How would you define the boundaries of a town or city in England and Wales in 2016?

Maybe your definition would be based on its population size, geographic extent or where the industry and services are located. This was a question the ONS had to consider when creating a new statistical geography called Towns and Cities.

In reality, the ability to delimit the boundaries of a city or town is difficult!

Major Towns and Cities

The new statistical geography, Towns and Cities has been created based on population size and the extent of the built environment. It contains 112 towns and cities in England and Wales, where the residential and/or workday population > 75,000 people at the 2011 Census. It has been constructed using the existing Built-Up Area boundary set produced by Ordnance Survey in 2011.

This swipe map shows where the towns and cities and built-up areas are different. Just swipe the bar from left to right.

The blue polygons are the towns and cities and the purple polygons are the built-up areas.

London was by far the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom in 2023, with an estimated population of 9.65 million people, more than three times as large as Manchester, the UK’s second-biggest urban agglomeration. The agglomerations of Birmingham and Leeds / Bradford had the third and fourth-largest populations respectively, while the biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow, was the fifth largest. Largest cities in Europe Two cities in Europe had larger urban areas than London, with the Russian capital Moscow having a population of almost 12.7 million. The city of Paris, located just over 200 miles away from London, was the second-largest city in Europe, with a population of more than 11.2 million people. Paris was followed by London in terms of population-size, and then by the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona, at 6.75 million and 5.68 million people respectively. Russia's second-biggest city; St. Petersburg had a population of 5.56 million, followed by Rome at 4.3 million, and Berlin at 3.5 million. London’s population growth Throughout the 1980s, the population of London fluctuated from a high of 6.81 million people in 1981 to a low of 6.73 million inhabitants in 1988. During the 1990s, the population of London increased once again, growing from 6.8 million at the start of the decade to 7.15 million by 1999. London's population has continued to grow since the turn of the century, reaching a peak of 8.96 million people in 2019, and is forecast to reach 9.8 million by 2043.

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of July 2021. A new version of this item is available for your use. Esri recommends updating your maps and apps to use the new version.This map is designed to be used as a general reference map for informational and educational purposes as well as a basemap by GIS professionals and other users for creating web maps and web mapping applications.The map was developed by National Geographic and Esri and reflects the distinctive National Geographic cartographic style in a multi-scale reference map of the world. The map was authored using data from a variety of leading data providers, including Garmin, HERE, UNEP-WCMC, NASA, ESA, USGS, and others.This reference map includes administrative boundaries, cities, protected areas, highways, roads, railways, water features, buildings and landmarks, overlaid on shaded relief and land cover imagery for added context. The map includes global coverage down to ~1:144k scale and more detailed coverage for North America down to ~1:9k scale.Map Note: Although small-scale boundaries, place names and map notes were provided and edited by National Geographic, boundaries and names shown do not necessarily reflect the map policy of the National Geographic Society, particularly at larger scales where content has not been thoroughly reviewed or edited by National Geographic.Data Notes: The credits below include a list of data providers used to develop the map. Below are a few additional notes:Reference Data: National Geographic, Esri, Garmin, HERE, iPC, NRCAN, METILand Cover Imagery: NASA Blue Marble, ESA GlobCover 2009 (Copyright notice: © ESA 2010 and UCLouvain)Protected Areas: IUCN and UNEP-WCMC (2011), The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) Annual Release. Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC. Available at:www.protectedplanet.net.Ocean Data: GEBCO, NOAA

Great Britain's (England, Scotland, Wales) cities (e.g. London, Birmingham, Edinburgh) named and represented as point features with an indicative bounding box. This data is often used for geocoding, service delivery and statistical analysis. OS Cities Data is available in a number of Ordnance Survey (OS) products: OS Open Names (bounding box and point geometry), OS Names API, MasterMap Topography Layer (point geometry), Vector Map Local (point geometry) and Vector Map District (point geometry). Small-scale cartographic representations are also available in OS cartographic products. All data is collected by Ordnance Survey as part of their role as the National Mapping Agency of Great Britain.

This report was released in September 2010. However, recent demographic data is available on the datastore - you may find other datasets on the Datastore useful such as: GLA Population Projections, National Insurance Number Registrations of Overseas Nationals, Births by Birthplace of Mother, Births and Fertility Rates, Office for National Statistics (ONS) Population Estimates

FOCUSONLONDON2010:POPULATIONANDMIGRATION

London is the United Kingdom’s only city region. Its population of 7.75 million is 12.5 per cent of the UK population living on just 0.6 per cent of the land area. London’s average population density is over 4,900 persons per square kilometre, this is ten times that of the second most densely populated region.

Between 2001 and 2009 London’s population grew by over 430 thousand, more than any other region, accounting for over 16 per cent of the UK increase.

This report discusses in detail the population of London including Population Age Structure, Fertility and Mortality, Internal Migration, International Migration, Population Turnover and Churn, and Demographic Projections.

Population and Migration report is the first release of the Focus on London 2010-12 series. Reports on themes such as Income, Poverty, Labour Market, Skills, Health, and Housing are also available.

REPORT:

Read the full report in PDF format.

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PRESENTATION:

To access an interactive presentation about population changes in London click the link to see it on Prezi.com

DATA:

To access a spreadsheet with all the data from the Population and Migration report click on the image below.

Report data

MAP:

To enter an interactive map showing a number of indicators discussed in the Population and Migration report click on the image below.

Interactive Maps

FACTS:

● Top five boroughs for babies born per 10,000 population in 2008-09:

1. Newham – 244.4
2. Barking and Dagenham – 209.3
3. Hackney – 205.7
4. Waltham Forest – 202.7
5. Greenwich – 196.2

-32. Havering – 116.8

-33. City of London – 47.0

● In 2009, Barnet overtook Croydon as the most populous London borough. Prior to this Croydon had been the largest since 1966

● Population per hectare of land used for Domestic building and gardens is highest in Tower Hamlets

● In 2008-09, natural change (births minus deaths) led to 78,000 more Londoners compared with only 8,000 due to migration. read more about this or click play on the chart below to reveal how regional components of populations change have altered over time.

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.

This is a collection of simple maps in PDF format that are designed to be printed off and used in the classroom. The include maps of Great Britain that show the location of major rivers, cities and mountains as well as maps of continents and the World. There is very little information on the maps to allow teachers to download them and add their own content to fit with their lesson plans. Customise one print out then photocopy them for your lesson. data not available yet, holding data set (7th August). Other. This dataset was first accessioned in the EDINA ShareGeo Open repository on 2012-08-07 and migrated to Edinburgh DataShare on 2017-02-22.

This is a city map of London, England, shown at a 1:63,360 scale. This city map was created by the Director General of the Ordnance Survey.

Georeferenced map of 'A plan of the city and suburbs of Edinburgh' By Alexander Kincaid (1784) as part of the Visualising Urban Geographies project- view other versions of the map at http://geo.nls.uk/urbhist/resources_maps.html. Scanned map. This dataset was first accessioned in the EDINA ShareGeo Open repository on 2011-05-31 and migrated to Edinburgh DataShare on 2017-02-21.

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.

Georeferenced map of 'City and Castle of Edinburgh' by William Edgar (1765), as part of the Visualising Urban Geographies project - view other versions of map at: http://geo.nls.uk/urbhist/resources_maps.html. Scanned map. This dataset was first accessioned in the EDINA ShareGeo Open repository on 2011-05-30 and migrated to Edinburgh DataShare on 2017-02-21.

Background maps for the pollutants NOx for the year 2019. Geography used in the background maps is based on a 1x1km grid file of Glasgow. Coordinates given are for the centre of centre of each 1x1Km grid. Further information regarding pollutant and emissions modelling can be found at http://laqm.defra.gov.uk/review-and-assessment/tools/background-maps.html accessed on 2014-04-25T14:26:00.

Georeferenced map of 'Plan City and Castle of Edinburgh ' By William Edgar (1765) as part of the Visualising Urban Geographies project- view other versions of the map at http://geo.nls.uk/urbhist/resources_maps.html. Scanned from original paper map and georeferenced by The National Library Of Scotland. Scanned map. This dataset was first accessioned in the EDINA ShareGeo Open repository on 2011-09-01 and migrated to Edinburgh DataShare on 2017-02-21.

1:1,000,000 raster map of Northern Ireland with place names. A raster map is a static image displayed on screen which is suitable as background mapping. 1:1 000,000 Raster is smallest scale OSNI raster product giving an excellent overview of Northern Ireland. Published here for OpenData. By download or use of this dataset you agree to abide by the Open Government Data Licence.Please Note for Open Data NI Users: Esri Rest API is not Broken, it will not open on its own in a Web Browser but can be copied and used in Desktop and Webmaps

Aryandoust, A., van Vliet, O. & Patt, A. City-scale car traffic and parking density maps from Uber Movement travel time data. Scientific Data 6, 158 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0159-6

A PDF map that shows the counties and unitary authorities in the United Kingdom as at 1 April 2023. (File Size - 583 KB)

FOCUSON**LONDON**2011: HOUSING:A**GROWING**CITY

With the highest average incomes in the country but the least space to grow, demand for housing in London has long outstripped supply, resulting in higher housing costs and rising levels of overcrowding. The pressures of housing demand in London have grown in recent years, in part due to fewer people leaving London to buy homes in other regions. But while new supply during the recession held up better in London than in other regions, it needs to increase significantly in order to meet housing needs and reduce housing costs to more affordable levels.

This edition of Focus on London authored by James Gleeson in the Housing Unit looks at housing trends in London, from the demand/supply imbalance to the consequences for affordability and housing need.

REPORT:

Read the report in PDF format.

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PRESENTATION:

How much pressure is London’s popularity putting on housing provision in the capital? This interactive presentation looks at the effect on housing pressure of demographic changes, and recent new housing supply, shown by trends in overcrowding and house prices. Click on the start button at the bottom of the slide to access.

View Focus on London - Housing: A Growing City on Prezi

HISTOGRAM:

This histogram shows a selection of borough data and helps show areas that are similar to one another by each indicator.

Histogram

MOTION CHART:

This motion chart shows how the relationship, between key housing related indicators at borough level, changes over time.

Motion Chart

MAP:

These interactive borough maps help to geographically present a range of housing data within London, as well as presenting trend data where available.

MAP

DATA:

All the data contained within the Housing: A Growing City report as well as the data used to create the charts and maps can be accessed in this spreadsheet.

FACTS:

Some interesting facts from the data…

● Five boroughs with the highest proportion of households that have lived at their address for less than 12 months in 2009/10:

1. Westminster – 19 per cent
2. Wandsworth – 17 per cent
3. Camden – 16 per cent
4. Lambeth – 14 per cent
5. Southwark – 13 per cent

-31. Harrow – 6 per cent

-32. Havering – 5 per cent

● Five boroughs with the highest percentage point increase between 2004 and 2009 of households in the ‘private rented’ sector:

1. Newham – 17 per cent
2. Greenwich – 11 per cent
3. Enfield – 10 per cent
4. Camden – 9 per cent
5. Harrow – 8 per cent

-32. Islington – 1 per cent

-33. Bexley – 1 per cent

● Five boroughs with the highest percentage difference in median house prices between 2007 Q4 and 2010 Q4:

1. Kensington & Chelsea – 29 per cent
2. Westminster – 19 per cent
3. Camden – 15 per cent
4. Islington – 14 per cent
5. Southwark – 10 per cent

-31. Newham – down 9 per cent

-32. Barking & D’ham – down 9 per cent

This statistic records the difference in the average price of a used car in different cities across the United Kingdom (UK), expressed as a percentage of the average* used car price across the country. The chart shows that Plymouth is the most expensive of these British cities in which to buy a used car, costing about five percent more than the national average.

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.

Spatial Data layers referenced in City Development Plan Policy and Proposals & Supplementary Guidance Maps. Third party data displayed in the above mentioned maps are not included herein.