ESPON metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom


A metropolitan area is generally defined as consisting of an urban area, conurbation or agglomeration, together with the surrounding area to which it is closely economically and socially integrated through commuting.
The European Union's ESPON project defined a harmonised series of metropolitan areas across Europe, made up of two components: Morphological Urban Areas, which are similar to urban areas that form the densely populated urban cores of metropolitan areas, and Functional Urban Areas, which form the labour basin surrounding Morphological Urban Areas.
Morphological Urban Areas were calculated by combining contiguous local administrative units with population densities greater than 650 inhabitants per square kilometre, with Functional Urban Areas then being calculated by combining surrounding local administrative units where 10% or more of the workforce works within the core Morphological Urban Area.
According to the harmonised European definition, there were eighteen metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom with populations of more than 500,000 at the time of the 2001 census.
This article lists the UK metropolitan areas defined by ESPON, which excluded combined conurbations such as the Liverpool-Manchester megalopolis, which had a combined population of 5.6 million. It also excluded city regions such as those formed in Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, which are typically areas covered by a combined authority.

Metropolitan areas in the UK

In 2001, there were 46 metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom with a populations in the range 150,000 to 25 million inhabitants, according to the ESPON project, with the following population distribution:

Summary

Source

List by population (2001 data)

Source
RankMetropolitan areaPopulation Morphological Urban Areas within metropolitan area
1London13,709,000London , Southend , Chatham , Luton–Dunstable , Reading , Aldershot–Farnborough , Woking , Basildon , Slough , High Wycombe , Crawley , Bracknell–Ascot , Harlow , Chelmsford , Hemel Hempstead , Maidstone , Maidenhead , St. Albans , Basingstoke , Aylesbury , Stevenage , Sittingbourne , Wokingham , Tunbridge Wells , Sandhurst–Yateley , Guildford , Windsor , Bishop's Stortford , Letchworth , Horsham , East Grinstead , Burgess Hill , Sevenoaks , Haywards Heath , Hitchin , Tonbridge
2Birmingham metropolitan area3,683,000Birmingham–Wolverhampton , Coventry , Nuneaton , Warwick–Leamington , Redditch , Bromsgrove , Tamworth
3Manchester metropolitan area2,556,000Greater Manchester Urban Area , Macclesfield
4Leeds–Bradford metropolitan area2,302,000Leeds , Bradford , Huddersfield , Halifax–Queensbury , Wakefield , Castleford–Pontefract , Harrogate , Dewsbury
5Liverpool–Birkenhead metropolitan area2,241,000Liverpool–Birkenhead , Wigan–Ashton , Warrington , Widnes–Runcorn , Chester , Southport , Ellesmere Port , Ormskirk , Skelmersdale
6Tyneside metropolitan area1,599,000Newcastle , Sunderland , Blyth–Cramlington , Peterlee , Ashington , Seaham , Chester-le-Street
7Sheffield metropolitan area1,569,000Sheffield , Rotherham , Doncaster , Darfield , Chesterfield , Barnsley
8Portsmouth-Southampton metropolitan area1,547,000Portsmouth , Southampton , Bognor Regis , Salisbury , Winchester , Andover
9Nottingham–Derby metropolitan area1,534,000Nottingham , Derby , Mansfield , Ilkeston , Newark , Alfreton
10Glasgow1,395,000Greater Glasgow , East Kilbride , Cumbernauld , Kilmarnock , Dumbarton
11Cardiff and South Wales valleys metropolitan area1,097,000Cardiff , Newport , Merthyr Tydfil , Pontypridd , Caerphilly , Bridgend , Ebbw Vale
12Bristol metropolitan area1,041,000Bristol , Weston-super-Mare , Bath , Clevedon
13Belfast799,000Belfast , Bangor
14Edinburgh782,000Edinburgh , Livingston
15Brighton–Worthing–Littlehampton769,000Brighton–Worthing , Eastbourne , Littlehampton
16Leicester745,000Leicester , Loughborough , Coalville , Hinckley
17Middlesbrough656,000Middlesbrough , Darlington , Hartlepool
18Bournemouth–Poole531,000Bournemouth–Poole
19Swansea462,000Swansea , Port Talbot–Neath
20Stoke456,000Stoke-on-Trent
21Hull419,000Hull
22Blackburn–Burnley391,000Blackburn , Burnley
23Norwich364,000Norwich
24Preston354,000Preston–Leyland
25Plymouth343,000Plymouth
26Aberdeen332,000Aberdeen
27Blackpool304,000Blackpool
28Northampton288,000Northampton
29Cambridge283,000Cambridge
30Milton Keynes271,000Milton Keynes
31Swindon260,000Swindon
32Exeter259,000Exeter , Exmouth
33Oxford244,000Oxford
34Ipswich240,000Ipswich
35York234,000York
36Torbay231,000Torbay
37Peterborough219,000Peterborough
38Dundee211,000Dundee
39Telford209,000Telford
40Bedford202,000Bedford
41Colchester191,000Colchester
42Lincoln176,000Lincoln
43Grimsby174,000Grimsby
44Gloucester166,000Gloucester
45Hastings–Bexhill164,000Hastings–Bexhill
46Cheltenham164,000Cheltenham

List by region (2001 data)

RegionRegion population
Metro RankMetropolitan areaMetro Population
Greater London8,173,9411London commuter belt13,709,000
West Midlands5,601,8472Birmingham metropolitan area3,683,000
West Midlands5,601,84720Stoke456,000
West Midlands5,601,84739Telford209,000
North West7,052,1773Manchester metropolitan area2,556,000
North West7,052,1775Liverpool–Birkenhead metropolitan area2,241,000
North West7,052,17722Blackburn–Burnley391,000
North West7,052,17724Preston354,000
North West7,052,17727Blackpool304,000
Yorkshire and the Humber5,283,7334Leeds–Bradford metropolitan area2,302,000
Yorkshire and the Humber5,283,7337Sheffield metropolitan area1,569,000
Yorkshire and the Humber5,283,73321Hull419,000
Yorkshire and the Humber5,283,73335York234,000
Yorkshire and the Humber5,283,73343Grimsby174,000
North East2,596,8866Tyneside metropolitan area1,599,000
North East2,596,88617Middlesbrough656,000
South East8,634,7508Portsmouth-Southampton metropolitan area1,547,000
South East8,634,75015Brighton–Worthing–Littlehampton769,000
South East8,634,75030Milton Keynes271,000
South East8,634,75033Oxford244,000
South East8,634,75045Hastings–Bexhill164,000
East Midlands4,533,2229Nottingham–Derby metropolitan area1,543,000
East Midlands4,533,22216Leicester745,000
East Midlands4,533,22228Northampton288,000
East Midlands4,533,22242Lincoln176,000
Wales11Cardiff and South Wales valleys metropolitan area1,097,000
Wales19Swansea462,000
South West5,288,93512Bristol metropolitan area1,041,000
South West5,288,93518Bournemouth–Poole531,000
South West5,288,93525Plymouth343,000
South West5,288,93531Swindon260,000
South West5,288,93532Exeter259,000
South West5,288,93536Torbay231,000
South West5,288,93544Gloucester166,000
South West5,288,93546Cheltenham164,000
East of England5,846,96523Norwich364,000
East of England5,846,96529Cambridge283,000
East of England5,846,96534Ipswich240,000
East of England5,846,96537Peterborough219,000
East of England5,846,96540Bedford202,000
East of England5,846,96541Colchester191,000
Scotland5,404,70010Glasgow1,395,000
Scotland5,404,70014Edinburgh782,000
Scotland5,404,70026Aberdeen332,000
Scotland5,404,70038Dundee211,000
Northern Ireland13Belfast799,000