The combined population of England and Wales recorded in last year's census is the highest ever found through this means, it has been revealed.

A total of 59,597,300 residents - 56,489,800 in England and 3,107,500 in Wales - were registered on Census Day 2021, which fell on March 21.

READ MORE: Can you complete the Census 2021 map game?

The census results revealed that this number had grown by more than 3.5 million, or 6.3 percent, since a total of 56,075,912 residents were recorded 10 years ago.

At 6.6pc, England's population increased by a greater margin than that of Wales, where there was a more modest increase of 1.4pc.

Though 3.5 million is no small jump, it is actually lower than the increase seen between 2001 and 2011, when the population grew by 4 million people (7.8pc).

Use the interactive map below to see how the population has changed where you live.

Population Change

The population density in England has also gone up; from 407 residents per square km in 2011 to 434 in 2021.

Unsurprisingly, the most densely populated areas were to be found in London - which had a regional density of 5,598 residents per sq km, more than 14 times the national average.

The 20 most densely populated boroughs across England and Wales were Tower Hamlets (15,695 residents per sq km), Islington (14,578 residents per sq km) and Hackney (13,611 residents per sq km).

Population Density

The ageing population has increased in both England and Wales.

According to last year's census, 11.1 million people - 18.6pc of the population - were aged 65 years and over, up from 9.2 million in 2011.

London, with 11.6pc, had the lowest percentage of residents aged 65 years and over - but the highest of those aged between 15 and 64 years (70pc).

At 17.6pc, Havering's over-65 population exceeds London's regional total of 11.6pc.

In terms of those aged 90 and over, this number increased slightly between 2011 and 2021.

A total of 527,900 people fell into this bracket last year, compared to 429,017 ten years ago.

Age

The number of households - defined as those having at least one usual resident - has also increased over the last ten years.

There were 24,782,800 households in England and Wales on Census Day last year, up by 6.1pc compared to 2011.

According to the 2021 census, this amounted to 1.4 million more households.

Notably, the number of households increased by 19pc in Tower Hamlets and by 13.8pc in Newham.

Number of households

The London Picture

According to the cross-party group London Councils, the capital's results must be taken with a pinch of salt.

Claiming that the number of Londoners is likely to have been significantly undercounted, the group warned that this may impact future funding allocations for public services.

Its chair, Cllr Georgia Gould, said: “Census 2021 took place during the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and a national lockdown, so this snapshot data must be treated with extreme caution."

To ensure fairness, the group says adjustments must be made to reflect the temporary population dip caused by the pandemic.