List of English Counties

This is a list of metropolitan counties, non-metropolitan counties and unitary authorities of England by population.

It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties) with a two-tier county council structure, metropolitan counties and unitary authorities.

In cases where a unitary authority has been detached from a county, the population of the unitary authority is shown separately. For example, Peterborough is shown separately from the population figure for Cambridgeshire.

Population figures are from the 2011 Census Office for National Statistics.

Areas from UK Standard Area Measurements

Densities are calculated from population and area values.


Rank
 County
 Type
 Region
 Population
 Density
 Area (km²)
1 Greater London administrative area London 8,173,900 5,173 1,580
2 West Midlands metropolitan county West Midlands 2,738,100 3,036 902
3 Greater Manchester metropolitan county North West 2,682,500 2,102 1,276
4 West Yorkshire metropolitan county Yorkshire and the Humber 2,226,100 1,097 2,029
5 Kent two-tier South East 1,463,700 413 3,544
6 Essex two-tier East 1,393,600 402 3,465
7 Merseyside metropolitan county North West 1,381,200 2,141 645
8 South Yorkshire metropolitan county Yorkshire and the Humber 1,343,600 866 1,552
9 Hampshire two-tier South East 1,317,800 358 3,679
10 Lancashire two-tier North West 1,171,300 403 2,903
11 Surrey two-tier South East 1,132,400 681 1,663
12 Hertfordshire two-tier East 1,116,000 679 1,643
13 Tyne and Wear metropolitan county North East 1,104,800 2,046 540
14 Norfolk two-tier East 857,900 160 5,371
15 Staffordshire two-tier West Midlands 848,500 324 2,620
16 West Sussex two-tier South East 806,900 405 1,991
17 Nottinghamshire two-tier East Midlands 785,800 377 2,085
18 Derbyshire two-tier East Midlands 769,700 302 2,547
19 Devon two-tier South West 746,400 114 6,564
20 Suffolk two-tier East 728,200 192 3,801
21 Lincolnshire two-tier East Midlands 713,700 121 5,921
22 Northamptonshire two-tier East Midlands 687,300 291 2,364
23 Oxfordshire two-tier South East 653,800 251 2,605
24 Leicestershire two-tier East Midlands 648,700 311 2,083
25 Cambridgeshire two-tier East 621,200 204 3,046
26 North Yorkshire two-tier Yorkshire and the Humber 598,400 74 8,038
27 Gloucestershire two-tier South West 597,000 225 2,653
28 Worcestershire two-tier West Midlands 566,200 325 1,741
29 Warwickshire two-tier West Midlands 543,800 275 1,975
30 Cornwall unitary South West 532,300 150 3,549
31 Somerset two-tier South West 530,000 154 3,451
32 East Sussex two-tier South East 526,700 308 1,709
33 County Durham unitary North East 513,200 231 2,226
34 Buckinghamshire two-tier South East 505,300 323 1,565
35 Cumbria two-tier North West 499,900 74 6,768
36 Wiltshire unitary South West 471,000 145 3,255
37 Bristol unitary South West 428,200 3,893 110
38 Dorset two-tier South West 412,900 162 2,542
39 Cheshire East unitary North West 370,100 320 1,158
40 East Riding of Yorkshire unitary Yorkshire and the Humber 334,200 139 2,409
41 Leicester unitary East Midlands 329,900 4,519 73
42 Cheshire West and Chester unitary North West 329,600 359 918
43 Northumberland unitary North East 316,000 63 5,013
44 Shropshire unitary West Midlands 306,100 96 3,197
45 Nottingham unitary East Midlands 305,700 4,076 75
46 Brighton & Hove unitary South East 273,400 3,294 83
47 Medway unitary South East 263,900 1,374 192
48 South Gloucestershire unitary South West 262,800 529 497
49 Hull unitary Yorkshire and the Humber 256,400 3,611 71
50 Plymouth unitary South West 256,400 3,205 80
51 Central Bedfordshire unitary East 254,400 355 716
52 Stoke-on-Trent unitary West Midlands 249,000 2,677 93
53 Milton Keynes unitary South East 248,800 805 309
54 Derby unitary East Midlands 248,700 3,188 78
55 Southampton unitary South East 236,900 4,738 50
56 Swindon unitary South West 209,200 910 230
57 Portsmouth unitary South East 205,100 5,128 40
58 Luton unitary East 203,200 4,726 43
59 North Somerset unitary South West 202,600 540 375
60 Warrington unitary North West 202,200 1,117 181
61 York unitary Yorkshire and the Humber 198,000 728 272
62 Stockton-on-Tees unitary North East 191,600 939 204
63 Peterborough unitary East 183,600 535 343
64 Herefordshire unitary West Midlands 183,500 84 2,180
65 Bournemouth unitary South West 183,500 3,989 46
66 Bath and North East Somerset unitary South West 176,000 501 351
67 Southend-on-Sea unitary East 173,600 4,133 42
68 North Lincolnshire unitary Yorkshire and the Humber 167,400 198 846
69 Telford and Wrekin unitary West Midlands 166,600 574 290
70 North East Lincolnshire unitary Yorkshire and the Humber 159,600 831 192
71 Thurrock unitary East 157,700 967 163
72 Bedford unitary East 157,500 331 476
73 Reading unitary South East 155,700 3,893 40
74 Wokingham unitary South East 154,400 863 179
75 West Berkshire unitary South East 153,800 218 704
76 Poole unitary South West 147,600 2,271 65
77 Blackburn with Darwen unitary North West 147,500 1,077 137
78 Windsor and Maidenhead unitary South East 144,600 734 197
79 Blackpool unitary North West 142,100 4,060 35
80 Slough unitary South East 140,200 4,248 33
81 Middlesbrough unitary North East 138,400 2,563 54
82 Isle of Wight unitary South East 138,300 364 380
83 Redcar and Cleveland unitary North East 135,200 552 245
84 Torbay unitary South West 131,000 2,079 63
85 Halton unitary North West 125,800 1,592 79
86 Bracknell Forest unitary South East 113,200 1,039 109
87 Darlington unitary North East 105,600 536 197
88 Hartlepool unitary North East 92,000 979 94
89 Rutland unitary East Midlands 37,400 98 382
90 Isles of Scilly unitary South West 2,200 138 16

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