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| London | |
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| Administrative HQ | Southwark |
| Area - Total | Ranked 9th England 1,580 km² |
| Population - Total (2001) - Density | Ranked 2nd England 7,172,036 4539/km² |
The administrative area of Greater London combines the City of London, the City of Westminster and 31 other London boroughs, and includes most of what is commonly known simply as London, capital of the United Kingdom. Covering 1579 km2 and with a population of 7,172,036 at the 2001 census, Greater London was created in 1965, replacing the former administrative counties of Middlesex and the County of London, adding the City, which was not under the London County Council, and absorbing parts of Kent, Hertfordshire, Surrey, and Essex. Greater London was originally governed by a two-tier system of local government, with a Greater London Council sharing power with the Corporation of London (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London borough councils. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 under the government of Margaret Thatcher, and its functions devolved to the Corporation and the boroughs.
Since 2000 Greater London has been administered by the Greater London Authority, and has a directly-elected Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone who is scrutinised by an elected London Assembly. Greater London's population rose from 1.1 million in 1801 to an estimated 8.5 million in 1939, but declined to 6.5 million in the 1980s. Wider definitions of London's metropolitan area (the London commuter belt) extend over a far larger region with up to fourteen million inhabitants, but generally include districts distinct from London proper.
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