How big is Sheffield? How city's population has grown and how it compares to Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool

The number of people living in the city rose from 554,306 in mid-2021 to 563,521 in mid-2022, according to estimated population figures published this week by the Office for National Statistics. That’s an increase of 1.66 per cent in just 12 months, based on the experimental data.

Figures from the 2021 Census put Sheffield’s population at 556,500 – just 0.7 per cent higher than at the time of the previous Census in 2011, when 552,698 people were recorded as living in the city. Sheffield’s population is still below its peak of 577,050 in 1951, according to official figures. It had risen sharply from 161,475 in 1851 to 451,195 in 1901 and 543,336 by 1921, but after 1951 if gradually fell to 513,234 in 2001 before increasing again in recent years.

According to the latest figures for local authorities, Manchester’s population rose slightly faster than Sheffield’s between mid-2021 and mid-2022, from 549,626 to 563,649 – an increase of 2.55 per cent. The population of Leeds went up from 808,812 to 817,809 over the same period, while Liverpool’s population rose by 1.85 per cent to 493,254. Other cities also saw their population increase, including Newcastle (up 2.42 per cent to 305,260), Nottingham (up 2.31 per cent to 326,795), Birmingham (up 1.36 per cent to 1,157,866), Bristol (up 1.33 per cent to 477,245) and Derby (up 1.27 per cent to 264,281).

The five local authorities with the biggest population increases were all London boroughs, with Tower Hamlets topping the table after its population soared by 4.78 per cent to 327,053.

A handful of local authorities saw their population decline, including Scarborough (down 0.16 per cent to 108,800) and Lincoln (down 0.39 per cent to 101,895).