Conurbation - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Industrial and housing growth in the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries produced many conurbations. Greater London is by far the largest urban area and is usually counted as a conurbation in statistical terms, but differs from the others in the degree to which it is focused on a single central area. In the mid-1950s the Green Belt was introduced to stem the further urbanisation of the countryside in England. Note that as used in the United Kingdom, the term "conurbation" is closer to the meaning of urban agglomeration.

The list below shows the most populous urban areas in the UK as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Greater London Urban Area contains the whole of what is commonly called London, but ONS definitions divide London into a large number of smaller localities of which the largest is Croydon.


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Largest urban areas of the United Kingdom
Rank Urban area Pop. Principal settlement Rank Urban area Pop. Principal settlement

Greater London Urban Area


West Midlands Urban Area

1 Greater London Urban Area 8,278,251 London 11 Bristol Urban Area 551,066 Bristol
Greater Manchester Urban Area


West Yorkshire Urban Area

2 West Midlands Urban Area 2,284,093 Birmingham 12 Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton 461,181 Brighton
3 Greater Manchester Urban Area 2,240,230 Manchester 13 Portsmouth Urban Area 442,252 Portsmouth
4 West Yorkshire Urban Area 1,499,465 Leeds 14 Leicester Urban Area 441,213 Leicester
5 Greater Glasgow 1,199,629 Glasgow 15 Edinburgh 420,893 Edinburgh
6 Tyneside 879,996 Newcastle 16 South East Dorset conurbation 383,713 Bournemouth
7 Liverpool Urban Area 816,216 Liverpool 17 Reading/Wokingham Urban Area 369,804 Reading
8 Nottingham Urban Area 666,358 Nottingham 18 Teesside 365,323 Middlesbrough
9 Sheffield Urban Area 640,720 Sheffield 19 The Potteries Urban Area 362,403 Stoke-on-Trent
10 Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area 579,554 Belfast 20 Coventry/Bedworth Urban Area 336,452 Coventry

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