List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population

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List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population

This is a list of non-metropolitan counties of England by population.

It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties

Shire county

A non-metropolitan county or shire county in England, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England which is not a metropolitan county....
) with a two-tier county council

County council

A County council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries....
structure and does not include metropolitan counties

Metropolitan county

The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million....
or unitary authorities

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national government....
.

In cases where a unitary authority has been detached from a shire county the population of the unitary authority is excluded. For example, Luton

Luton

Luton is a large town in the East of England England, 32 miles north of London. Historically, Luton is within the county of Bedfordshire, and since 1997, the town has been a unitary authority....
is excluded from the population figure for Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a county in England that forms part of the East of England Regions of England.Its county town is Bedford, Bedfordshire. It borders Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire....
.

The figures are mid-year estimates for 2007 from the Office for National Statistics

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
.

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Encyclopedia

This is a list of non-metropolitan counties of England by population.

It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties

Shire county

A non-metropolitan county or shire county in England, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England which is not a metropolitan county....
) with a two-tier county council

County council

Metropolitan county

Unitary authority

Luton

Bedfordshire

Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
.

Rank	County	Population Population File:Population density.pngIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings....	Area (in km²)	Density (people/km²)
1	Kent Kent Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....	1,394,900	3,545	394
2	Essex Essex Essex is a counties of England in the East of England England. The county town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, Essex, close to the Hertfordshire border, which reaches ....	1,376,400	3,472	396
3	Hampshire Hampshire Hampshire , sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, , or the County of Southampton, is a Counties of England on the south coast of England....	1,276,800	3,679	347
4	Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in the North West England of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea....	1,168,100	2,904	402
5	Surrey Surrey Surrey is a counties of England in the South East England of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire....	1,098,300	1,670	658
6	Hertfordshire Hertfordshire Hertfordshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England Counties of England in the East of England region of England....	1,066,100	1,643	649
7	Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk is a low-lying Counties of England in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and with Suffolk to the south....	840,600	5,372	156
8	Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire is a landlocked Counties of England in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Stafford. Part of the National Forest, England lies within its borders....	825,800	2,623	315
9	West Sussex West Sussex West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial counties of England until 1974 and the coming into force of the Local Government...	776,300	1,991	390
10	Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire is an Counties of England in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. The county town is traditionally Nottingham, though the council is now based in West Bridgford, a suburb of Greater Nottingham ....	771,900	2,085	370
11	Derbyshire Derbyshire Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains....	758,100	2,551	297
12	Devon Devon Devon is a large Counties of England in South West England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county but often indicating a shire....	750,100	6,567	114
13	Suffolk Suffolk Suffolk is a Non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south....	709,300	3,802	187
14	Lincolnshire Lincolnshire Lincolnshire is a Counties of England in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire....	692,800	5,921	117
15	Cheshire Cheshire Cheshire is a Counties of England in North West England. The county town, and the location of the county council, is the City status in the United Kingdom of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town in terms of area and population is Warrington....	688,900	2,083	331
16	Northamptonshire Northamptonshire Northamptonshire is a landlocked Counties of England in the England East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the United Kingdom Census 2001....	678,200	2,367	287
17	Leicestershire Leicestershire Leicestershire County Hall, situated in Glenfield, Leicestershire, about 3 miles northwest of Leicester city centre, is the seat of Leicestershire County Council and the headquarters of the county authority....	640,800	2,084	308
18	Oxfordshire Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....	635,600	2,606	244
19	Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire is a Counties_of_the_United_Kingdom#England in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex, England and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west....	597,400	3,053	196
20	North Yorkshire North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a shire county or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial counties of England in that region and also partly in North East England....	595,600	8,040	74
21	Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a Counties of England in South West England England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....	582,500	2,653	220
22	Worcestershire Worcestershire Worcestershire is a county located in the West Midlands of central England. From 1974 to 1998 it was administered as part of Hereford and Worcester....	555,600	1,741	319
23	Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....	529,500	3,549	149
24	Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton in the far north of the county....	526,800	1,978	266
25	Somerset Somerset Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....	522,700	3,452	151
26	East Sussex East Sussex East Sussex is a Counties of England in South East England England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel....	508,300	1,713	297
27	County Durham County Durham County Durham is a Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in North East England England. The county town is Durham.The largest settlement in the county is the town of Darlington....	504,900	2,232	226
28	Cumbria Cumbria Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....	497,000	6,823	73
29	Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England home counties Counties of England in South East England England....	490,600	1,565	313
30	Wiltshire Wiltshire *Wiltshire* is a Ceremonial counties of England in the South West England of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire....	452,500	3,255	139
31	Bedfordshire Bedfordshire Bedfordshire is a county in England that forms part of the East of England Regions of England.Its county town is Bedford, Bedfordshire. It borders Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire....	407,000	1,192	341
32	Dorset Dorset Dorset , is a Counties of England in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester, Dorset, situated in the south of the county at ....	406,800	2,542	160
33	Northumberland Northumberland Northumberland is a Counties of England in the North East England of England. The non-metropolitan counties of England of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders council area to the north, and nearly eighty miles of Nort...	310,600	5,026	62
34	Shropshire Shropshire Shropshire , alternatively known as *Salop* or abbreviated, in print only, *Shrops*, is a Counties of England in the West Midlands of England....	290,900	3,197	91

List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population

See also