Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Great Britain Historical Database has been assembled as part of the ongoing Great Britain Historical GIS Project. The project aims to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain at sub-county scales. Further information about the project is available on A Vision of Britain webpages, where users can browse the database's documentation system online.

These digital boundaries were created by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and form part of the Great Britain Historical Database, which contains a wide range of geographically-located statistics, selected to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain, generally at sub-county scales.

They represent the boundaries of Administrative Counties in England and Wales as in use at the date of each Census of Population between 1911 and 1971, 1911 being the first census to report extensively on these units.

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These digital boundaries can be used to map economic, social and demographic statistics from the Censuses of Population, 1911 to 1971, the Registrar-General's reports from the same period, and other relevant statistical sources. They can also be used as reference maps for these administrative units.

These units were aggregations of Local Government Districts and differed significantly from both Ancient Counties and the Registration Counties covered by earlier censuses. Difference include that the three Ridings of Yorkshire and the three Parts of Lincolnshire were separate Administrative Counties, as were East and West Suffolk, and East and West Sussex. The Isle of Ely and the Soke of Peterborough were also separate Administrative Counties until 1965, when Middlesex was also abolished as the County of London was expanded to become Greater London. The Isle of Wight was a separate Administrative County from Hampshire throughout the period.

The boundary data contain the same numerical identifiers as are included in the GBHD transcriptions of census and vital registration statistics for Administrative Counties, making statistical mapping straightforward.

South West Water generated revenue of approximately 566 million British pounds for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. This was a year-on-year decrease of more than three percent. South West Water is a private utility company responsible for providing water supply and waste water treatment services in South West England, mainly in the counties of Devon and Cornwall.

In 2023, almost nine million people lived in Greater London, making it the most populated ceremonial county in England. The West Midlands Metropolitan County, which contains the large city of Birmingham, was the second-largest county at 2.98 million inhabitants, followed by Greater Manchester and then West Yorkshire with populations of 2.95 million and 2.4 million, respectively. Kent, Essex, and Hampshire were the three next-largest counties in terms of population, each with around 1.89 million people. A patchwork of regions England is just one of the four countries that compose the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with England, Scotland and Wales making up Great Britain. England is therefore not to be confused with Great Britain or the United Kingdom as a whole. Within England, the next subdivisions are the nine regions of England, containing various smaller units such as unitary authorities, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts. The counties in this statistic, however, are based on the ceremonial counties of England as defined by the Lieutenancies Act of 1997. Regions of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Like England, the other countries of the United Kingdom have their own regional subdivisions, although with some different terminology. Scotland’s subdivisions are council areas, while Wales has unitary authorities, and Northern Ireland has local government districts. As of 2022, the most-populated Scottish council area was Glasgow City, with over 622,000 inhabitants. In Wales, Cardiff had the largest population among its unitary authorities, and in Northern Ireland, Belfast was the local government area with the most people living there.

The population of the United Kingdom in 2023 was estimated to be approximately 68.3 million in 2023, with almost 9.48 million people living in South East England. London had the next highest population, at over 8.9 million people, followed by the North West England at 7.6 million. With the UK's population generally concentrated in England, most English regions have larger populations than the constituent countries of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which had populations of 5.5 million, 3.16 million, and 1.92 million respectively. English counties and cities The United Kingdom is a patchwork of various regional units, within England the largest of these are the regions shown here, which show how London, along with the rest of South East England had around 18 million people living there in this year. The next significant regional units in England are the 47 metropolitan and ceremonial counties. After London, the metropolitan counties of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire were the biggest of these counties, due to covering the large urban areas of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds respectively. Regional divisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The smaller countries that comprise the United Kingdom each have different local subdivisions. Within Scotland these are called council areas whereas in Wales the main regional units are called unitary authorities. Scotland's largest Council Area by population is that of Glasgow City at over 622,000, while in Wales, it was the Cardiff Unitary Authority at around 372,000. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has eleven local government districts, the largest of which is Belfast with a population of around 348,000.

The median age of the population in London was 35.9 years in 2023, the lowest median age among regions of the United Kingdom. By contrast, South West England had a median age of 43.9, the highest in the UK.

Cassiterite (SnO2) samples were collected throughout Devon and Cornwall Counties in southwest England, United Kingdom. Samples were prepared and analyzed for direct age dating on a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICPMS) system at the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, Colorado in February and April 2018. This data release accompanies the publication, 'U-Pb geochronology of tin deposits associated with the Cornubian Batholith of southwest England: Direct dating of cassiterite by in situ LA-ICPMS' (Moscati and Neymark, 2018). The publication describes a greater chronologic control and refinement of Cornubian tin ore deposition and allows comparison of its timing with previously published ages for the granitic intrusions that host the cassiterite.

A county is a sub-national division of a country and where introduced by the Normans after the conquest of England in 1066, although a similar Anglo-Saxon administrative system of 'Shires' where in existence prior to this. Counties where usually overseen by a sheriff (Shire Reeve) who was appointed by the crown to collect taxes, raise militia and keep the peace though the administration of law. The implementation of the county system in Wales is a little complicated. In 1284 the Statute of Rhuddlan created six sheriffdoms or 'Shires' in Wales; Anglesey, Caernarfon, Merioneth, Flint, Carmarthen and Cardigan known as the Principality of Wales. The remainder of Wales consisted of the two Royal Lordships of Glamorgan and Pembroke and various Marcher Lordships which often made use of the earlier Commote and Cantref boundaries. The Marcher Lordships were abolished by the Laws in Wales Acts (1535) and the five new counties of Denbighshire, Monmouthshire, Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire were created to replace them. This created a total of thirteen historical counties in Wales. Some townships usually considered a part of Wales were assigned to Shropshire and Herefordshire and minor changes to the boundaries were made in the Laws in Wales Act (1542). The thirteen historic counties remained in use until the Local Government Act 1972, the implementation of which in 1974 saw the abolishment of the historic counties and the creation of eight new administrative counties, Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan and Powys. These themselves where replaced in 1996 by the creation of twenty two Unitary Authorities (or 'Principal Areas'), although the former eight counties still have ceremonial significance.

National and subnational mid-year population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries by administrative area, age and sex (including components of population change, median age and population density).

The unemployment rate of the West Midlands Metropolitan County was 5.5 percent in the twelve months to September 2024, which was the highest among England's six metropolitan counties and Greater London. By contrast, South Yorkshire, which includes the major city of Sheffield, had the lowest unemployment rate, at three percent.

As of 2023, the population density in London was by far the highest number of people per square km in the UK, at 5,690. Of the other regions and countries which constitute the United Kingdom, North West England was the next most densely populated area at 533 people per square kilometer. Scotland, by contrast, is the most sparsely populated country or region in the United Kingdom, with only 70 people per square kilometer. UK population over 67 million According to the official mid-year population estimate, the population of the United Kingdom was just almost 67.6 million in 2022. Most of the population lived in England, where an estimated 57.1 million people resided, followed by Scotland at 5.44 million, Wales at 3.13 million and finally Northern Ireland at just over 1.9 million. Within England, the South East was the region with the highest population at almost 9.38 million, followed by the London region at around 8.8 million. In terms of urban areas, Greater London is the largest city in the United Kingdom, followed by Greater Manchester and Birmingham in the North West and West Midlands regions of England. London calling London's huge size in relation to other UK cities is also reflected by its economic performance. In 2021, London's GDP was approximately 494 billion British pounds, almost a quarter of UK GDP overall. In terms of GDP per capita, Londoners had a GDP per head of 56,431 pounds, compared with an average of 33,224 for the country as a whole. Productivity, expressed as by output per hour worked, was also far higher in London than the rest of the country. In 2021, London was around 33.2 percent more productive than the rest of the country, with South East England the only other region where productivity was higher than the national average.

This spatial dataset is an output of the Natural England County & City Natural Capital Atlas project (July 2020). It shows variation in ecosystem service flow for habitats across England, based on indicators identified by NE in the 2018 Natural Capital Indicators project. The dataset comprises a hexagonal grid which summarises indicator values across the country (each unit = 5km²). Natural Capital is an important aspect of current environmental policy and management. This dataset, in combination with the other project outputs, will support understanding of Natural Capital in England and serve as a valuable engagement tool to communicate concepts of the Natural Capital approach to a wide variety of stakeholders. For full methodology and user guide see documents ‘NCAtlas_Devon’ and ‘NC-Mapping-User-Guidance’ at http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6672365834731520. For full metadata documentation see the data package download below. Copyright statement: LCM2015 © NERC (CEH) 2011. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown Copyright 2007. © Defra. Contains Defra information © Defra - Project MB0102. © Environment Agency. © Forestry Commission. © Historic England [year]. © Joint Nature Conservation Committee. © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Contains data supplied by © NERC - Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. © Natural England copyright. Natural England Licence No. 2011/052 British Geological Survey © NERC, all rights reserved, © NSRI Cranfield University. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year]. Contains Rural Payments Agency. © Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. © Bath & North East Somerset Council. © Bedford Borough Council. © London Borough of Bexley. © Birmingham City Council. © Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. © Blackpool Council. © Bolton Council. © BCP Council. © Bracknell Forest Council. © City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. © Brighton & Hove City Council. © Bristol City Council. © London Borough of Bromley. © Buckinghamshire County Council. © Bury Council. © Calderdale Council. © Cambridgeshire County Council. © Central Bedfordshire Council. © Cheshire East Council. © Cheshire West and Chester Council. © Cornwall Council. © Cumbria County Council. © Derbyshire County Council. © Devon County Council. © Doncaster Council. © Dorset Council. © Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. © Durham County Council. © East Riding of Yorkshire Council. © East Sussex County Council. © Essex County Council. © Gateshead Council. © Gloucestershire County Council. © Hampshire County Council. © Herefordshire Council. © Hertfordshire County Council. © Hull City Council. © Isle of Anglesey County Council. © Isle of Wight Council. © Kent County Council. © Kirklees Council. © Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council. © Lake District National Park. © Lancashire County Council. © Leicester City Council. © Leicestershire County Council. © Lincolnshire County Council. © Manchester City Council. © Medway Council. © Norfolk County Council. © North Lincolnshire Council. © North Somerset Council. © North Yorkshire County Council. © Northamptonshire County Council. © Northumberland County Council. © Nottingham City Council. © Nottinghamshire County Council. © Oldham Council. © Oxfordshire County Council. © Peterborough City Council. © Plymouth City Council. © Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. © Portsmouth City Council. © Reading Borough Council. © Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. © Rochdale Borough Council. © Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. © Rutland County Council. © Salford City Council. © Sefton Council. © Sheffield City Council. © Shropshire Council. © Slough Borough Council. © Somerset County Council. © South Gloucestershire Council. © Southampton City Council. © St Helens Council. © Staffordshire County Council. © Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. © Stockton Council. © Suffolk County Council. © Surrey County Council. © Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. © Thurrock Council. © Torbay Council. © Trafford Council. © Wakefield Council. © Walsall Council. © Warrington Borough Council. © Warwickshire County Council. © West Berkshire Council. © West Sussex County Council. © Wigan Council. © Wiltshire Council. © Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council. © Wirral Council. © Wokingham Borough Council. © Worcestershire County Council. © City of York Council. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].

London was by far the most visited city by international tourists in the United Kingdom in 2023. That year, inbound visits to the UK's capital totaled just over 20 million, staying roughly seven percent lower than in 2019, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Edinburgh and Manchester followed in the ranking, reporting around 2.3 million and 1.7 million visits, respectively. Overall, the number of inbound visits to the UK reached 38 million in 2023 but remained below pre-pandemic levels. What is the leading tourist attraction in London? Tourists visit London for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is its attractions. In 2023, the British Museum was London’s most visited tourist attraction, drawing in approximately 5.8 million visitors. The Natural History Museum in South Kensington and the Tate Modern came next in the ranking, with about 5.7 and 4.7 million visitors, respectively. While attendance at many of London’s top tourist attractions saw a significant increase in 2023 compared to the previous year, attendance generally remained below pre-pandemic levels. What is the leading region for summer staycations in the UK? A 'staycation' typically refers to a holiday spent in one's home country rather than abroad. It can also refer to a holiday spent at home involving day trips to local attractions. The leading region for summer staycations in the UK, according to an April 2024 survey, was the South West. Meanwhile, 12 percent of respondents said that they intended to visit Scotland during their summer holiday while only three percent stated that they would like to visit Northern Ireland. London came second in the ranking.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The purpose of this study was to identify the amounts and types of land affected by both parliamentary and non-parliamentary enclosure in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The dataset represents a small portion of the data collected by the National Enclosure Project since 1972. It covers non-Parliamentary formal agreements in Dorset, Hampshire, East Sussex, West Sussex and Wiltshire; and Parliamentary enclosures in Hampshire and West Sussex. The database includes abstracts of all surviving formal agreements.
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The main topics are land type; acreages; landowners; commissioners.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Great Britain Historical Database has been assembled as part of the ongoing Great Britain Historical GIS Project. The project aims to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain at sub-county scales. Further information about the project is available on A Vision of Britain webpages, where users can browse the database's documentation system online.

These data were originally published in the reports of the Registrar-General for England and Wales. They were computerised by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and its collaborators. They form part of the Great Britain Historical Database, which contains a wide range of geographically-located statistics, selected to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain, generally at sub-county scales.

This study mainly comprises data from the RG's Annual Reports, with some data from the Quarterly Returns. A very extensive transcription from the Decennial Supplements forms a separate study.

In this pre-1911 period, the main reporting units were approximately 630 Registration Districts, grouped into Registration Counties and subdivided into around 2,000 Registration sub-Districts.

Latest edition information

For the second edition (December 2022) the previous data and documentation files were replaced with new versions, and access conditions were changed from safeguarded to open access.

Main Topics:

Annual counts of births and deaths for all Registration Districts in all years 1850 to 1910, with marriages for some years.

Annual cause-of-death data for all Registration Districts in all years, 1856 to 1910. The causes of death focus on epidemic diseases.

Annual age-specific mortality data for all Registration Districts for 1840-42, 1850-52, 1860-1882, 1890-92, 1900-02, 1908-1910 (i.e. for most of the period, census years plus immediately adjacent years).

Quarterly counts of births, deaths and selected causes of death from the Registrar-General's Quarterly Returns, for Registration sub-Districts. This is limited to (1) a full transcription of all four quarters for each census year within the period covered by the Quarterly Returns: 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911; (2) numbers of births and infant deaths in all sub-districts in the County of London from the full run of reports from 1871 to 1911; and (3) a full transcription of all four quarters of 1876, but limited to the north-west of England, defined as Cheshire, Lancashire and Westmorland plus Chapel-en-le-Frith and Hayfield Registration Districts in Derbyshire and Saddleworth in the West Riding.

Individual cholera deaths in London in summer and autumn 1866 arranged by date and causes of death, plus a variant which is adjusted for deaths in hospitals (these data were created by Graham Mooney).

A separate UKDS study contains decennial age-specific cause of death data for all Registration Districts in all decades from 1851-60 to 1901-10.

Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.

The resource comprises population surfaces generated from publicly available GB Census data for 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011 to enable direct comparisons between Censuses. Population surfaces are estimates of counts of people for regular grids (with population estimates over, for example, 1km by 1km grid cells) and these can be directly compared between Censuses. Variables include age, country of birth, ethnicity, housing tenure, employment, self-reported health, overcrowding and a composite measure of deprivation over 1km by 1km cells for all Censuses where variables are available.

The research will explore how the population of the UK is, or has been, geographically distributed. The project will bring a new and important perspective to debates about divisions, inequalities and the ways in which people in the UK live together or apart. It will address questions such as: are health inequalities between places greater now than in the past? What makes localities different - are they geographically distinguished more by housing tenure or health than they are by employment status or ethnicity? What areas have the greatest diversity of people and how has this changed between 1971 and 2011? To answer these questions, we will generate population surfaces from publicly available Census data for 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011 to enable direct comparisons between Censuses. Counts of people in a variety of population sub-groups (e.g., by qualifications, age, etc) have been released from each Census for sets of small geographical areas (such as enumeration districts or output areas). This allows the mapping and analysis of geographical patterning in population groups across the UK for each Census. However, these small areas differ in size and shape between Censuses, so the 1971 small area boundaries, for example, are very different to those for 2011. This project will produce population surfaces for each Census year as a means of overcoming this problem. Population surfaces are estimates of counts of people for regular grids (with population estimates over, for example, 100m by 100m grid cells); these can be directly compared between Censuses. So, once these population surfaces are available we will be able to consider how localities have changed and in what ways. This new population surface resource will be made freely available so that users can explore these changes for themselves and also consider in more depth the results we produce. We will use this resource to provide the first systematic review of how the population of the UK has changed over the last 40 years. It will show how population groups in the UK are geographically distributed and it will assess, in detail, how far different localities (for example, within central Scotland) or regions (for example, south east England or north west England) are becoming more similar or more different to one another in terms of their population characteristics. The project will also consider how the relationships between population groups have changed across time. For example, with a consistent geography, it will be possible to assess which small area localities have very high rates of unemployment together with large proportions of social rented households, and how the characteristics of these localities changed between 1971 and 2011. We will also be able to identify which population characteristics most strongly distinguish particular areas. As an example, the population in some localities in north west England may be very similar in terms of levels of poor health, unemployment and housing tenure, but differ in terms of the number of single person households or the average number of dependent children. The project will explore these differences in detail and, for the first time, construct a detailed profile of the geographical distribution of individual population groups and the multiple characteristics of areas in combination. The population surface resource will be invaluable to any users interested in the population geography of the UK, while the results of our analysis of population distributions will enrich our understanding of the ways in which the population of the UK has changed over the last 40 years.

In 2022, London had a gross domestic product of over 508 billion British pounds, by far the most of any region of the United Kingdom. The region of South East England which surrounds London had the second-highest GDP in this year, at over 341 billion pounds. North West England, which includes the major cities of Manchester and Liverpool, had the third-largest GDP among UK regions, at approximately 223.5 billion pounds. Levelling Up the UK London’s economic dominance of the UK can clearly be seen when compared to the other regions of the country. In terms of GDP per capita, the gap between London and the rest of the country is striking, standing at 57,338 pounds per person in the UK capital, compared with just over 33,593 pounds in the rest of the country. To address the economic imbalance, successive UK governments have tried to implement "levelling-up policies", which aim to boost investment and productivity in neglected areas of the country. The success of these programs going forward may depend on their scale, as it will likely take high levels of investment to reverse economic neglect regions have faced in the recent past. Overall UK GDP The gross domestic product for the whole of the United Kingdom amounted to 2.56 trillion British pounds in 2024. During this year, GDP grew by 0.9 percent, following a growth rate of 0.4 percent in 2023. Due to the overall population of the UK growing faster than the economy, however, GDP per capita in the UK fell in both 2023 and 2024. Nevertheless, the UK remains one of the world’s biggest economies, with just five countries (the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India) having larger economies. It is it likely that several other countries will overtake the UK economy in the coming years, with Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico all expected to have larger economies than Britain by 2050.

In 2020, the population of the United Kingdom was estimated to have grown by approximately 0.4 percent, with the population growing fastest in the South West and East Midlands, which reported growth rates of 0.6 percent in this year. By contrast, growth in Northern Ireland and Scotland was below the UK average, at just 0.1 percent and zero percent, respectively. Four countries of the UK Within the UK, South East England had the highest population of the regions that comprise the United Kingdom, at more than 9.37 million people. In terms of the four countries of the UK, England had by far the highest population at over 57.7 million people, compared with Scotland (5.5 million) Wales (3.13 million) and Northern Ireland (1.9 million people) which have comparatively smaller populations. Largest cities in the UK With 8.9 million people living there, London is one of the most heavily population regions of the UK, and by far the largest city. Other large cities in the UK include West Midlands urban area, centered around the city of Birmingham at 2.95 million people, along with Greater Manchester at 2.91 million, with these two cities generally considered as the main contenders for being the country's second-city.

This dataset is part of the Geographical repository maintained by Opendatasoft. This dataset contains data for regions in the United Kingdom.Government offices for the regions (GOR) were established across England in 1994. Reflecting a number of government departments, their aim was to work in partnership with local people and organisations in order to maximise prosperity and the quality of life within their area. In 1996 the GORs became the primary classification for the presentation of regional statistics. GORs were built up of complete counties/unitary authorities, so although they were subject to change, they always reflected administrative boundaries as at the end of the previous year. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were not subdivided into GORs but are listed with them as regions in UK-wide statistical comparisons. After the Comprehensive Spending Review, it was confirmed that the GORs would close on 31 March 2011, shifting focus away from regions to local areas. However, there is still a requirement to maintain a region-level geography for statistical purposes. Processors and tools are using this data.EnhancementsAdd ISO 3166-3 codes.Simplify geometries to provide better performance across the services.Add administrative hierarchy.

This statistic shows a forecast for house price growth in the United Kingdom (UK) between 2015 and 2019, for regions of the UK. In 2019 a growth of 3.5 percent is expected for the South West, the Eastern counties and the South East.