About London

Key Points

As a UK city, London is unique in both its scale and diversity.
London's boroughs are 'cities' in their own right. The population of London accounts for about 15% of the total population of England and is more than seven times the size of Birmingham, the next largest city in the country.
London's current population is still well below the levels seen in the 1950s and early 1960s.
In 2007 (and in five of the six previous years), more people moved out of London than in.
In 10 of London's 32 boroughs, the equivalent of half the current population moved in and out in the last 5 years.
London's population has grown in recent years because of natural change – a high birth rate and a low death rate. The proportion of 16-29 year olds is far higher in Inner than Outer London, which is in turn higher than the rest of the country. In addition, Inner London has a far lower proportion aged over 60 than either Outer London or the rest of England.

What does the map show?

London is made up of 32 boroughs and the City of London. This is the standard definition used by the Office for National Statistics. The very small size of the City of London and its unique characteristics means that this website will deal only with the 32 boroughs - 13 in Inner and 19 in Outer London.

On this website, we often look at Inner and Outer London separately and compare them to the English regions. London is the second largest region in England, after the South East. Both Inner and Outer London, whilst not regions themselves, are larger than the North East. Outer London is almost as large as the East Midlands.

Data used

ONS (2006) Mid Year population estimates, www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=15106

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