The Future of London at Peak Population

Somewhere in the U.K.’s capital today, the 8,615,246th Londoner will be born. This child won’t be just any Londoner, however. It will be the baby that pushes London’s population to its highest peak ever, breaking its previous record set way back in 1939. As part of a broader metro-area population of 13.6 million, Greater London’s resident numbers are now booming like never before, with rapid rises continuing since the early 1990s.

Before we order brass bands to play outside London’s maternity hospitals, some disclaimers are necessary. The naming of today as London Peak Population Day is a prediction, based on Greater London Authority projections tallied up by London urban writer and researcher Barney Stringer. The fact that London is reaching its population peak at some time within the next five weeks is nonetheless undisputed—and striking. The rise isn’t just breaking historic precedents, it’s also setting the city apart from other major Western European cities such as Paris, Rome, and Berlin, which remain decidedly below historic peaks. So why has London’s population bounced back so firmly?