Crowded Capital: How will London adapt for 11m people?
London's population has topped 8.6m, the highest since its 1939 peak, the Greater London Authority has revealed.
The metropolis is already Europe's largest city and Mayor Boris Johnson said the figure was predicted to reach 11m by 2050.
In a week-long series BBC London examined how life is likely to change.
What's made London grow?
London has grown steadily since the 1980s when a new post-industrial economy took shape around finance and the City.
How will extra children be educated?
An extra 400,000 school places will be needed by 2039 if London's population continues to grow. Could we be heading for a prefab school revolution? Shift teaching and bigger classroom sizes are other options.
Where will people live?
London needs to build 49,000 homes a year and 237 new tower blocks are planned.
- Reporting by Alice Bhandhukravi, Tim Donovan, Marc Ashdown, Tom Edwards and Victoria Hollins