Greater London tops the ranking, with 5,641 people per square kilometre, ahead of Bristol and Glasgow City. The full ranking is below, each entry linked to its page.

# County People / km²
1 Greater London 5,641
2 Bristol 4,364
3 Glasgow City 3,567
4 West Midlands 3,259
5 Cardiff 2,597
6 Dundee City 2,561
7 Greater Manchester 2,263
8 Merseyside 2,220
9 Tyne and Wear 2,112
10 City of Edinburgh 1,970
11 Aberdeen City 1,256
12 West Yorkshire 1,156
13 South Yorkshire 894
14 Newport 850
15 Berkshire 754
16 North Lanarkshire 736
17 Torfaen 736
18 Hertfordshire 725
19 Surrey 722
20 Renfrewshire 715
21 Caerphilly 649
22 Swansea 637
23 East Dunbartonshire 619
24 Blaenau Gwent 604
25 Bridgend 593
26 Bedfordshire 576
27 East Renfrewshire 559
28 Rhondda Cynon Taf 556
29 Falkirk 536
30 Nottinghamshire 535
31 Merthyr Tydfil 529
32 Essex 515
33 Leicestershire 506
34 Lancashire 503
35 West Dunbartonshire 502
36 Kent 499
37 Hampshire 498
38 Inverclyde 485
39 Cheshire 471
40 East Sussex 463
41 Buckinghamshire 456
42 West Sussex 447
43 West Lothian 424
44 Staffordshire 422
45 Derbyshire 405
46 The Vale of Glamorgan 400
47 Isle of Wight 373
48 Flintshire 362
49 Worcestershire 352
50 County Durham 338
51 Northamptonshire 334
52 Neath Port Talbot 327
53 Clackmannanshire 323
54 Warwickshire 304
55 Gloucestershire 299
56 Dorset 294
57 Fife 284
58 Oxfordshire 280
59 Midlothian 274
60 Cambridgeshire 267
61 Wrexham 267
62 East Riding of Yorkshire 244
63 Somerset 237
64 Wiltshire 214
65 Suffolk 201
66 South Lanarkshire 187
67 Devon 183
68 Norfolk 171
69 East Lothian 168
70 Cornwall 162
71 Lincolnshire 156
72 North Ayrshire 153
73 Shropshire 145
74 North Yorkshire 133
75 Denbighshire 116
76 Rutland 113
77 Monmouthshire 108
78 Conwy 102
79 Isle of Anglesey 97
80 East Ayrshire 94
81 South Ayrshire 93
82 Herefordshire 87
83 Carmarthenshire 79
84 Pembrokeshire 77
85 Cumbria 74
86 Northumberland 64
87 Angus 51
88 Gwynedd 47
89 Moray 42
90 Aberdeenshire 41
91 Stirling 41
92 Ceredigion 40
93 Perth and Kinross 28
94 Powys 25
95 Scottish Borders 25
96 Dumfries and Galloway 23
97 Orkney Islands 22
98 Shetland Islands 16
99 Argyll and Bute 12
100 Highland 9
101 Na h-Eileanan an Iar 9

Source: ONS Census 2021 and Ordnance Survey boundaries. Compiled by Postcodes UK.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the most densely populated county in the UK?

Greater London tops the list, with 5,641 people per square kilometre, followed by Bristol and Glasgow City.

How is this ranking measured?

This ranking is based on ONS Census 2021 and Ordnance Survey boundaries. It covers the ceremonial counties of England and the council and principal areas of Scotland and Wales.