Outline the key changes that have taken place in the population, economic and social structure of London.

by chevchev08 (student)

Introduction

In this assignment I am going to outline key changes that have taken place within London. I will highlight key issues and problems that have occurred within this city over the last twenty years. These consist of the population, and the economic and social structure of London.

London’s Population

Over the last twenty years London's population has been growing. The population of London has increased by hundreds of thousands especially over the last ten years. According to James Simmie London’s population has increased by approximately one Manchester in population terms (i.e. about 500,000 - equivalent to the City of Manchester population in 2011). The City of London has seen the biggest percentage increase in population especially between mid-2005 and mid-2010 this is displayed in the table below.

One of the key changes that have enhanced London’s population is Immigration. This city has ameliorated due to international immigration. Nearly one quarter of London accounts for individual’s from outside of the United Kingdom. Migration from abroad has also played a key long-term role in London as a whole. During the last 20 years, the foreign-born population has amplified from 1 to 2 million.

London has certainly figured prominently in the upsurge of immigration to the UK over the past 20 years, typically receiving about 40% of the gross inflows (three times its population share). In net terms the concentration has been even more striking – indeed until the late 1990s London effectively accounted for 85-90% of additions to the UK’s migrant stock, coming down to 55-60% in the last 5 years, as migration has started to take off in other regions. The impact on London’s own population over the last 20 years has been dramatic, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The chronic population decline of the previous quarter century has been replaced by net growth (of around 50 thousand p.a.); the share of foreign born in the population has doubled over 20 years ( Michael Snyder 2007).

The Greater London Authority estimates that 380,000 undocumented migrants live in London, representing about 5% of its population. A survey by the Home Office of illegally resident detainees found that most had lived for at least some time in London, and two-fifths had never spent any time outside the capital. Though this was based on a small sample, it seems likely that most undocumented migrants will have spent some time in London as it is the main port of arrival from overseas. As such, they add to the churning of London's population,

Economic and social structure of London

London’s population ...