In England, there are currently 200,000 lawyers -- making up about one in 300 of the population. With this high number, there is a surplus of applicants after graduating from law school with one agency reporting it had 10,000 people on its books looking for legal jobs.  The surplus in those qualified for legal positions can be attributed to legal aid cuts, decreasing crime levels and competition pressures from deregulations as well as an excess of university courses offered -- The Guardian notes that 20,070 students were accepted to read law in 2013, but not all of them were intending to becoming lawyers.

More than the European average

A Eurostat study found the UK had 2.27 lawyers per 1,000 citizens, which is above the European average of 1.81 but below the US average of 3.82. The Legal Services Board also found there are 166,853 barristers, chartered legal executives, licensed conveyancers, trademark agents, patent attorneys, notaries and other lawyers in England and Wales.  Source: The Guardian