London
Population: 8630000 people
London i/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km2) medieval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms Greater London,[note 1] a region of England governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.[note 2] The conurbation also covers two English counties, the City of London and the county of Greater London, though historically it was split between the City, Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism, and transport all contributing to its prominence.[16] It is one of the world's leading financial centres[17][18][19] and has the fifth-or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world depending on measurement.[note 3][20][21] London is a world cultural capital.[22][23][24][25] It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals[26] and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic.[27] London is the world's leading investment destination,[28][29][30] hosting more international retailers[31][32] and ultra high-net-worth individuals[33][34] than any other city. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe.[35] In 2012, London became the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.[36]
London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken within Greater London.[37] The Greater London Authority estimated its population to be 8.63 million in 2015, the largest of any municipality in the European Union,[38] and accounting for 12.5 percent of the UK population.[39]London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants according to the 2011 census.[40] The city's metropolitan area is one of the most populous in Europe with 13,879,757 inhabitants,[note 4][41] while the Greater London Authority states the population of the city-region (covering a large part of south east England) as 22.7 million.[42] London was the world's most populous city from around 1831 to 1925.[43]
Tweet