A century of London’s population
How London’s population changed borough by borough from 1921 to 2021.
London Data Journal
Visual stories about London by Elia Kabanov, built from public data, archives and research.
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How car-free is London?
Across London, 42.1% of households had no car or van in 2021. The share ranged from 21.5% in Havering to 77.2% in the City of London.
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London’s long working weeks are disappearing
In 2004, 24% of employed Londoners usually worked more than 45 hours a week. By 2025/26, it was 16.5%.
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London’s School Streets
London has 829 enforced School Streets. Bexley is the only borough with none.
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London hit a recycling wall
London's household recycling rate rose from 7.6% in 1998/99 to a peak of 34.0% in 2012/13, then slipped to 32.6% by 2024/25. England ended at 42.0%.
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How fly-tipping changed across London
Fourteen years of recorded fly-tipping incidents across London's 33 local authorities reveal sharply different local trajectories.
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London’s pub decline
London had 4,835 pubs and bars in 2001 and 3,525 in 2024. Explore how the decline varied across boroughs and between smaller and larger establishments.
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What Londoners died of in the 1600s
London’s Bills of Mortality show how the recorded causes of death changed across the seventeenth century.
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How London’s appliance fires changed
How domestic appliance fires in London changed between 2010/11 and 2025/26, including rises in battery-charger and tumble-dryer fires and falls in dishwasher and TV fires.
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London Underground is mostly above ground
55% of London Underground track runs on the surface; 45% runs in tunnels.
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How long do London buses and the Cable Car take to make 1.35m passenger journeys?
The London Cloud Cable Car made 1.35 million passenger journeys in a year. At the 2025/26 average rate, London buses make the same number in 6 hours 37 minutes.
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The City manages green spaces beyond the Square Mile
The City of London Corporation manages about 11,000 acres of open space. Almost all of that land lies outside the Square Mile.
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London’s heritage at risk, mapped
Historic England’s 2025 register includes 500 listed buildings and 69 conservation areas at risk in London. This atlas maps them across all 33 boroughs.
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London’s affordable housing, 2011–2026
Explore 1,641 large London housing applications from 2011–2026 and how the affordable-housing share changed over time.
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The Elizabeth line reshaped London’s busiest stations
From 2005 to 2019, the same four stations were London’s busiest. Covid mixed things up, then the Elizabeth line changed the ranking again.
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London has enough ancient woodland to cover 18 Hyde Parks
Ancient woodland covers 25.1 km² of Greater London, enough to cover Hyde Park about 18 times.
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London tram fare evasion is 2.8× as high as on buses
TfL estimates fare evasion at 2.6% on buses and 7.3% on trams in 2025/26. The chart compares each mode with buses as a 1× baseline.
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What 43 years did to London
Six charts show how London changed in the 43 years since 1983: population, migration, housing, jobs, Heathrow and the Tube.
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In 15 years, sewer upgrades cut Thames sewage overflows by 94%
A continuous brown area shows how typical annual sewage overflows into the Thames fell from 39 million cubic metres in 2010 to 18 million by 2020 and 2.4 million in 2025.
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How private renting overtook council housing in London
From 1981 to 2021, private renting in Greater London rose from 15.1% to 30.0% of households, while council renting fell from 30.7% to 12.1%.
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In 1961, 1 in 3 London households did not have a bath to themselves
In 1961, 33.3% of London households did not have a fixed bath to themselves. By 1991, the equivalent census measure was 2.0%.
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All 19,367 listed buildings in London, mapped
All 19,367 current listed-building entries in Greater London, mapped by statutory grade.
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One in 37 London homes is empty
London has about 3.85 million homes. In 2025, 105,138 of them were empty, roughly one in 37. That is 81% more than in 2016.
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London has roughly one tree for every Londoner
London has an estimated 8.4 million trees and 9.1 million residents: roughly one tree for every Londoner.
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What animals do London firefighters rescue?
London Fire Brigade attended 1,414 animal rescue incidents in 2025. Cats accounted for more than six in ten.
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12 years of Chicken Shop Date, mapped
Across 115 numbered episodes of Chicken Shop Date, 91 were filmed at 43 identifiable locations in London. This map shows where Amelia Dimoldenberg went on dates.
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When you lose an umbrella or jewellery on London public transport, it’s gone
TfL recorded 294,824 items found between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. Of items found, phones were reclaimed 42.5% of the time; umbrellas and jewellery, 2.3% and 2.2%.
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Where Londoners born in Bangladesh and Italy live
London had 138,892 Bangladesh-born residents and 126,058 Italy-born residents in Census 2021, but their distribution across the capital was very different.
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London is running out of space to bury people
Three London boroughs have no space for new graves. Elsewhere, estimates range from days to decades.
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London went from two beavers to 18 in four years
After more than 400 years without beavers, London now has about 18 across reintroduction sites in Enfield and Ealing.
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10 embassies owe half of London’s diplomatic congestion charge debt
Just 10 diplomatic missions account for more than half of London’s unpaid congestion charge debt.
About: London Data Journal began as a one-month challenge in September 2026 and continues as a collection of visual stories built from public data, archives and research.
It is part of Deptford.org, a local history project.
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