Demographics of Leeds
Demographics of Leeds Population pyramid of Leeds
Population 751,485 (2011) Density 1,388 people per square km.
Population density in the 2011 census in the Leeds Metropolitan District Council area.
Leeds , England is the third most populous city in the United Kingdom .
Population
Leeds's total population, according to the 2011 UK census , was 751,485. The population density was 1,388 people per square km.
Ethnicity
Ethnic demography of Leeds over time
Ethnic makeup of Leeds by single year ages in 2021
The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 censuses in Leeds.
A Home Office report officially estimated that the 'coloured' population of Leeds in 1958 was likely around 3,000 to 5,000, the majority of these being Afro-Caribbean (2,000).[ 1]
Ethnic Group
1971 estimations[ 2]
1981 estimations[ 3]
1991[ 4]
2001[ 5]
2011[ 6]
2021[ 7]
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
White : Total
772,062
97.9%
660,754
96%
640,997
94.16%
657,082
91.85%
639,487
85.10%
641,801
79%
White: British
–
–
–
–
–
–
637,872
89.16%
609,714
81.13%
595,737
73.4%
White: Irish
–
–
–
–
9,163
1.34%
8,578
1.20%
7,031
0.94%
6,892
0.8%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller [ note 1]
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
687
0.09%
878
0.1%
White: Roma
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1,610
0.2%
White: Other
–
–
–
–
–
–
10,632
1.49%
22,055
2.93%
36,684
4.5%
Asian or Asian British : Total
–
–
–
–
24,602
3.61%
35,737
5.00%
58,243
7.75%
78,503
9.7%
Asian or Asian British: Indian
–
–
–
–
9,900
12,303
1.72%
16,130
2.15%
21,087
2.6%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani
–
–
–
–
9,329
15,064
2.11%
22,492
2.99%
31,405
3.9%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi
–
–
–
–
1,759
2,537
0.35%
4,432
0.59%
5,876
0.7%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese [ note 2]
–
–
–
–
2,066
3,447
0.48%
5,933
0.79%
8,117
1.0%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian
–
–
–
–
1,548
2,386
0.33%
9,256
1.23%
12,018
1.5%
Black or Black British : Total
–
–
–
–
10,815
1.58%
10,318
1.44%
25,893
3.45%
45,376
5.6%
Black or Black British: African
–
–
–
–
1,343
2,435
0.34%
14,894
1.98%
32,211
4.0%
Black or Black British: Caribbean
–
–
–
–
6,554
6,718
0.94%
6,728
0.90%
7,889
1.0%
Black or Black British: Other Black
–
–
–
–
2,918
1,165
0.16%
4,271
0.57%
5,276
0.6%
Mixed : Total
–
–
–
–
–
–
9,737
1.36%
19,632
2.61%
27,388
3.3%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean
–
–
–
–
–
–
4,603
0.64%
8,813
1.17%
10,028
1.2%
Mixed: White and Black African
–
–
–
–
–
–
885
0.12%
2,493
0.33%
4,294
0.5%
Mixed: White and Asian
–
–
–
–
–
–
2,516
0.35%
4,906
0.65%
7,410
0.9%
Mixed: Other Mixed
–
–
–
–
–
–
1,733
0.24%
3,420
0.46%
5,656
0.7%
Other: Total
–
–
–
–
4,308
0.63%
2,528
0.35%
8,230
1.10%
18,885
2.3%
Other: Arab[ note 3]
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
3,791
0.50%
5,980
0.7%
Other: Any other ethnic group
–
–
–
–
4,308
0.63%
2,528
0.35%
4,439
0.59%
12,905
1.6%
Non-White: Total
16,938
2.1%
27,807
4%
39,725
5.8%
58,320
8.1%
111,998
14.9%
170,152
21%
Total
789,000
100%
688,561
100%
680,722
100%
715,402
100%
751,485
100%
811,953
100%
Notes for table above
^ New category created for the 2011 census
^ In 2001, listed under the 'Chinese or other ethnic group' heading.
^ New category created for the 2011 census
Distribution of ethnic groups in the Leeds Metropolitan District Council area according to the 2011 census.
White
White-British
White-Irish
White-Other
Asian
Asian-Indian
Asian-Pakistani
Asian-Bangladeshi
Asian-Chinese
Black
Black-African
Black-Caribbean
Other-Arab
Languages
The most common main languages spoken in Leeds according to the 2011 census are shown below.[ 8]
Rank
Language
Usual residents aged 3+
Proportion
1
English
670,650
92.90%
2
Polish
6,717
0.93%
3
Urdu
4,989
0.69%
4
Punjabi
4,537
0.63%
5
Arabic
3,393
0.47%
6
Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya)
1,955
0.27%
7
Kurdish
1,772
0.25%
8
French
1,724
0.24%
9
Persian
1,623
0.22%
10
Portuguese
1,260
0.17%
11
Tigrinya
904
0.13%
12
Spanish
851
0.12%
13
Lithuanian
842
0.12%
14
Shona
793
0.11%
15
Gujarati
760
0.11%
16
Russian
737
0.10%
17
Greek
726
0.10%
18
Czech
707
0.10%
19
Hindi
705
0.10%
20
Cantonese Chinese
704
0.10%
Other
15,522
2.15%
Religion
Religious make up of Leeds by single year age groups in 2021
The following table shows the religion of respondents in recent censuses in Leeds.
Religion
2001[ 9]
2011[ 10]
2021[ 11]
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Christian
492,656
68.86%
419,790
55.86%
343,311
42.28%
Muslim
21,394
2.99%
40,772
5.43%
63,054
7.77%
Sikh
7,586
1.06%
8,914
1.19%
10,047
1.24%
Hindu
4,183
0.58%
7,048
0.94%
9,217
1.14%
Jewish
8,267
1.16%
6,847
0.91%
6,267
0.77%
Buddhist
1,587
0.22%
2,772
0.37%
2,874
0.35%
Other religion
1,530
0.21%
2,396
0.32%
3,637
0.45%
No religion
120,139
16.79%
212,229
28.24%
326,231
40.18%
Religion not stated
58,060
8.12%
50,717
6.75%
47,315
5.83%
Total
715,402
100.00%
751,485
100.00%
811,953
100.00%
Religion in Leeds (2021)[ 12]
Other Religions (0.45%)
Religion not Stated (5.83%)
Distribution of religions in the Leeds Metropolitan District Council area according to the 2011 census.
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Hinduism
Sikhism
Buddhism
Other religion
No religion
See also
References
Metropolitan districts Major settlements (cities in italics) Topics