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London

This article is about the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. For other uses, see London (disambiguation).

London
Capital city
River Thames and Tower Bridge with The Shard and Southwark (left), Tower of London and City of London (right)
London Eye
Nelson's Column
St Paul's
Piccadilly Circus
Canary Wharf
Palace of Westminster with Big Ben (right)
Map
London is located in the United Kingdom
London
London
Location within the United Kingdom
London is located in England
London
London
Location within England
London is located in Europe
London
London
Location within Europe
London is located in Earth
London
London
London (Earth)
Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.12750°W / 51.50722; -0.12750
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionLondon (Greater London)
Ceremonial countiesGreater London (ceremonial county)
City of London
Local government districts32 London boroughs
and the City of London
Settled by RomansAD 47 (47)[2]
as Londinium
Government
 • TypeExecutive mayoralty and deliberative assembly
 • BodyGreater London Authority
• Mayor Sadiq Khan (L)
• London Assembly
 • London Assembly14 constituencies
 • UK Parliament73 constituencies
Area
 • Total[A]606.96 sq mi (1,572.03 km2)
 • Urban
671.0 sq mi (1,737.9 km2)
 • Metro
3,236 sq mi (8,382 km2)
 • City of London1.12 sq mi (2.89 km2)
 • 32 London boroughs (total)605.85 sq mi (1,569.14 km2)
Elevation
[3]
36 ft (11 m)
Population
 (2021 except where stated)
 • Total[A]8,799,800[1]
 • Rank3rd in Europe
1st in the United Kingdom
 • Density14,500/sq mi (5,598/km2)
 • Urban
 (2011)[4]
9,787,426
 • Metro
 (2023)[5]
14,800,000 (London metropolitan area)
 • City of London
8,600[1]
DemonymsLondoner
GVA (2021)
[6]
 • Total£487 billion
 • Per capita£55,412
Time zoneUTC (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode areas
22 areas
Budget£19.376 billion
($25 billion)[7]
International airportsInside London:
Heathrow (LHR)
City (LCY)
Outside London:
Gatwick (LGW)
Stansted (STN)
Luton (LTN)
Southend (SEN)
Rapid transit systemLondon Underground
PoliceMetropolitan (county of Greater London)
City of London (City of London square mile)
AmbulanceLondon
FireLondon
GeoTLD.london
Websitelondon.gov.uk Edit this at Wikidata

London is the capital and largest city of England, and the United Kingdom, with a population of around 8.8 million,[1] and the largest city in Western Europe by metropolitan area, with a population of 14.8 million.[9][note 1] It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea and has been a major settlement for nearly two millennia.[10] The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains its medieval boundaries.[note 2][11] The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. In the 19th century, London grew rapidly, becoming the world's largest city at the time, as it expanded and absorbed the neighbouring county of Middlesex, and parts of Surrey and Kent. In 1965 it was combined with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire[12] to create the administrative area of Greater London,[13] which is governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority.[note 3][14]

As one of the world's major global cities,[15][16] London exerts a strong influence on world art, entertainment, fashion, commerce and finance, education, health care, media, science and technology, tourism, transport, and communications.[17][18] Despite a post-Brexit exodus of stock listings from the London Stock Exchange,[19] London is still Europe's most economically powerful city,[20] and it remains one of the major financial centres in the world. With Europe's largest concentration of higher education institutions,[21] it is home to some of the highest-ranked academic institutions in the world—Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences, the London School of Economics in social sciences, and the comprehensive University College London.[22][23] London is the most visited city in Europe and has the busiest city airport system in the world.[24] The London Underground is the oldest rapid transit system in the world.[25]

London's diverse cultures encompass over 300 languages.[26] The 2023 population of Greater London of just under 10 million[27] made it Europe's third-most populous city,[28] accounting for 13.4% of the population of the United Kingdom[29] and over 16% of the population of England. The Greater London Built-up Area is the fourth-most populous in Europe, with about 9.8 million inhabitants at the 2011 census.[30][31] The London metropolitan area is the third-most populous in Europe, with about 14 million inhabitants in 2016,[note 4][32][33] granting London the status of a megacity.

London has four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the combined Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement in Greenwich, where the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, defines the prime meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time.[34] Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and Trafalgar Square. London has many museums, galleries, libraries, and cultural venues, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library, and numerous West End theatres.[35] Important sporting events held in London include the FA Cup Final, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, and the London Marathon. In 2012, London became the first city to host three Summer Olympic Games.[36]

  1. ^ a b c "Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021". ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  2. ^ Number 1 Poultry (ONE 94), Museum of London Archaeology, 2013. Archaeology Data Service, The University of York.
  3. ^ "London weather map". The Met Office. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. ^ "2011 Census – Built-up areas". ONS. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Major agglomerations of the world". CityPopulation.de. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  6. ^ Fenton, Trevor. "Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK: 1998 to 2021". ons.gov.uk.
  7. ^ "The Greater London Authority Consolidated Budget and Component Budgets for 2021–22" (PDF). London.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ^ Sub-national HDI. "Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org.
  9. ^ "Major Agglomerations". Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Roman London". Museum of London. n.d. Archived from the original on 22 March 2008.
  11. ^ Fowler, Joshua (5 July 2013). "London Government Act: Essex, Kent, Surrey and Middlesex 50 years on". BBC News.
  12. ^ "The baffling map of England's counties". BBC News. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  13. ^ "The baffling map of England's counties". BBC News. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  14. ^ Jones, Bill; Kavanagh, Dennis; Moran, Michael; Norton, Philip (2007). Politics UK. Harlow: Pearson Education. p. 868. ISBN 978-1-4058-2411-8.
  15. ^ "Global Power City Index 2020". Institute for Urban Strategies – The Mori Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 25 March 2021.; Adewunmi, Bim (10 March 2013). "London: The Everything Capital of the World". The Guardian. London.; "What's The Capital of the World?". More Intelligent Life. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  16. ^ "These are the world's top cities. Which one ranked highest for the 10th year running?". World Economic Forum. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Leading 200 science cities". Nature. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  18. ^ "The World's Most Influential Cities 2014". Forbes. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2021.; Dearden, Lizzie (8 October 2014). "London is 'the most desirable city in the world to work in', study finds". The Independent. London. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference LSEExodus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ "London is Europe's leading economic powerhouse, says new report". London.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Number of international students in London continues to grow" (Press release). Greater London Authority. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010.
  22. ^ "Times Higher Education World University Rankings". 19 September 2018.; "Top Universities: Imperial College London".; "Top Universities: LSE". Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  23. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2022". Top Universities. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Revealed: The most crowded skies on the planet". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2023. London: Our capital's collective airport system is the busiest in the whole world. A total of 170,980,680 passengers.
  25. ^ "London Underground". Transport for London. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Languages spoken in the UK population". National Centre for Language. 16 June 2008. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008."CILT, the National Centre for Languages". Archived from the original on 13 February 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
  27. ^ "London, UK Metro Area Population 1950-2023". Macrotrends. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Largest EU City. Over 7 million residents in 2001". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  29. ^ "Focus on London – Population and Migration | London DataStore". Greater London Authority. Archived from the original on 16 October 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  30. ^ "Demographia World Urban Areas, 15th Annual Edition" (PDF). Demographia. April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  31. ^ "2011 Census – Built-up areas". nomisweb.co.uk. ONS. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Metropolitan Area Populations". Eurostat. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  33. ^ "The London Plan (March 2015)". Greater London Authority. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Lists: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
  35. ^ Blackman, Bob (25 January 2008). "West End Must Innovate to Renovate, Says Report". What's on Stage. London. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  36. ^ "IOC elects London as the Host City of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012" (Press release). International Olympic Committee. 6 July 2005. Archived from the original on 17 October 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2006.


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