Birmingham has been known as the UK’s Second City - the biggest outside London, the capital - since World War One.
But often Manchester tries to take this crown - and there has been much discussion over which of the two cities really is bigger.
Now a new set of data has been released that can finally settle the scores with the population in each English city being counted.
The research by Centre for Cities has analysed UK cities by focusing on primary urban areas (PIAs) - a definition created by the Department for Communities and Local Government as a statistical tool for analysing the major cities of England.
It captures the built up footprint of a city based on areas of continuous built-up land containing urban structures that are within 50 metres of each other.
In 2021, there was a total of 59,597,500 people living in England and Wales and a majority of them lived in cities
London has passed the 10 million mark in terms of population, surpassing all other English cities by a mile.
Here’s where Birmingham ranks in terms of population
1. London – 10,076,300
No surprises that London, capital of the UK, England and home to both the Royal family and government, is the most populated city with a population of over 10million. | heyengel - stock.adobe.com
2. Birmingham - 2,574,300
Birmingham in the West Midlands is England’s second most populated city with a population of over 2.5million. With over 600 public parks, it ranks among the greenest cities in Europe, and has more miles of canal than Venice. | USII BELL - stock.adobe.com
3. Manchester - 2,538,600
Manchester has the third highest population in the country with around 2.5million people living here. Manchester came to prominence during the Industrial Revolution thanks to its thriving cotton industry and infrastructure. | Daniel - stock.adobe.com
4. Newcastle - 853,100
Newcastle is the fourth most populated city in England with a population of 853,100. The oldest of the city’s 10 bridges that cross the river Tyne, High Level Bridge, opened in 1849 and was the world’s first combined road and rail bridge. | SakhanPhotography - stock.adobe.