London

London is the capital of the British Empire and England's capital. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans.

Demographics

Country of Origin

Country of birth	Population
United Kingdom	5,175,677
India	262,247
Poland	158,300
Republic of Ireland	129,807
Nigeria	114,718

Religion

Religion	Population	%
Christian	3,957,984	48.42
No religion	1,694,372	20.73
Muslim	1,012,823	12.39
Religion not stated	692,739	8.47
Hindu	411,291	5.03

By Race

Group	Population	%
White	4,887,435	59.79
Asian	1,511,546	18.49
Black	1,088,640	13.32%
Mixed	405,279	4.96%
Other	281,041	3.44%

Languages

Language	Resident	%
English	6,083,420	77.9%
Polish	147,816	1.9%
Bengali	114,267	1.5%
Gujarati	101,676	1.3%

Government

The administration of London is formed of two tiers: a citywide, strategic tier and a local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities. The GLA consists of two elected components: the Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, which scrutinizes the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject the mayor's budget proposals each year. The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall, Southwark. The mayor since 2016 has been Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which was most recently revised in 2011. The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation.

History

Unlike many cities of Roman Britain, Londinium was not placed on the site of a Celtic oppidum. Before the arrival of the Roman legions, the area was almost certainly lightly rolling open countryside traversed by numerous streams now underground. Archaeologist Lacey Wallace notes that "Because no LPRIA settlements or significant domestic refuse have been found in London, despite extensive archaeological excavation, arguments for a purely Roman foundation of London are now common and uncontroversial.

Architecture

London's buildings are too diverse to be characterized by any particular architectural style, partly because of their varying ages. Many grand houses and public buildings, such as the National Gallery, are constructed from Portland stone. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the center, are characterized by white stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures in central London pre-date the Great Fire of 1666, these being a few trace Roman remains the Tower of London and a few scattered Tudor survivors in the City. Further out is, for example, the Tudor-period Hampton Court Palace, England's oldest surviving Tudor palace, built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey c.1515.

Geography

London also referred to as Greater London, is one of nine regions of England and the top-level subdivision covering most of the city's metropolis. The small ancient City of London at its core once comprised the whole settlement, but as its urban area grew, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to amalgamate the city with its suburbs, causing "London" to be defined in a number of ways for different purposes. Forty percent of Greater London is covered by the London post town, within which 'LONDON' forms part of postal addresses. The London telephone area code (020) covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are excluded and some places just outside are included. The Greater London boundary has been aligned to the M25 motorway in places.

Type

Capital

Population

5,238,471

Inhabitant Demonym

Londoner