City of London

This article is about the district within London. For the capital city of England and the UK, see London. For other uses, see City of London (disambiguation).
"The Square Mile" redirects here. For other uses, see square mile (disambiguation).

City of London
City, ceremonial county, local government district and central business district
Bank Junction
The Gherkin
Guildhall
London Stock Exchange
St Paul's Cathedral
Leadenhall Market
Flag of City of London
Flag
Coat of arms of City of London
Coat of arms
Nicknames: 
the Square Mile, the City
Motto(s): 
Domine Dirige Nos (Latin)
"O Lord Direct us"
(motto of City of London Corporation)
Location within Greater London
Location within Greater London
Coordinates: 51°30′56″N 00°05′35″W / 51.51556°N 0.09306°W / 51.51556; -0.09306
StatusSui generis; city and ceremonial county
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionLondon
Roman settlementc. 47 AD (Londinium)
Wessex resettlement886 AD (Lundenburg)
Wards
25 wards
Government
 • BodyCity of London Corporation
 • Lord MayorMichael Mainelli
 • Town ClerkIan Thomas
 • Admin HQGuildhall
 • London AssemblyUnmesh Desai (Lab; City and East)
 • UK ParliamentRachel Blake (Lab; Cities of London and Westminster)
Area
 • City
1.12 sq mi (2.90 km2)
Highest elevation
69 ft (21 m)
Lowest elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2022)
 • City
10,847
 • Rank295th (of 296)
 • Density9,700/sq mi (3,700/km2)
Time zoneUTC±00:00 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (BST)
Postcodes
EC, WC, E
Area code020
Geocode
ISO 3166-2GB-LND
PoliceCity of London Police
Patron saintSt. Paul
Websitecityoflondon.gov.uk
Map

The City of London, also known as the City, is a city, ceremonial county and local government district[note 1] that contains the ancient centre, and constitutes, along with Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London and one of the leading financial centres of the world.[2] It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the modern area referred to as London has since grown far beyond the City of London boundary.[3][4] The City is now only a small part of the metropolis of Greater London, though it remains a notable part of central London. The City of London is not one of the London boroughs, a status reserved for the other 32 districts (including Greater London's only other city, the City of Westminster). It is also a separate ceremonial county, being an enclave surrounded by the ceremonial county of Greater London, and is the smallest ceremonial county in England.

The City of London is known colloquially as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (716.80 acres; 2.90 km2)[5] in area. Both the terms the City and the Square Mile are often used as metonyms for the UK's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City.[6] The name London is now ordinarily used for a far wider area than just the City. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 Greater London boroughs, in addition to the City of London itself.

The local authority for the City, namely the City of London Corporation, is unique in the UK and has some unusual responsibilities for a local council, such as being the police authority. It is also unusual in having responsibilities and ownerships beyond its boundaries, e.g. Hampstead Heath.[7] The corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London (an office separate from, and much older than, the Mayor of London). The Lord Mayor, as of November 2023, is Michael Mainelli.[8] The City is made up of 25 wards, with administration at the historic Guildhall. Other historic sites include St Paul's Cathedral, Royal Exchange, Mansion House, Old Bailey, and Smithfield Market. Although not within the City, the adjacent Tower of London, built to dominate the City, is part of its old defensive perimeter. The City has responsibility for five bridges across the Thames in its capacity as trustee of the Bridge House Estates: Blackfriars Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Southwark Bridge, London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

The City is a major business and financial centre,[9] with both the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange based in the City. Throughout the 19th century, the City was the world's primary business centre, and it continues to be a major meeting point for businesses.[10] London was ranked second (after New York) in the Global Financial Centres Index, published in 2022. The insurance industry is concentrated in the eastern side of the city, around Lloyd's building. Since about the 1980s, a secondary financial district has existed outside the city, at Canary Wharf, 2.5 miles (4 km) to the east. The legal profession has a major presence in the northern and western sides of the City, especially in the Temple and Chancery Lane areas where the Inns of Court are located, two of which (Inner Temple and Middle Temple) fall within the City of London boundary.

Primarily a business district, the City has a small resident population of 8,583 based on 2021 census figures,[11][12] but over 500,000 are employed there (as of 2019)[13] and some estimates put the number of workers in the City to be over 1 million. About three-quarters of the jobs in the City of London are in the financial, professional, and associated business services sectors.[14]

  1. ^ "City and County of the City of London". Ordnance Survey. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  2. ^ Greater London Authority (January 2008). London's Central Business District: Its global importance (PDF). p. 6. ISBN 978-1-84781-109-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 January 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  3. ^ Beckett, JV (2005). City status in the British Isles, 1830–2002. Historical urban studies. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-7546-5067-6.
  4. ^ Mills, AD (2010). Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford University Press. p. 152. Of course until relatively recent times the name London referred only to the City of London with even Westminster remaining a separate entity. But when the County of London was created in 1888, the name often came to be rather loosely used for this much larger area, which was also sometimes referred to as Greater London from about this date. However, in 1965 Greater London was newly defined as a much enlarged area.
  5. ^ "City of London Resident Population Census 2001" (PDF). Corporation of London. July 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  6. ^ Roberts, Richard (2008). The City: A Guide to London's Global Financial Centre. Economist. ISBN 9781861978585. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Search". City of London. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Lord Mayor Biography". City of London. City of London Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Global Financial Centres 7" (PDF). Z/Yen. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  10. ^ Dunton, Larkin (1896). The World and Its People. Silver, Burdett. p. 24.
  11. ^ "How life has changed in the City of London: Census 2021". Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – City of London (E09000001)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Statistics about the City – City of London". www.cityoflondon.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  14. ^ "City of London Jobs" (PDF). The City of London. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.


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