Greater London is the administrative area of London, England, coterminous with the London region. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which forms the ceremonial county of Greater London; and the City of London, which forms a distinct ceremonial county. The Greater London Authority, its devolved governance body, is responsible for strategic local government across the region, whilst regular local government is the responsibility of the borough councils and the City of London Corporation.
The county of Greater London completely surrounds the City of London. The London region has an geographic area of and a population of 9,002,488. The county of Greater London is only slightly smaller, with an area of and a population of 8,889,375; the City of London has an area of and a population of 8,583. The region is almost entirely urbanised and contains the majority of the Greater London Built-up area, which extends into Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire and has a population of 9,787,426. Neither the administrative area nor the region hold city status, but the boroughs of the City of London and City of Westminster do. The region was historically part of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.
The River Thames is the defining geographic feature of the region, entering it near Hampton in the west and flowing east before exiting downstream of Dagenham. Several tributaries of the Thames flow through the region, but are now mostly culverted and form part of London's sewerage system. The land immediately north and south of the river is flat, but rises to low hills further away, notably Hampstead Heath, Shooter's Hill, and Sydenham Hill. The region's highest point is Westerham Heights (), part of the North Downs. In the north-east the region contains part of Epping Forest, an ancient woodland.
The City of London has had its own government since the Anglo-Saxon period. The first London-wide directly elected local government was the London County Council, established for the County of London in 1889, which covered the core of the urban area. In 1965 the county was abolished and replaced by Greater London, a two-tier administrative area governed by the Greater London Council, thirty-two London boroughs, and the Corporation of London. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, and its responsibilities largely taken over by the boroughs. The Greater London Authority was formed in 2000.
Administrative history
The term "Greater London" was used before it was established by statute in 1965. It referred to the Metropolitan Police District, the area served by the Metropolitan Water Board, the London Passenger Transport Area, and the area defined by the Registrar General as the "Greater London Conurbation". The term was also used for the Greater London Arterial Road Programme, devised between 1913 and 1916, and the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied and included 9 million people.