From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Outer London is the name for the group of London Boroughs that form a ring around Inner London.

These were areas that were not part of the County of London and became formally part of Greater London in 1965. An exception is North Woolwich, which was in the County of London but was transferred to Newham in 1965.

The position is now less clear, as the census and other statistical classifications use different definitions mainly because Newham and Haringey have many of the characteristics of Inner London boroughs while inner-London Greenwich is more like an Outer London borough.

Outer London (1965)

ONS's Outer London

Outer London prescriptively consists of:

• Barking and Dagenham
• Barnet
• Bexley
• Brent
• Bromley
• Croydon
• Ealing
• Enfield
• Haringey
• Harrow
• Havering
• Hillingdon
• Hounslow
• Kingston upon Thames
• Merton
• Newham
• Redbridge
• Richmond upon Thames
• Sutton
• Waltham Forest

According to the Office for National Statistics, Outer London excludes Newham and Haringey, but includes Greenwich. This is reflected in the NUTS classification. Under this classification, Outer London consists of Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and Waltham Forest.

From 1990 to 2000 London used two telephone area codes with a separate code for 'Outer London', however the area covered by this code was widely different from all of the above definitions.

Please note: Figures here are for the Office for National Statistics defined Outer London (in its 2001 limits), whose land area is 1,254 km² (484 sq. miles). Figures before 1971 have been reconstructed by the Office for National Statistics based on past censuses in order to fit the 2001 limits. Figures from 1981 onward are midyear estimates (revised as of 2004), which are more accurate than the censuses themselves, known to underestimate the population of London.

1891, April 5/6           1,083,770 
1901, March 31/April 1    1,647,396
1911, April 2/3           2,162,288 
1921, June 19/20          2,413,978 
1931, April 26/27         3,217,219 
1939, Mid-year estimate   4,250,788 
1951, April 8/9           4,517,588 
1961, April 23/24         4,499,737 
1971, April 25/26         4,420,585
1981, Midyear estimate    4,254,900
1991, Midyear estimate    4,230,000
2001, Midyear estimate    4,463,000
2003, Midyear estimate    4,483,300
2004, Midyear estimate    4,498,200
2005, Midyear estimate    4,532,100