British Population c. 1911

In 1911, Great Britain included the whole of Ireland and ‘the isles’, the self-governing islands of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. The estimated population distribution in the 1911 census showed that the areas with the greatest density, with approximately 200 people per square mile, encompassed the coal-mining, industrial and ship-building centres in south Wales, the North and Midlands. Belfast and its surrounding area was in the middle of an industrial boom, due to its ship-building and linen trade, and was the fastest growing urban area in Britain in 1911. London and counties to its east and west, show high population density, with London now the world’s largest capital city. The population map in 1911 shows that northern Scotland and much of Ireland had small rural populations, while north Wales, the southwest peninsula and East Anglia had scarce populations of approximately 80 per square mile.