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London
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 Underground roundel in front of Elizabeth Tower
London Show map of South-east England London Show map of the United Kingdom London Show map of Europe Location of London in the United Kingdom
Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.12750°W / 51.50722; -0.12750Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.12750°W / 51.50722; -0.12750
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	35 m (115 ft)
Population (2016)
• Greater London	8,787,892
• Density	5,590/km2 (14,500/sq mi)
• Urban	9,787,426
• Metro	13,879,757
Demonym(s)	Londoner Cockney (colloquial)
GVA (2016)
• Total	£378 billion
• Per capita	£43,629
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time (UTC)
• Summer (DST)	British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Postcode areas	22 areas E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W, WC, BR, CR, DA, EN, HA, IG, KT, RM, SM, TW, UB, WD (CM, TN; partially)
Area code(s)	9 area codes 020, 01322, 01689, 01708, 01737, 01895, 01923, 01959, 01992
Police	City of London Police and 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

2011 United Kingdom Census
Country of birth	Population
United Kingdom	5,175,677
India	262,247
Poland	158,300
Ireland	129,807
Nigeria	114,718
Pakistan	112,457
Bangladesh	109,948
Jamaica	87,467
Sri Lanka	84,542
France	66,654

London /ˈlʌndən/ 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, 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-mile (2.9 km²) medieval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which today largely makes up Greater London, a region governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

London is a leading global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism, and transportation. It is crowned as the world's largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world. London is a world cultural capital. It is the world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic. London is the world's leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.