'London' (
pronounced ) is the
capital city of
England and the
United Kingdom. The ancient
City of London to which the name originally belonged still retains its mediaeval boundaries; but the name "London" has long applied more generally to the whole metropolis which has grown up around it.
An important settlement for around
two millennia, London is today one of the world's leading
business,
financial and
cultural centres,
[1] and its influence in
politics,
education,
entertainment,
media,
fashion and the
arts all contribute to its status as one of the major
global cities.
[2][3][4][5]
London is the
most populous city within city limits in the
European Union with an official population of 7.5 million (as of mid-2006)
and has a
metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million people.
Its diverse population draws from a wide range of peoples, cultures and religions, speaking over 300 different languages.
[6]
It is an international
transport hub, with five
international airports and a large
port. It serves as the largest aviation hub in the world,
[7] and its main airport, the multi terminal
Heathrow, carries more international passengers than any other airport in the world.
[8] It also has Europe's largest
underground railway system when measured by route length.
London is a major
tourist destination, with four
world heritage sites and numerous iconic landmarks such as the
Houses of Parliament,
Tower Bridge, the
Tower of London,
Westminster Abbey,
Buckingham Palace and the
London Eye among its many attractions, along with famous institutions such as the
British Museum and the
National Gallery. Its main geographical feature is the
River Thames which runs through the city from the south-west to the east.
Definitions
London can be defined in a number of different ways. The London
region of England, also commonly known as
Greater London, is the area administered by the
Greater London Authority. The urban sprawl of the conurbation—or
Greater London Urban Area—covers a roughly similar area, with a slightly larger population. Beyond this is the vast
London commuter belt.
[9] At London's core is the small, ancient
City of London which is commonly known as "The City" or "Square Mile". Within London, both the City of London and the
City of Westminster have
City status and both the City of London and the remainder of Greater London are
ceremonial counties.
[10] The current area of
Greater London was
historically part of the counties of
Middlesex,
Kent,
Surrey,
Essex and
Hertfordshire.
[11]
Forty percent of Greater London is covered by the
London postal area.
[12] The
London telephone area code covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are omitted and some places just outside are included. The area within the orbital
M25 motorway is sometimes used to define the "London area"
[13] and the Greater London boundary has been
aligned to it in places.
[14] Greater London is split for some purposes into
Inner London and
Outer London. It can also be informally split into
North,
South,
East,
West and often also
Central London.
London's metropolitan area ('the metropolis') grew considerably during the
Victorian era and again during the
Interwar period. Expansion halted in the 1940s because of
World War II and
Green Belt legislation, and the area has been largely static since.
[15] The
Metropolitan Police District,
city-wide local government area and
London transport area have varied over time, but currently broadly coincide with the Greater London boundary.
[16]
Unlike most capital cities, London's status as the capital of the UK has never been granted or confirmed officially—by
statute or in written form.
[17] Its position as the capital has formed through
constitutional convention, making its position as ''
de facto'' capital a part of the
UK's unwritten constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from
Winchester as the
Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the
royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation.
[18]
The
Romans may have marked the centre of ''
Londinium'' with the
London Stone, still visible on
Cannon Street.
[19] The coordinates of the nominal centre of London (traditionally considered to be the original
Eleanor Cross at
Charing Cross, near the junction of
Trafalgar Square and
Whitehall) are approximately . Trafalgar Square has also become a central point for celebrations and protests.
[20]
Geography and climate
Main articles: Geography of London,
List of places in London,
Climate of London
Topography and climate
Greater London covers an area of 609 square miles (1,579
km²), making it the 37th largest
urban area in the world.
[21] Its primary geographical feature is the
Thames, a
navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The
Thames Valley is a
floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills such as
Parliament Hill,
Addington Hills, and
Primrose Hill. These hills presented no significant obstacle to the growth of London from its origins as a port on the north side of the river, and therefore London is roughly circular.
The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive
marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their current width.
[22] It has been extensively
embanked, and many of its London
tributaries now flow
underground. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding.
[23] The threat has increased over time due to a slow but continuous rise in
high water level by the slow 'tilting' of Britain (up in the north and down in the south) caused by post-
glacial rebound.
[24] In 1974, a decade of work began on the construction of the
Thames Barrier across the Thames at
Woolwich to deal with this threat. While the barrier is expected to function as designed until roughly 2030, concepts for its future enlargement or redesign are already being discussed.
[25]
London has a
temperate marine climate, like much of the
British Isles, with regular but generally light
precipitation throughout the year—unlike the rest of the UK and even the nearby coast. London is in fact among the driest of Europe's capitals, with water resources per head of population equivalent to
Israel.
[26] The warmest month is July, with an average
temperature range at
Greenwich of 13.6
°C to 22.8 °C (56.5 to 73.0
°F). Record high temperatures of up to were recorded in different parts of London on
10 August 2003.
[27] The coolest month is January, averaging 2.4 °C to 7.9 °C (35.6 to 46.2 °F). Average annual
precipitation is 583.6
mm (22.98 in), with February on average the driest month.
[28] Snow is relatively uncommon, particularly because
heat from the urban area can make London up to 5 °C (9 °F) hotter than the surrounding areas in winter. However light snowfall is seen on some days most winters. London is in
USDA Hardiness zone 9, and AHS Heat Zone 2.
[29]
Districts
London's vast urban area is often described using a set of district names (e.g.
Bloomsbury,
Knightsbridge,
Mayfair,
Whitechapel,
Fitzrovia). These are either informal designations, or reflect the names of superseded parishes and city wards. Such names have remained in use through tradition, each referring to a neighbourhood with its own distinctive character, but often with no modern official boundaries.
One area of London which does have a strict definition is the
City of London (usually just called The City). London, along with New York and Tokyo, is one of the world's three largest financial centres, with a dominant role in several international financial markets, including cross border bank lending, international bond issuance and trading, foreign-exchange trading, over-the-counter derivatives, fund management and foreign equities trading.
[30] It also has the world's largest insurance market, the leading exchange for dealing in non-precious metals, the largest spot gold and gold lending markets, the largest ship broking market, and more foreign banks and investment houses than any other centre.
[31] The City has its own governance and boundaries, giving it a status as the only completely autonomous local authority in London.
[32] London's new financial and commercial hub is the
Docklands area to the east of the City, dominated by the
Canary Wharf complex. Other businesses locate in the
City of Westminster, the home of the
UK's national government and the famous
Westminster Abbey.
The
West End is London's main entertainment and shopping district, with locations such as
Oxford Street,
Leicester Square,
Covent Garden and
Piccadilly Circus acting as tourist magnets.
[33] The
West London area is known for fashionable and expensive residential areas such as
Notting Hill,
Knightsbridge and
Chelsea—where properties can sell for tens of millions of pounds.
[34] The average price for all properties in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is £894,000 with similar average outlay in most of
Central London.
[35]
The eastern side of London contains the
East End and East London. The East End is the area closest to the original
Port of London, known for its high immigrant population, as well as for being one of the poorest areas in London.
[36] The surrounding
East London area saw much of London's early industrial development; now,
brownfield sites throughout the area are being redeveloped as part of the
Thames Gateway including the
London Riverside and
Lower Lea Valley, which is being developed into the
Olympic Park for the
2012 Olympics.
[36]
Architecture
The density of London varies, with high employment density in the
central area, high residential densities in
inner London and lower densities in the
suburbs. In the dense areas, most of the concentration is achieved with medium-rise and
high-rise buildings. London's skyscrapers such as the famous
"Gherkin",
Tower 42 and
One Canada Square are usually found in the two financial districts, the
City of London and
Canary Wharf.
In recent years, the development of
tall buildings has been encouraged in the
London Plan, which will lead to the erection of new skyscrapers over the next few years as London goes through a high-rise boom, particularly in the City of London and Canary Wharf.
[38] The 72-storey, 310 m "
Shard London Bridge" by
London Bridge station, the 288 m
Bishopsgate Tower and around 30 other skyscrapers over 150 m are either proposed or approved and could transform the city's skyline.
Other notable modern buildings include
City Hall in
Southwark with its distinctive oval shape, the
British Library in
Somers Town/
Kings Cross, the Great Court of the
British Museum, and what was formerly the
Millennium Dome, now used as the cover of an entertainment district known as The O
2, next to the Thames east of Canary Wharf. The disused (but soon to be rejuvenated) 1939
Battersea Power Station by the river in the south-west is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of Victorian architecture, most notably
St Pancras and
Paddington (at least internally).
[39] Another major local landmark is
The London Ark by
Ralph Erskine, in Hammersmith.
London is too large to be overwhelmingly characterised by any particular
architectural style, having accumulated its buildings over a long period of time and drawing on an inexhaustible range of influences, although it is mainly
brick built, most commonly a warm orange red, often with carvings and white plaster
mouldings.
[40] Many areas of the city are characterised by white
stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures pre-date the
Great Fire of 1666, except for a few trace
Roman remains, the
Tower of London and a few scattered
Tudor survivors in the City. A majority of buildings in London date from the
Edwardian or
Victorian periods.
[40]
A great many monuments pay homage to people and events in the city.
The Monument in the City of London provides views of the surrounding area while commemorating the
Great Fire of London which originated nearby.
Marble Arch and
Wellington Arch, at the north and south ends of
Park Lane respectively, have royal connections, as do the
Albert Memorial and
Royal Albert Hall in
Kensington.
Nelson's Column is a nationally-recognised monument in
Trafalgar Square, providing a focal point for the whole central area.
Artists impression of the London skyline in 2012
Environment
Main articles: Parks and open spaces in London,
Royal Parks of London
The bandstand and the boating lake in Regent's Park
Often called "The Green City," London has a number of open spaces.
[42] The largest of these in the central area are the
Royal Parks of
Hyde Park and its neighbours
Kensington Gardens and
Holland Park Gardens at the western edge of
central London, and
Regent's Park on the northern edge. This park is located near the tourist attractions of
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and Baker Street, where the fictional
Sherlock Holmes lived. Closer to central London are the smaller Royal Parks of
Green Park and
St. James's Park. Hyde Park in particular is popular for
sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts.
A number of large parks lie outside the city centre, including the remaining Royal Parks of
Greenwich Park to the south-east, and
Bushy Park and
Richmond Park to the south-west.
Primrose Hill to the north of Regent's Park is a popular spot to view the city skyline. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including the
Hampstead Heath of
north London. This incorporates
Kenwood House, the former
stately home and a popular location in the summer months where classical music concerts are held by the lake, attracting thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the music, scenery and fireworks. Outer
South East London is noted for its open spaces and extensive wooded areas.
History
Main articles: History of London,
Londinium
Early London
Although there is some evidence of scattered
Brython settlement in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the
Romans in AD 43, following the
Roman invasion of Britain. This settlement was called ''
Londinium'', commonly believed to be the origin of the present-day name, although a Celtic origin is also possible.
The first London lasted for just seventeen years. Around AD 61, the
Iceni tribe of
Celts led by Queen
Boudica stormed London, burning it to the ground. The next, heavily-planned incarnation of the city prospered and superseded
Colchester as the capital of the
Roman province of
Britannia in AD 100. At its height in the 2nd century AD, Roman London had a population of around 60,000. However, by the 3rd century AD, the city started a slow decline due to trouble in the
Roman Empire, and by the 5th century AD, it was largely abandoned.
[Historical Overview of London Population. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.]
By 600 AD, the
Anglo-Saxons had created a new settlement (''
Lundenwic'') about 1 km upstream from the old Roman city, around what is now
Covent Garden.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] There was probably a harbour at the mouth of the
River Fleet for fishing and trading, and this trading grew until disaster struck in 851 AD, when the city's defences were overcome by a massive
Viking raid and it was razed to the ground.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] A Viking occupation twenty years later was short-lived, and
Alfred the Great, the new King of England, established peace and moved the settlement within the
defensive walls of the old Roman city (then called ''
Lundenburgh''). The original city became ''Ealdwic'' ("old city"), a name surviving to the present day as
Aldwych.
Subsequently, under the control of various English kings, London once again prospered as an international trading centre and political arena. However, Viking raids began again in the late 10th century, and reached a head in 1013 when they besieged the city under Danish King
Canute and forced English King
Ethelred the Unready to flee.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] In a retaliatory attack, Ethelred's army achieved victory by pulling down
London Bridge with the Danish garrison on top, and English control was re-established.
Canute took control of the English throne in 1017, controlling the city and country until 1042, when his death resulted in a reversion to
Anglo-Saxon control under his pious step-son
Edward the Confessor, who re-founded
Westminster Abbey and the adjacent
Palace of Westminster.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] By this time, London had become the largest and most prosperous city in England, although the official
seat of government was still at
Winchester.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.]
Norman and medieval London
Following a victory at the
Battle of Hastings,
William the Conqueror, the then
Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the newly-finished
Westminster Abbey on
Christmas Day 1066. William granted the citizens of London special privileges, while building a castle in the south-east corner of the city to keep them under control. This castle was expanded by later kings and is now known as the
Tower of London, serving first as a
royal residence and later as a
prison.
In 1097,
William II began the building of
Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall proved the basis of a new
Palace of Westminster, the prime royal residence throughout
the Middle Ages. Westminster became the seat of the royal court and government (persisting until the present day), while its distinct neighbor, the City of London, was a centre of trade and commerce and flourished under its own unique administration, the
Corporation of London. Eventually, the adjacent cities grew together and formed the basis of modern
central London, superseding
Winchester as capital of England in the 12th century.
London grew in wealth and population during the Middle Ages. In 1100 its population was around 18,000, by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000.
[Historical Overview of London Population. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] However disaster struck during the
Black Death in the mid-14th century, when London lost nearly a third of its population.
[Historical Overview of London Population. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] Apart from the invasion of London during the
Peasants' Revolt in 1381, London remained relatively untouched by the various civil wars during the Middle Ages, such as the
Barons' Wars and the
Wars of the Roses.
After the successful defeat of the
Spanish Armada in 1588, political stability in England allowed London to grow further. In 1603,
James VI of Scotland came to the throne of England, essentially uniting the two countries. His enactment of harsh
anti-Catholic laws made him unpopular, and an
assassination attempt was made on
5 November 1605—the famous
Gunpowder Plot.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.]
Plague caused extensive problems for London in the early 17th century, culminating in the
Great Plague in 1665–1666. This was the last major outbreak in Europe, possibly thanks to the disastrous fire of 1666. The
Great Fire of London broke out in the original City and quickly swept through London's wooden buildings, destroying large swathes of the city. Rebuilding took over ten years.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.]
Rise of modern London
Following London's growth in the 18th century, it became the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925.
[43] This growth was aided from 1836 by London's first
railways, which put countryside towns within easy reach of the city. The rail network expanded very rapidly, and caused these places to grow while London itself expanded into surrounding fields, merging with neighbouring settlements such as
Kensington. Rising
traffic congestion on city centre roads led to the creation of the world's first
metro system—the
London Underground—in 1863, driving further expansion and urbanisation.
[44] Because of this rapid growth, London became one of the first cities in human history to reach a population of one million, and was the first ever to surpass five million.
London's
local government system struggled to cope with the rapid growth, especially in providing the city with adequate
infrastructure. Between 1855 and 1889, the
Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion. It was then replaced by the
County of London, overseen by the
London County Council, London's first elected city-wide administration.
The Blitz and other bombing by the
German ''
Luftwaffe'' during
World War II killed over 30,000 Londoners
[45] and flattened large tracts of housing and other buildings across London. The rebuilding during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was characterised by a wide range of
architectural styles and has resulted in a lack of architectural unity that has become part of London's character. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded to take into account the growth of the urban area outside the County of London's borders. The expanded area was called
Greater London and was administered by the
Greater London Council.
In the decades following World War II, large-scale immigration from
Commonwealth countries and beyond transformed London into one of the most racially and culturally diverse cities in Europe. Integration of the new immigrants was not always smooth, with events such as the
Brixton Riots in the early 1980s, but was certainly smoother than in other English regions and largely lacking in widespread support for far right organisations, unlike its European or American contemporaries.
An economic revival from the 1980s onwards re-established London's position as a pre-eminent international centre. However, as the seat of government and the most important city in the UK, it has been subjected to bouts of
terrorism.
Provisional Irish Republican Army bombers sought to pressure the
government into negotiations over
Northern Ireland, frequently disrupting city activities with
bomb threats—some of which were carried out—until their 1997 cease-fire. More recently, a
series of coordinated bomb attacks were carried out by Islamic extremist
suicide bombers on the public transport network on
7 July 2005—just 24 hours after London was
awarded the
2012 Summer Olympics.
Government
Local government
The administration of London takes place in two tiers—a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the
Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.]
The GLA is responsible for
strategic planning,
policing, the
fire service, most aspects of
transport and
economic development. It consists of two elected parts—the
Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the
London Assembly, who scrutinize the Mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The GLA is a recent organisation, having been set up in 2000 to replace the similar
Greater London Council (GLC) which had been abolished in 1986.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] The headquarters of the GLA and the Mayor of London is at
City Hall.
The Mayor of London is
Ken Livingstone, who is in his second term of office. He was elected in 2000 as an independent candidate and again in 2004 as a
Labour candidate. Ken Livingstone was also the leader of the GLC when it was abolished in 1986.
The 33 local authorities are the 32
London boroughs and the
City of London.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] They are responsible for local services not overseen by the GLA, such as local planning, schools,
social services, local roads and refuse collection. The London boroughs each have a council which is elected every four years by local residents. The City of London does not have a conventional local authority, but is governed by the historic
City of London Corporation which is elected by both residents and businesses, and which has existed more or less unchanged since the
Middle Ages. The head of the Corporation is the
Lord Mayor of London, which is a different position from that of Mayor of London.
The City of London also has its own police force: The
City of London Police, which is independent of the
Metropolitan Police Service which covers the rest of Greater London.
Health services in London are managed by the national government through the
National Health Service, which is controlled and administered in London by a single
NHS Strategic Health Authority.
[46]
National government
London is the home of the
Government of the United Kingdom which is located around the
Houses of Parliament in
Westminster. Many government departments are located close to Parliament, particularly along
Whitehall, including the Prime Minister's residence at
10 Downing Street.
The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments" (although this ''
sobriquet'' was first applied to England itself by
John Bright[47]) because it has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliaments. Many nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British "three-tier" model. Most countries in Europe and the
Commonwealth have similarly organised parliaments with a largely ceremonial head of state who formally opens and closes parliament, a large elected lower house and a smaller, upper house.
London is represented in the national
Parliament by 74
Members of Parliament (MPs) who correspond to local parliamentary
constituencies.
[48] For a list of London constituencies, see
List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London. Of these 74 MPs, 44 are from the
Labour Party, 21 are
Conservatives, 8 are
Liberal Democrats and one is from the
RESPECT party.
Economy
London is a major centre for
international business and commerce and is one of three "command centres" for
the global economy (along with
New York City and
Tokyo).
[49] London is the world's second largest financial centre after New York and has the 6th largest city economy in the world, larger than Osaka but smaller than Paris.
[50] As Europe's second largest city economy, year-by-year London generates approximately 20% of the UK's
GDP[51] (or $446 billion in 2005); while the economy of the
London metropolitan area (also the largest in Europe)
[52] generates approximately 30% of UK's GDP (or an estimated $669 billion in 2005.)
[53]
London shifted to a mostly service-based economy earlier than other European cities, particularly following the
Second World War. London's success as a
service industry and business centre.
[54]
This can be attributed to factors such as English being the
lingua franca, its former position as the capital of the
British Empire, close relationship with the U.S. and various countries in Asia.
[54] Other factors include its geographical location on the globe which enables its office hours to overlap with normal office opening hours for other countries across the world that account for 99 percent of world GDP,
English law being the most important and most used
contract law in international business and the
multi-cultural infrastructure (schools, places of worship, cultural and social organisations).
[54] Government policies such as Low taxes, particularly for foreigners (non-UK domiciled residents do not get taxed on their foreign earnings), a business friendly environment, good transport infrastructure, particularly its aviation industry; and a deregulated economy with little intervention by the government have all contributed to London's economy becoming more service based.
[54] Over 85 percent (3.2 million) of the employed population of greater London works in service industries. Another half a million employees resident in Greater London work in manufacturing and construction, almost equally divided between both.
[58] There has been a significant fall in the number of people working in manufacturing industries in London over the last three decades, largely as a result of competition from lower cost regions but also as a consequence of technology and process improvements.
[59] Even still, there are more than 15,000 manufacturing businesses in London such as clothing, printing, fabricated metal, furniture and wood/products and food and drink.
[59] There is also strong growth in the recycling/environmental sector.
[59] Several reasons why there is still a strong manufacturing base in London is due to its geographic location and communication links which provide access to huge markets, its large science and knowledge base, range of physical assets, diversity of the city and its position as a centre of design and creative industries.
[59]
London's largest industry remains finance, and its
financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's
balance of payments.
[63] Over 300,000 people are employed in financial services in London. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. More funds are invested in the City of London than in the next top ten European cities combined, and more international telephone calls are made to and from London than any other point on the planet.
[64] The City is the largest financial and business centre in Europe and, has recently begun to once more overtake
New York City, partly due to strict accounting following the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act and a tightening of market regulations in the
United States.
[65] The
Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg has said that New York risks losing its title of world financial capital to London because of Britain's more easy going regulatory, legal and immigration systems.
London is home to banks, brokers, insurers and legal and accounting firms. A second, smaller financial district is developing at
Canary Wharf to the east of the City which includes the global headquarters of
HSBC,
Reuters,
Barclays and many of the largest
law firms in the world. London handled 31% of
global currency transactions
in 2005—an average daily turnover of US$753 billion—with more US dollars traded in London than
New York, and more
Euros traded than in every other city in Europe combined.
[66][67]
More than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the
FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies are head quartered in central London. Over 70% of the FTSE 100 are located within London's metropolitan area, and 75% of
Fortune 500 companies have offices in London.
Along with
professional services, media companies are concentrated in London ''(see
Media in London)'' and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector.
[68] The
BBC is a key employer, while other broadcasters also have headquarters around the city. Many
national newspapers are edited in London, having traditionally been associated with
Fleet Street in the City, they are now primarily based around
Canary Wharf.
Soho is the centre of London's
post-production industry.
Tourism is one of London's prime industries and employed the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in London in 2003,
[69] while annual expenditure by tourists is around £15bn.
[70] London is a popular destination for tourists, attracting 27 million overnight-stay visitors every year, second only to
Paris.
[71]
From being the largest port in the world, the
Port of London is now only the third-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 50 million
tonnes of cargo each year.
[72] Most of this actually passes through
Tilbury, outside the boundary of
Greater London.
Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of London,
Religion in London
With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and was the most populated city in the world until overtaken by
New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939. There were an estimated 7,512,400 official residents in
Greater London as of mid-2006.
However, London's continuous
urban area extends beyond the borders of Greater London and was home to an estimated 9,332,000 people in 2005, while its wider
metropolitan area has a population of between 12 and 14 million depending on the definition of that area.
[73] According to
Eurostat, London is the most populous city and metropolitan area of the European Union.
[74]
| Country of Birth | Population (2001) |
|---|
| United Kingdom | 5,230,155 |
| India | 172,162 |
| Republic of Ireland | 157,285 |
| Bangladesh | 84,565 |
| Jamaica | 80,319 |
| Nigeria | 68,907 |
| Pakistan | 66,658 |
| Kenya | 66,311 |
| Sri Lanka | 49,932 |
| Ghana | 46,513 |
| Cyprus | 45,888 |
| South Africa | 45,506 |
| United States | 44,622 |
| Australia | 41,488 |
| Germany | 39,818 |
| Turkey | 39,128 |
| Italy | 38,694 |
| France | 38,130 |
| Somalia | 33,831 |
| Uganda | 32,082 |
| New Zealand | 27,494 |
The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres. The population density is 4,761 people per square kilometre, more than ten times that of any other . In terms of population, London is the 25th
largest city and the 17th
largest metropolitan region in the world. It is also ranked 4th in the world in
number of billionaires (United States Dollars) residing in the city. London ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, alongside
Tokyo and
Moscow.
[75]
Ethnic groups
In the
2001 census, 71.15% of these seven and a half million people classed their
ethnic group as white (classified as White
British (59.79%), White
Irish (3.07%) or "Other White" (8.29%, mostly
Polish,
Greek Cypriot,
Italian and
French), 12.09% as
Indian,
Pakistani,
Bangladeshi or "Other Asian" (mostly
Sri Lankan,
Arab and other
South Asian ethnicities), 10.91% as Black (around 7% as Black African, 4.79% as Black
Caribbean, 0.84% as "Other Black"), 3.15% as mixed race, 1.12% as
Chinese and 1.58% as other (mostly
Filipino,
Japanese, and
Vietnamese). 21.8% of inhabitants were born outside the
European Union. The
Irish, from both the
Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland, number approximately 200,000, as do the
Scots and
Welsh combined.
In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and more than 50 non-indigenous communities which have a population of more than 10,000 in London.
[76] Figures from the
Office for National Statistics show that, as of 2006, London's foreign-born population is 2,288,000 (31%), up from 1,630,000 in 1997.
[77] The 2001 census showed that 27.1% of
Greater London's population were born outside the UK, and a slightly higher proportion were classed as non-white.
[78]
The table to the right shows the 'Country of Birth' of London residents in 2001, the date of the last
UK Census. (Top 21).
[79] Note that a portion of the German-born population are likely to be British nationals born to parents serving in the British armed forces in Germany.
[80]
London has been a focus for immigration for centuries, whether as a place of safety or for economic reasons.
Huguenots, eastern European
Jews and Cypriots are examples of the former; Irish,
Bangla Deshis and West Indians came for new lives. The
East End district around
Spitalfields has been first home for several ethnic groups, which have subsequently moved elsewhere in London as they gained prosperity.
Religion
The largest religious groupings in London are
Christian (58.2%),
No Religion (15.8%),
Muslim (8.2%),
Hindu (4.1%),
Jewish (2.1%), and
Sikh (1.5%). London has traditionally been dominated by
Christianity, and has a
large number of churches, particularly in the City. The famous
St Paul's Cathedral in the City and
Southwark Cathedral south of the river are
Anglican administrative centres, while the head of the
Church of England and worldwide
Anglican Communion, the
Archbishop of Canterbury has his main residence at
Lambeth Palace in the
London Borough of Lambeth. Important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and
Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby
Westminster Cathedral, a relatively recent edifice which is the largest
Roman Catholic cathedral in
England and Wales. Religious practice is lower than any other part of the UK or Western Europe and is around seven times lower than
American averages.
[81] Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, observance is very low within the Anglican denomination, although in recent years church attendance, particularly at
evangelical Anglican churches in London, has started to increase.
[82] Observance is considerably higher among London's
Roman Catholic and
Christian Orthodox communities.
[83][84]
London is also home to sizeable
Muslim,
Hindu,
Sikh, and
Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in
Tower Hamlets and
Newham; the most important Muslim edifice is
London Central Mosque on the edge of
Regent's Park. London's large Hindu community is found in the north-western boroughs of
Harrow and
Brent, the latter of which contains one of Europe's largest
Hindu temples,
Neasden Temple.
[85] Sikh communities are located in East and West London, which is also home to the largest Sikh Temples in the world, outside
India. The majority of
British Jews live in London, with significant Jewish communities in
Stamford Hill (the most Orthodox Jewish area outside
New York City and
Israel) and
St. John's Wood,
Golders Green,
Edgware in
North London.
[86]
Transport
Main articles: Transport in London,
Walking in London
Transport is one of the four areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London. However the mayor's financial control is limited and he does not control the heavy rail network (although in November 2007 he will assume responsibility for the
North London Railway). The
public transport network, administered by
Transport for London (TfL), is the most extensive in the world,
[87] but faces congestion and reliability issues, which a large investment programme is attempting to address, including £7 billion (€10 billion) of improvements planned for the
Olympics.
[88] London was recently commended as the city with the best public transport.
[89] Cycling is an increasingly popular way to get around London. The
London Cycling Campaign lobbies for better provision.
The centrepiece of the public transport network is the
London Underground, commonly referred to as The Tube, with twelve interconnecting lines, and plans for expansion—especially deeper into South London, and at least one new line. It is the oldest, largest, and most expensive
metro system in the world, dating from 1863.
The system was home to the world's first underground electric line, the
City & South London Railway, which began service in 1890.
[90] Over three million journeys a day are made on the Underground network, around nearly 1 billion journeys are made each year.
[91] The Underground serves the central area and most suburbs to the north of the Thames, while those to the south are served by an extensive
suburban rail overland network. The
Docklands Light Railway is a second metro system using smaller and lighter trains, which opened in 1987, serves East London and Greenwich on both sides of the
Thames. Commuter and intercity railways generally do not cross the city, instead running into
fourteen terminal stations scattered around its historic centre. Since the early 1990s, increasing pressures on the commuter rail and Underground networks have led to increasing demands, particularly from businesses and the
City of London Corporation, for
Crossrail - a £10 billion east-west heavy rail connection under central London.
[88] Eurostar trains link London
Waterloo station with
Lille and
Paris in
France, and
Brussels in
Belgium, in two to three hours, making London closer to continental Europe than the rest of Britain and tying it into the Euro-core.
The
London bus network is a twenty-four hour service and caters for most local journeys, carrying even more passengers than the Underground. Every weekday, the London bus network carries six million passengers on over 700 different routes. In the year to March 2005, the network's ridership was 1.79 billion passenger trips.
[93] The buses are internationally recognised, and are a trademark of London transport along with
black cabs and the Tube.
London is a major international air transport hub. No fewer than eight airports use the words ''London Airport'' in their name, but most traffic passes through one of five major airports.
London Heathrow Airport is the
busiest airport in the world for international traffic. On completion of the fifth terminal, due for 2008, Heathrow will once again be the world's busiest airport. Before Terminal 5 is even open, plans are afoot for a sixth, to the disapproval of residents nearby, and under its take-off and landing corridors
[94] and will handle a mixture of full-service domestic, European and inter-continental scheduled passenger flights. Similar traffic, with the addition of some
low-cost short-haul flights, is also handled at
London Gatwick Airport.
London Stansted Airport and
London Luton Airport cater mostly for low-cost short-haul flights.
London City Airport, the smallest and most central airport, is focused on business travellers, with a mixture of full service short-haul scheduled flights and considerable
business jet traffic.
[95]
Although the majority of journeys involving
central London are made by public transport, travel in outer London is car-dominated. The
inner ring road (around the city centre), the
North and
South Circular roads (in the suburbs), and the outer orbital
motorway (the
M25, outside the built-up area) encircle the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes—but very few motorways penetrate into
inner London. A plan for a comprehensive network of motorways throughout the city (the
Ringways Plan) was prepared in the 1960s but was mostly canceled in the early 1970s.
[96] In 2003, a
congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city centre. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay £8 per day to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of congested central London.
[96] Motorists who are residents of the defined zone can buy a vastly reduced season pass which is renewed monthly and is cheaper than a corresponding bus fare.
[96]
Education
Main articles: Education in London
Home to a range of universities, colleges and schools, London has a student population of about 378,000
[99] and is a centre of
research and development. Most primary and secondary schools in London follow the
same system as the rest of England.
With 125,000 students, the
University of London is the largest contact teaching university in the United Kingdom and in Europe.
[100] It comprises 20 colleges as well as several smaller institutes, each with a high degree of autonomy. Constituent colleges have their own
admissions procedures, and are effectively universities in their own right, although most degrees are awarded by the University of London rather than the individual colleges. Its constituents include multi-disciplinary colleges such as
UCL,
King's and
Royal Holloway and more specialised institutions such as the
London School of Economics,
SOAS, the
Royal Academy of Music and the
Institute of Education.
The
London School of Economics,
Imperial College London,
King's and
UCL have been ranked among some of the best universities in the whole world by
The Times Higher Education Supplement: in 2006
Imperial was ranked 9th, the
London School of Economics was ranked 17th,
UCL 25th, and
King's 46th in the world.
[101]
London's other universities, such as
Brunel University,
City University,
London Metropolitan University,
Imperial College London,
Middlesex University,
University of East London, the
University of Westminster and
London South Bank University, are not part of the University of London. Some were
polytechnics until these were granted university status in
1992, and others which were founded much earlier. London is also known globally for its business education, with the
London Business School (ranked 1st in Europe - Business Week) and Cass Business School (Europe's largest finance school) both being top world-rated business schools.
London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions which are major
tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The
Natural History Museum (biology and geology),
Science Museum and
Victoria and Albert Museum (fashion and design) are clustered in
South Kensington's "museum quarter", while the
British Museum houses historic artefacts from around the world. The
British Library at
St Pancras is the UK's
national library, housing 150 million items.
[102] The city also houses extensive art collections, primarily in the
National Gallery,
Tate Britain and
Tate Modern. See the
list of museums in London.
Society and culture
Main articles: Culture of London
Leisure and entertainment
Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the
West End has its focus around
Leicester Square, where London and world film
premieres are held, and
Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] London's
theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants, including the city's
Chinatown district, and just to the east is
Covent Garden, an area housing
speciality shops.
Shoreditch and
Hoxton in the East End form a second, less mainstream, focus of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and galleries.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] Islington's one mile (2 km) long Upper Street, extending northwards from
The Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK. It was also the first street in the UK to have
wireless enabled for its cafes.
Europe's busiest shopping area is
Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly one mile (2 km) long—which makes it the longest shopping street in the world—and home to many shops and department stores including
Selfridges.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] The adjoining
Bond Street in
Mayfair is an extremely
upmarket location, complemented by the
Knightsbridge area—home to the
Harrods department store—to the southwest, home to fashion, jewelery, and accessories design houses.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] The districts of Knightsbridge (
Sloane Street), Mayfair (Bond Street,
Brook Street), and Chelsea (King's Road) represent London's prestigious role in the world of fashion, home to
Vivienne Westwood,
Galliano,
Stella McCartney,
Manolo Blahnik, and
Jimmy Choo among others, its renowned art and fashion schools cementing it an international centre of fashion alongside Paris, Milan and New York.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.] Top global supermodels
Naomi Campbell and
Kate Moss come from South London; and actress
Sienna Miller was raised in
Chelsea. London also has a high number of street markets, including
Camden Market for fashions and alternative products,
Portobello Road for antiques, and vintage and one-off clothes, and
Borough Market for organic and specialist foods.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.]
London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of
Brick Lane and the Chinese food restaurants of
Chinatown.
Soho's variety of restaurants includes novelties such as Garlic and Shots - an entirely
garlic restaurant, while more upmarket restaurants are scattered around central London, with concentrations in
Mayfair,
Knightsbridge and
Notting Hill. Across the city, areas home to particular
ethnic groups are often recognizable by restaurants, food shops and market stalls offering their local fare, and the large supermarket chains stock such items in areas with sizable ethnic groups.
There are a variety of regular
annual events. The
Caribbean-descended community in
Notting Hill in
West London organizes the colorful
Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street carnival, every summer. The beginning of the year is celebrated with the relatively new
New Year's Day Parade, while traditional parades include November's
Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new
Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the City, and June's
Trooping the Colour, a very formal military pageant to celebrate the
Queen's Official Birthday.
[History and general information. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.]
Literature and film
London has been the setting for many works of literature. Two writers closely associated with the city are the diarist
Samuel Pepys, famous for his eyewitness account of the
Great Fire, and
Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has been a major influence on people's vision of early
Victorian London.
[103] James Boswell's biographical ''
Life of Johnson'' mostly takes place in London, and is the source of
Johnson's famous aphorism: "''When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.''" The earlier (1722) ''
A Journal of the Plague Year'' by
Daniel Defoe is a fictionalisation of the events of the 1665
Great Plague.
[103] William Shakespeare spent a large part of his life living and working in London; his contemporary
Ben Jonson was also based in London, and some of his work - most notably his play
''The Alchemist'' - was set in the city.
[103] Later important depictions of London from the 19th and early 20th centuries are the afore-mentioned Dickens novels, and
Arthur Conan Doyle's famous
Sherlock Holmes stories.
[103] Trollope's
Palliser novels are largely set in London, vividly depicting Westminster and its surrounds. The 1933 novel ''
Down and Out in Paris and London'' by
George Orwell describes life in poverty in both cities.
[103] A modern writer pervasively influenced by the city is
Peter Ackroyd, in works such as ''London: The Biography'', ''The Lambs of London'' and ''Hawksmoor''. Along with
Bloomsbury, the hilly area of
Hampstead has traditionally been the liberal, literary heartland of London.
London has played a significant role in the film industry, and has major studios at
Pinewood,
Shepperton,
Elstree and
Leavesden, as well as an important
special effects and post-production community. Many films have also used London as a location and have done much to shape international perceptions of the city. See main article ''
London in film''.
The city also hosts a number of
performing arts schools, including the
Central School of Speech and Drama, whose past students include
Judi Dench and
Laurence Olivier, the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (educators of
Jim Broadbent and
Donald Sutherland among others) and the prestigious
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (past students including
Joan Collins and
Roger Moore).
The
London Film Festival is held in the city each October.
Music
The Beatles in London
London is one of the major classical and popular music capitals of the world and is home to one of the five major global music corporations,
EMI as well as countless bands, musicians and industry professionals.
London is home to many orchestras and concert halls such as the
Barbican Arts Centre (principal base of the
London Symphony Orchestra),
Cadogan Hall (
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), the
Royal Albert Hall (
BBC Promenade Concerts), the
Royal Festival Hall (
Philharmonia Orchestra,
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
London Sinfonietta) and
Wigmore Hall.
[108] London's two main opera houses are the
Royal Opera House and the
Coliseum Theatre.
[108] The United Kingdom's
Royal Ballet and the
English National Ballet are based in London and perform at the
Royal Opera House, the Coliseum,
Sadler's Wells Theatre and the
Royal Albert Hall.
[108]
As a cultural centre for the United Kingdom, London has had a major role in many popular music movements. It has numerous famous venues for rock and pop concerts, including large arenas such as
Earls Court and
Wembley Arena, as well as more intimate venues, such as
Brixton Academy and
Hammersmith Apollo.
[108] The area around the northern part of
Charing Cross Road in Westminster is famous for its shops that sell modern musical instruments and audio equipment. London was home of one of the legs for both the
Live Aid and
Live 8 concerts.
London and its surrounding
Home Counties have spawned iconic and popular artists. London is home to the first and original
Hard Rock Cafe and the famous
Abbey Road Studios where
The Beatles created many of their hits. Musicians such as
Bob Marley,
Jimi Hendrix and
Freddie Mercury have lived in London.
[112] Famous musicians and groups associated with London include
The Who,
Fleetwood Mac,
Iron Maiden,
Elton John,
Elvis Costello,
Cliff Richard,
John Lennon,
Yoko Ono,
Paul McCartney,
Pink Floyd and
The Rolling Stones. London was instrumental in the development of
punk music, with figures such as the
Sex Pistols,
The Clash,
The Jam, and
Vivienne Westwood all based in the city.
As Britain's largest urban area, London has played a key role in the development of most British-born strains of "
urban" and electronic music, such as
drum and bass,
UK garage,
grime and
dubstep, and is home to many
UK hip hop artists.
The largest entertainment venture of all time,
The Phantom of the Opera, a musical by
Andrew Lloyd Webber, premiered here at
Her Majesty's Theatre, and emerged as the highest grossing entertainment event with US $3.3 billion, and attendance of 80 million worldwide.
Sport
Main articles: Sport in London
The new
Wembley Stadium is the most expensive stadium ever built costing £793 million
[113]
London has hosted the
Summer Olympics twice, in
1908 and
1948. In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Games in
2012, which will make it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times.
[114] London was also the host of the
British Empire Games in
1934.
London's most popular sport (for both participants and spectators) is
football.
[115] London has 13
League football clubs, including five in the
Premiership (
Arsenal,
Fulham,
Tottenham Hotspur,
West Ham United and
Chelsea), plus a further eight in the remaining three divisions (
Barnet,
Brentford,
Charlton Athletic,
Crystal Palace,
Leyton Orient,
Millwall,
Queens Park Rangers and newly promoted
Dagenham and Redbridge F.C.), plus countless
non-league and
amateur football teams.
London has a special place in the history of
Association Football. The playing of football in London has been well documented since it was first outlawed in 1314. In the sixteenth century the headmaster of
St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking
mob football and transforming it into organised and refereed team football. The modern game of football was first codified in 1863 in London and subsequently spread worldwide. Key to the establishment of the modern game was Londoner
Ebenezer Cobb Morley who was a founding member of
the Football Association, the oldest football organisation in the world. Morley wrote to ''Bell's Life'' newspaper proposing a governing body for football which led directly to the first meeting at the Freemason's Tavern in central London of the FA. He wrote the first set of rules of true modern
football at his house in
Barnes. The modern passing game was invented in London in the early 1870s by the
Royal Engineers A.F.C.[116][117]
London also has four
rugby union teams in the
Guinness Premiership (
London Irish,
Saracens,
Wasps and
NEC Harlequins), although only the Harlequins play in London (all the other three now play outside Greater London). London also has many famous other
rugby union clubs in lower leagues, including
Richmond F.C.,
Blackheath R.C.,
Rosslyn Park F.C. and
Barnes R.F.C. London also has its own rugby league
Super League club in
Harlequins RL.
Since 1924, the original
Wembley Stadium was the home of the
English national football team, and served as the venue for the
FA Cup final as well as
rugby league's
Challenge Cup final. The new Wembley Stadium will serve exactly the same purposes.
Twickenham Stadium in west London is the national
rugby union stadium, and has a capacity of 82,000 now that the new south stand has been completed.
[118]
Basketball in London has seen many powerful teams succumb to finacial difficulties and disappear without a trace.
London Towers are without a doubt the most recognisable name to experience the rise and demise, and are joined by
Greater London Leopards and most recently
London United in
2007.
The capital's only representative in the top-tier
British Basketball League is newly elected
London Capital, who boast former
Los Angeles Lakers star
Steve Bucknall as their coach. They play their home games at Capital City Academy, although rumours abound suggest a future move to
Wembley Arena, along with the return of the Towers to the planned
Croydon Arena.
Cricket in London centres on its two
Test cricket grounds at
Lord's (home of
Middlesex C.C.C) in
St John's Wood, and
The Oval (home of
Surrey C.C.C) in
Kennington.
The main Olympic stadium for 2012, which will hold about 91,000 spectators
One of London's best-known annual sports competitions is the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the
All England Club in the south-western suburb of
Wimbledon. Other key events are the annual mass-participation
London Marathon which sees some 35,000 runners attempt a 26.2 mile (~42 km) course around the city, and the
Oxford ''vs.'' Cambridge Boat Race on the
River Thames between
Putney and
Mortlake.
Twinnings
The Greater London Authority has twin and sister city agreements with the following cities:
★
Sister cities:
★
★
Berlin,
Germany (since 2000)
[119]
★
★
New York City,
U.S. (since 2001)
[120]
★
★
Moscow,
Russia★
★
Beijing,
China (since 2006)
★ Partner cities:
★
★
Paris,
France (since 2001)
★
★
Rome,
Italy
In addition, the Greater London Authority has a "partnership" agreement with
Tokyo,
Japan.
For Borough twinnings see
List of twin towns in the United Kingdom#London
See also
★
Large Cities Climate Leadership Group
★
List of songs about London
★
London Design Festival
★
London markets
★
Squares in London
★
London slang
★
Megacity
★
Subterranean London
★
Tallest landmarks in London
References
1. The Competitive Position of London as a Glob 
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