London

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the capital city. For the region and county of England, see Greater London.
For the historic city and financial district within London, see City of London. For other uses,
see London (disambiguation).

London

Capital city

Clockwise from top: City of London skyline in the foreground with Canary Wharf skyline in

the far background, Trafalgar Square, London Eye, Tower Bridge and a London

Undergroundroundel in front of Elizabeth Tower

London

Location of London in the United Kingdom

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Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″WCoordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W

Sovereign State United Kingdom

Country England

Region Greater London

Settled by Romans c.43 AD (as Londinium)

Counties City of London & Greater London

Districts City of London & 32 boroughs

Government

• Type Devolved authority

• Body Greater London Authority

• Elected body London Assembly

• Mayor Sadiq Khan (L)

• London Assembly 14 constituencies

• UK Parliament 73 constituencies

• European Parliament London constituency

Area

• Greater London 1,572 km2(607 sq mi)

 • Urban 1,737.9 km2(671.0 sq mi)

• Metro 8,382 km2(3,236 sq mi)

Elevation[1] 35 m (115 ft)

Population (2016)[3]

• Greater London 8,787,892

• Density 5,590/km2(14,500/sq mi)

• Urban 9,787,426

• Metro 14,040,163[2]

Demonym(s) Londoner

Cockney (colloquial)

GVA (2016)[4]

• Total £396 billion (US$531 billion)[5]

• Per capita £45,046 (US$60,394)[6]

Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC)

• Summer (DST) British Summer Time(UTC+1)

Postcode areas
22 areas[show]

Area code(s)
9 area codes[show]

Police City of London Policeand Metropolitan Police

International airports Heathrow (LHR)

City (LCY)

Outside Greater London:

Gatwick (LGW)

Stansted (STN)

Luton (LTN)

Southend (SEN)

GeoTLD .london

Website london.gov.uk

London (/ˈlʌndən/ ( listen)) is the capital and most populous city of England and the United
Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain,
[7][8]

London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans, who
named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-
[9]

mile (2.9 km ) medieval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, "London" has also referred
2

to the metropolis around this core, historically split

between Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire, which today largely makes [10][11][12]

up Greater London, a region governed by the Mayor of London and the London
[13][14][note 1]

Assembly. [15][note 2][16]

London is a leading global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion,
[17][18]

finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and
transportation. It is the world's largest financial centre
[19][20][21]
and has the fifth or sixth largest [22][23][24][25]

metropolitan area GDP in the world. London is often regarded as a world cultural
[note 3][26][27]

capital. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has
[28][29][30] [31]

the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. It is the world's [32]
leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-
[33][34][35][36] [37][38]

worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of
[39][40]

higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the
[41]

modern Summer Olympic Games three times. [42]

London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in
the region. Its estimated mid-2016 municipal population (corresponding to Greater London) was
[43]

8,787,892, the largest of any city in the European Union and accounting for 13.4% of the UK
[3] [44]

population. London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with
[45]

9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The city's metropolitan area is the most populous in
[46]

the EU with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016, while the Greater London Authority states the
[note 4][2]

population of the city-region (covering a large part of the south east) as 22.7 million. London [47][48]

was the world's most populous city from around 1831 to 1925. [49]

London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site
comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the
historic settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory, Greenwichdefines the Prime
Meridian, 0° longitude, and GMT). Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London
[50]

Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard.
London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural
institutions, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate
Modern, British Library and West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest
[51]

underground railway network in the world.