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.

ArcGIS shapefile of 288 polygons providing boundary and attribute data for the fifty-five ancient counties of England and Wales as given in the 1831 census for England and Wales. As such this represents the counties of England and Wales as they were before the boundary changes caused by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act, 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 61) which led to the elimination of some of the detached portions of counties.These data were created as part of a research program directed by Leigh Shaw-Taylor and Tony Wrigley, which aims ultimately to reconstruct the evolution of the occupational structure of Britain from the late medieval period down to the early twentieth century. These data derive from the 173 digital maps of the boundaries of English and Welsh parishes and their subdivisions produced by Roger Kain and Richard Oliver based on the listing in the 1851 census. The maps were subsequently converted into a single GIS by Burton et al. The GIS attribute data were checked, edited and enhanced with extra data from the census by Max Satchell, Tony Wrigley and a small army of research assistants with technical support from Peter Kitson and Gill Newton. Max Satchell checked and in some cases edited the GIS polygon data using a variety of cartographic and documentary sources. Of these the most important were digital scans of the Ordnance Survey first edition 1:2500 and 1:10560 maps from the Landmark Group distributed by Edina , the series of maps of registration districts and sub-districts boundaries prepared for the Registrar General prior to the censuses of 1861, 1871 and 1891 and the description of enumeration district boundaries given in the Census Enumerators Books for the censuses from 1851, 1861 and 1871. The 1:63,360 maps and Census Enumerators Books are held in The National Archives, Kew (TNA, RG 18/3-155, 198-227, HO 107, RG 9, RG 10). The work involved changing one or more elements of information about place, parish, county, or three figure census number for 2,461 (10.8 per cent) of 22,729 lines of data in the Kain and Oliver GIS. This editing process saw the redigitisation of 644 of the 22,729 polygons, the deletion of 81 polygons, and the digitisation of 525 new polygons. The original Kain and Oliver parish and place dataset did not give details of which counties its units belonged to in 1831, though the authors did note some units had changed county under the auspices of the act of 1844. Max Satchell with help from Geoffrey Stanning and input from Peter Kitson and Tony Wrigley added the 1831 census counties as an attribute to the parish GIS primarily by systematic comparison between the censuses of 1831 and 1851 - the latter's footnotes being particularly informative concerning changes in the county boundaries. In situations where the 1831 county boundary deviated from the post-1844 alignment the polygons from the Burton et al. GIS were subdivided. At the end of this exercise all 23,177 polygons of the enhanced parish GIS could be assigned an 1831 ancient county. This attribute was then used to generate the shapefile of ancient counties.

This dataset as reported to the Rural Payments Agency contains a list of Cattle born in or imported into Great Britain. Attribution statement:

This dataset is part of the Geographical repository maintained by Opendatasoft. This dataset contains data for counties and unitary authorities in the United Kingdom.In 1974 a two-tier administrative structure of (shire and metropolitan) counties and non-metropolitan districts was set up across England and Wales, except for the Isles of Scilly and Greater London. Council functions were divided according to the level at which they could be practised most efficiently. As a consequence, counties took on functions including education, transport, strategic planning, fire services, consumer protection, refuse disposal, smallholdings, social services and libraries, whereas each LAD had responsibility for local planning, housing, local highways, building, environmental health, refuse collection and cemeteries. Responsibility for recreation and cultural matters was divided between the two tiers. Following the Local Government Reorganisation in the 1990s, major changes were implemented to create administrations most appropriate to the needs of the area concerned. The key feature of this change was the introduction of unitary authorities: single-tier administrations with responsibility for all areas of local government. Between 1995 and 1998 these were established in a number of areas across the country, especially in medium-sized urban areas, whilst other areas retained a two-tier structure. Further local government reorganisation occurred in 2009 and there are currently 57 unitary authorities (UA) in England, and 25 shire counties split into 188 (non-metropolitan) districts. Note that due to the changes in Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly are considered a UA for coding 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.

Counties were formerly administrative units across the whole of the UK. Due to various administrative restructurings, however, the only administrative areas still referred to as 'counties' are the Non-Metropolitan Districts of England. The English Metropolitan Districts, although no longer administrative units, are also used for statistical purposes.

The Counties area list contains 35 areas of the following constituent English geographies:

• 27 Shire counties
• 6 Metropolitan counties
• Inner London and Outer London

Please visit ONS Beginner's Guide to UK Geography for more info.

The boundaries are available as either extent of the realm (usually this is the Mean Low Water mark but in some cases boundaries extend beyond this to include off shore islands) or

clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark).

This dataset as reported to the Rural Payments Agency contains a list of cattle movements between specified counties from West to East England in 2008

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).

Police recorded crime figures by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership areas (which equate in the majority of instances, to local authorities).

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 is the Index of Place Names (IPN) in Great Britain as at December 2023 (published July 2024). The IPN was first produced after the 1831 Census; this new version has been greatly expanded in content and extent. Featuring over 100,000 entries, it lists the names of localities and geography areas throughout England, Scotland and Wales. The IPN is published annually and with an updated and informative user guide giving a full rundown and explanation of the contents (File Size - 8 MB).

Towns in England and Wales: towns list, cities list, classification and population data.

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 collected by the Censuses of Population for England and Wales, and for Scotland. 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.

The census gathered data on levels of educational attainment only from 1951. In 1951 and 1961, attainment was measured simply by the age at which a person's education was completed, rather than by the level of qualifications achieved. These data cover, broadly, the adult population, including many people who had completed their education decades before the relevant census, so the data are indicative of the general level of education of the workforce at the census date, but are a problematic guide to the performance of the education system at that date. The census reports also include cross-tabulations of age of education completion with current age, but not with the level of geographical detail of the transcribed tables.

The 1951 data for England and Wales were computerised by Danny Dorling (now of Oxford University), as part of research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Latest edition information:

For the 2nd edition (June 2021), data for Scotland for 1951 and data for England & Wales and Scotland for 1961 have been added to the study.

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(File Size - 5 KB). The 2011 rural-urban classification (RUC) of counties in England is based on the 2011 RUC of Output Areas (OA) published in August 2013, and allows users to create a rural/urban view of county level products. The classification was produced by the University of Sheffield and was sponsored by a cross-Government working group comprising Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department of the Communities and Local Government and Office for National Statistics.

This is the ONS Postcode Directory (ONSPD) for the United Kingdom as at February 2025 in Comma Separated Variable (CSV) and ASCII text (TXT) formats. This file contains the multi CSVs so that postcode areas can be opened in MS Excel. To download the zip file click the Download button. The ONSPD relates both current and terminated postcodes in the United Kingdom to a range of current statutory administrative, electoral, health and other area geographies. It also links postcodes to 2001 Census Output Areas (OA) and Super Output Areas (SOA) for England and Wales, 2001 Census OAs and SOAs for Northern Ireland and 2001 Census OAs and Data Zones (DZ) for Scotland. It also contains 2021 Census OAs and SOAs for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2021 Census OAs DZs and Intermediate Zones (IZ) for Scotland. It helps support the production of area-based statistics from postcoded data. The ONSPD is produced by ONS Geography, who provide geographic support to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and geographic services used by other organisations. The ONSPD is issued quarterly. (File size - 234 MB) Please note that this product contains Royal Mail, Gridlink, LPS (Northern Ireland), Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.

Local Authority is a generic term used to cover London Boroughs, Metropolitan Districts, Non-Metropolitan Districts, and Unitary Authorities in England; Unitary Authorities in Wales; Council Areas in Scotland; and Local Government Districts in Northern Ireland.

The Local Authorities area list contains 404 areas of the following constituent geographies:

• 36 Metropolitan Districts in England
• 201 Non-Metropolitan Districts in England
• 31 London Boroughs in England
• 54 Unitary Authorities in England
• 26 Local Government Districts in Northern Ireland
• 32 Council Areas in Scotland
• 22 Unitary Authorities in Wales
• 2 Census Merged Districts in England

Please visit ONS Beginner's Guide to UK Geography for more info.

The boundaries are available as either extent of the realm (usually this is the Mean Low Water mark but in some cases boundaries extend beyond this to include off shore islands) or

clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark).

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 collected by the Censuses of Population for England and Wales, and for Scotland. They were computerised by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and its collaborators.

The census has gathered data on "occupations", meaning individuals' roles in the workplace, since the first household enumeration in 1841, and this collection includes most of the published results. However, how the results were classified varied greatly: for 1841, there is simply an alphabetical list of individual occupations, in 1851 the most basic classification was into workers in animal, vegetable and minerals, and so on. Further, the more detailed the occupational classification used, space considerations tended to require a less detailed geography; or, sometimes, the use of an abridged classification for small towns and rural areas; or even different tables and classifications for men and for women. There are consequently multiple datasets for some years.

Latest edition information

For the second edition (October 2022), the data and documentation have been revised.

Main Topics:

Occupations, meaning self-described roles in the workplace, tabulated by gender using a variety of occupational classifications. Note that the early classifications often mingle notions of social status. From 1931 onwards these tables also include counts of the unemployed.

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

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The aim of the project was to improve access to local and trade directories for the period 1750-1919 by making a substantial collection of English and Welsh directories available online as a Digital Library of Historical Directories. This digital resource comprises in total some 600 directories, covering every English county together with Wales, and ranging widely over the period 1750-1919 (the latter cut-off point chosen for copyright reasons). There is a particular focus on the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s, with at least one directory provided for each county in each of these decades. The digitisation of the volumes involved a two-stage process, in which (1) the hard-copy source was scanned to produce a graphic image of each page, and then (2) those images were processed using OCR software to generate a machine-readable text file.An online version of this resource can be found on the Website of the University of Leicester. This data collection includes the following directories:- Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire & Rutland (1881)- Commercial and General Directory of Leicester and Fifteen Miles Round, including the towns of Loughborough, Hinckley, Melton, and Market Harborough, 1883-84 (1884)- History, Gazetteer and Directory of Nottinghamshire, comprising a general survey of the county and separate historical, statistical, and topographical descriptions of all the wapentakes, boroughs, towns (1885)- Directory of Leicestershire, including Boroughs of Leicester and Loughborough, and Market Towns of Ashby- De-La-Zouch, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Hinckley, &c., 1887-88 (1888)- Bennett's Business Directory. Leicestershire and Rutland (1888)- Directory of Leicester and Twelve Miles Round, including the boroughs of Leicester and Loughborough, and market towns of Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Hinckley, &c., 1889-90 (1890)- Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, and Nottinghamshire. 1891. Part 1: Derbyshire- Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, and Nottinghamshire. 1891. Part 2: Leicestershire & Rutland- Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, and Nottinghamshire. 1891. Part 3: Nottinghamshire- Newark and District Directory; containing historical account of the town; places of worship; official directory of offices, officers and institutions ... a complete street directory in alphabetical order; alphabetical list of the clergy, professional and private residents (1892)- Directory of Leicestershire, including the boroughs of Leicester and Loughborough and market towns of Ashby-dela- Zouch, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Hinckley, &c. (1892)- Directory of Nottingam and twelve miles round, including the town and environs of Mansfield, the greater part of South Notts, parts of Derbyshire and Leicestershire, the borough of Ilkeston and suburbs, with the townships and parishes of Southwell, Hucknall Torkard, Beeston, Bingham, Kegworth, Castle Donington, Sutton-in-Ashfield, &c., 1894-5 (1895)- Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire & Rutland. 1895. Derbyshire only- Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire and Rutland (1895)- The Lace and Hosiery Trades Directory and Hand Book, containing a list of telegraphic addresses, telephone nos. pay days, postal rates, shipping & carrying information, parcels charges, letter collections & deliveries, foreign parcels rates, etc. (1897)- Directory of the City of Nottingham, including Basford, Bobbers Mill, Brewhouse Yard, Bridgford West (Part of), Bulwell, Carrington, Cavendish Hill, Cinder Hill, Hyson Green, Lenton, Mapperley, Park, Radford, St. Mary, St. Nicholas, St. Peter, Sherwood, Sneinton, Wilford (Part of), Woodthorpe, &c, 1898-9 (1899)- Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & Rutland. 1899. Derbyshire section only- Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire and Rutland (1899)- Directory of Leicestershire and Rutland (1899)- Bennett's Business Directory for Leicestershire (1901-02)- Wright's Directory of the County Borough of Leicester (1903)- Kelly's Directory of Nottinghamshire (1904)

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 collected by the Censuses of Population for England and Wales, and for Scotland. 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.

The Census of Population first gathered data on housing "density", i.e. the number of persons in each household relative to the number of rooms, in 1891, although the first year included here is 1901. In 1891, over-crowding was defined as over 2 persons per room; by 1931 this threshold had dropped to 1.5 persons; and by 1961 to 1 person per room. Up to 1931, the data for each locality and date form a table of numbers of persons against numbers of rooms, and these transcriptions sometimes exclude the rows/columns for the very largest households (see the documentation for individual tables). From 1951 onwards, simpler tables simply list numbers of households in each density category (e.g. over 1 person per room and not more than 1.5 persons).

This is a new edition. Data have been added for 1911 and 1951. Wherever possible, ID numbers have been added for counties and districts which match those used in the digital boundary data created by the GBH GIS, greatly simplifying mapping.

Main Topics:

Housing Statistics (persons per room) from the 1901, 1911, 1931, 1951, 1961 and 1971 Censuses.

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

ArcGIS shapefile of 245polygons providing boundary and attribute data for the 55 registration counties of England and Wales as given in the 1851 census. These data were created as part of a research program directed by Leigh Shaw-Taylor and Tony Wrigley, which aims ultimately to reconstruct the evolution of the occupational structure of Britain from the late medieval period down to the early twentieth century. This shapefile derives from the 173 digital maps of the boundaries of English and Welsh parishes and their subdivisions produced by Roger Kain and Richard Oliver based on the listing in the 1851 census. The maps were subsequently converted into a single GIS by Burton et al. The Burton et al GIS data were checked, edited and enhanced with extra data from the census by Max Satchell, Tony Wrigley and a small army of research assistants with technical support from Peter Kitson and Gill Newton. Max Satchell checked and in some cases digitised GIS polygon data using a variety of cartographic and documentary sources. Of these the most important were digital scans of the Ordnance Survey first edition 1:2500 and 1:10560 maps from the Landmark Group distributed by Edina , the series of maps of registration districts and sub-districts boundaries prepared for the Registrar General prior to the censuses of 1861, 1871 and 1891 and the description of enumeration district boundaries given in the Census Enumerators Books for the censuses from 1851, 1861 and 1871. The 1:63,360 maps and Census Enumerators Books are held in The National Archives, Kew (TNA, RG 18/3-155, 198-227, HO 107, RG 9, RG 10).