multiple centers for post-secondary education, many of which have been the site of monumental scientific discoveries.

A founding city of football

Manchester is a city dedicated to football. The city has two Premier League clubs (Manchester United and Manchester City). Both clubs have highly localised fan bases with seasonal ticket holders mostly coming nearby areas. While football is a sport enjoyed by millions of people around the world, the first professional football league was actually established in Manchester is 1888 at the Royal Hotel in Manchester. Manchester also hosts many smaller, semi-pro and amateur clubs and the city’s football stadiums accommodate up to 122,000 people combined.

Manchester’s place in football’s history is so established that the city even has the National Football Museum in the city center. Its task is to preserve, conserve and display important or historical memorabilia related to football.

A city of scientific discovery

Manchester has been the location of many major, world-changing scientific discoveries. The law of thermodynamics was discovered there in 1850 by James Prescott Joule, as well as the first splitting of the atom, which occurred at Manchester University in the early 20th century. The splitting of the atom led to the birth of nuclear physics. It is also the place where graphene was invented. Graphene is a textile that is made of a single layer of carbon atoms arrange hexagonally that is 100 times stronger than steel while being much lighter and more flexible. Manchester University is also the location where the computer was invented, and the university can boast 25 Nobel prize winners and counting.

Demographics of Manchester

Much of the area surrounding Manchester and the Greater Manchester area are predominantly white. However, the City of Manchester has the highest population of non-whites of any other area in the district. In 2011, Manchester’s demographics showed that 66.7% of the population identified as white (with 59% identifying as White British, 2.4% as White Irish, and 0.1% as Irish Traveller or Gypsy). There was another 4.7% of the population that were of mixed race (white and black Caribbean, or white and black African, or some other mix). There was also a generous population of Asian people in the City of Manchester, with just over 17% of the population identifying as either Pakistani, Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi, or other Asian. Black people make up 8.6% of the City of Manchester’s population, and 1.9% are Arab. Manchester also has the largest Jewish population in Britain outside of London.

Several areas throughout the city serve as the center for ethnic minorities, including a Chinatown with the third-largest Chinese population in all of Europe, and sections of the city such as Cheetham Hill, Moss Side, Rusholme, and Longsight.

A UNESCO City of Literature

Manchester was awarded the distinction of being considered a UNESCO City of Literature. The city is home to the United Kingdom’s oldest lending library and is the birthplace of notable writers Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Burgess. This title is awarded to cities that are dedicated to pursuing excellence in local literature, which Manchester has a long history of doing. There are over 169 notable authors (either directors, fiction, academic or business) that hail from Manchester.