Photo: David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Islington is under 33.5, younger than 97% of UK towns
Set against 44% across England’s towns, just over a quarter of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Islington. The borough counted 216,309 residents and 96,483 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put households without a car or van at 67% here. 0.9% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Islington’s people
More born abroad than most towns
40% of residents were born outside the UK, against 41% across London and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (14%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (8%). Where people were born ↓
A mix of backgrounds
60% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 98% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (22%), African (8.3%) and Mixed or multiple (7.5%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Islington’s residents are under 33.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 13% are 15 to 24 and 9.4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A borough people move to
19% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns, and 1.1% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Faster growth than 53% of UK towns: Islington changed by +8% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Islington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the borough.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 206,300 people in 2011; 223,000 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2012 to mid-2013, 3,840 people. Change by age ran from +20% for the 65 and over to −3% for the 0 to 15.
9.4% of residents are 65 or over, below 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 13% in Islington. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Islington, 33.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 97% of UK towns: 11% of adults are full-time students
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
In Islington, 19% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 11%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against London and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
The figure for one-person households is 36% in Islington and 30% across England’s towns. Fewer households with dependent children than in 89% of UK towns: 22%. The comparison figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3% across England’s towns.
A borough of flats: 84% of households live in one
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
13% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. Households in flats make up 23% across England’s towns.
Islington: 40% of residents born outside the UK
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
With residents whose main language is English at 81%, Islington is behind 98% of UK towns on that count. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK.
40% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 40% of Islington · London 37% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Christians make up just over a third of residents, against 46% across England’s towns. Just over one in ten residents said their religion is Muslim. Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Above 99% of UK towns: 62% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Unpaid carers make up 7.2%, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. 3,940 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Qualified to degree level: 57% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 57% of adults in Islington, 34% across England’s towns; 14% have no qualification, against 18%. Many still at university: 12% list A levels as their highest qualification.
From a median age of 32 in Clerkenwell to 36 in Tufnell Park East
The borough’s 23 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Tufnell Park East is the oldest area, with 12% aged 65 or over; Clerkenwell the youngest (median age 32). Families with children are most common in Finsbury Park West (27% of households).
45 UK towns of 151,000 to 292,000 people: this is the 5th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Cambridge is the youngest (31.9); Sunderland the oldest (42.6). Nearest to Islington in age: Hackney (32.9), Barking and Dagenham (33.3), Newcastle upon Tyne (33.9) and Hammersmith and Fulham (34.2).
Islington is younger than 5 of its 7 nearest neighbours
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islington | 216,309 | — | 33.5 | 9.4% | 22% |
| Hackney | 258,464 | 1.8 mi | 32.9 | 7.9% | 27% |
| Camden | 209,342 | 2.1 mi | 34.6 | 12% | 23% |
| City of London | 7,820 | 2.2 mi | 37.3 | 14% | 8.7% |
| Haringey | 264,069 | 2.9 mi | 36.2 | 10% | 30% |
| Westminster | 203,571 | 3.4 mi | 35.9 | 12% | 19% |
| Tower Hamlets | 311,072 | 3.8 mi | 30.8 | 5.7% | 27% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 143,348 | 4.8 mi | 39.1 | 14% | 20% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “London” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in London (or England), summed the same way as Islington’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Islington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 216,607 people in 2021, against 216,309 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Islington’s residents
What is the population of Islington?
The 2021 Census counted 216,309 people in Islington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 223,000 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Islington?
The median age was 33.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 97% of UK towns. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 9.4% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Islington?
40% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 37% across London. 40% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Islington?
41% said they had no religion and 35% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 12% were Muslim and 7.8% didn’t answer.
Is Islington good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Finsbury Park West (27% of households). Schools are on Islington’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.