A 2001 ESPON metropolitan area was defined as consisting of an urban area, conurbation or agglomeration, together with the surrounding area to which it was closely economically and socially integrated through commuting.

The European Union's ESPON (European Spatial Planning Observation Network) project defined a harmonised series of metropolitan areas across Europe, made up of two components: Morphological Urban Areas (MUAs), which were similar to urban areas that form the densely populated urban cores of metropolitan areas, and Functional Urban Areas (FUAs), 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 (in 2001) 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 now covered by combined authorities.

Summary 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: CategoryPopulations (2011)CountA12.8 – 25 million1B6.4 – 12.8 million0C3.2 – 6.4 million1D1.6 – 3.2 million3E0.8 – 1.6 million7F0.4 – 0.8 million9Gi0.2 – 0.4 million19Gii<0.2 million~6Total46 Source

By population (2001 data) Source

# Area (population)Parts (population)1London (13,709,000)London (8,265,000) • Southend (291,000) • Chatham (231,000) • Luton–Dunstable (216,000) • Reading (216,000) • Aldershot–Farnborough (174,000) • Woking (124,000) • Basildon (113,000) • Slough (112,000) • High Wycombe (100,000) • Crawley (99,000) • Bracknell–Ascot (96,000) • Harlow (87,000) • Chelmsford (76,000) • Hemel Hempstead (68,000) • Maidstone (65,000) • Maidenhead (59,000) • St. Albans (59,000) • Basingstoke (55,000) • Aylesbury (49,000) • Stevenage (49,000) • Sittingbourne (42,000) • Wokingham (42,000) • Tunbridge Wells (39,000) • Sandhurst–Yateley (37,000) • Guildford (34,000) • Windsor (33,000) • Bishop's Stortford (31,000) • Letchworth (28,000) • Horsham (27,000) • East Grinstead (26,000) • Burgess Hill (24,000) • Sevenoaks (24,000) • Haywards Heath (22,000) • Hitchin (21,000) • Tonbridge (20,000)2Birmingham (3,683,000)Birmingham–Wolverhampton (2,363,000) • Coventry (308,000) • Nuneaton (87,000) • Warwick–Leamington (71,000) • Redditch (61,000) • Bromsgrove (25,000) • Tamworth (21,000)3Manchester (2,556,000)Greater Manchester Urban Area (2,207,000) • Macclesfield (59,000)4Leeds–Bradford (2,302,000)Leeds (534,000) • Bradford (341,000) • Huddersfield (219,000) • Halifax–Queensbury (155,000) • Wakefield (111,000) • Castleford–Pontefract (102,000) • Harrogate (60,000) • Dewsbury (36,000)5Liverpool–Birkenhead (2,241,000)Liverpool–Birkenhead (1,170,000) • Wigan–Ashton (220,000) • Warrington (168,000) • Widnes–Runcorn (121,000) • Chester (58,000) • Southport (44,000) • Ellesmere Port (40,000) • Ormskirk (24,000) • Skelmersdale (20,000)6Newcastle–Sunderland (1,599,000)Newcastle (814,000) • Sunderland (270,000) • Blyth–Cramlington (55,000) • Peterlee (42,000) • Ashington (27,000) • Seaham (24,000) • Chester-le-Street (23,000)7Sheffield (1,569,000)Sheffield (693,000) • Rotherham (150,000) • Doncaster (80,000) • Darfield (73,000) • Chesterfield (73,000) • Barnsley (56,000)8Portsmouth–Southampton (1,547,000)Portsmouth (500,000) • Southampton (376,000) • Bognor Regis (66,000) • Salisbury (29,000) • Winchester (27,000) • Andover (26,000)9Nottingham–Derby (1,534,000)Nottingham (532,000) • Derby (217,000) • Mansfield (185,000) • Ilkeston (53,000) • Newark (25,000) • Alfreton (23,000)10Glasgow (1,395,000)Greater Glasgow (1,228,000) • East Kilbride (59,000) • Cumbernauld (45,000) • Kilmarnock (39,000) • Dumbarton (23,000)11Cardiff and South Wales valleys (1,097,000)Cardiff (353,000) • Newport (192,000) • Merthyr Tydfil (35,000) • Pontypridd (28,000) • Caerphilly (26,000) • Bridgend (24,000) • Ebbw Vale (22,000)12Bristol (1,041,000)Bristol (568,000) • Weston-super-Mare (70,000) • Bath (65,000) • Clevedon (25,000)13Belfast (799,000)Belfast (501,000) • Bangor (15,000)14Edinburgh (782,000)Edinburgh (478,000) • Livingston (46,000)15Brighton–Worthing–Littlehampton (769,000)Brighton–Worthing (410,000) • Eastbourne (74,000) • Littlehampton (40,000)16Leicester (745,000)Leicester (442,000) • Loughborough (53,000) • Coalville (39,000) • Hinckley (20,000)17Middlesbrough (656,000)Middlesbrough-Stockton (389,000) • Darlington (58,000) • Hartlepool (53,000)18Bournemouth–Poole (531,000)Bournemouth–Poole (390,000)19Swansea (462,000)Swansea (219,000) • Port Talbot–Neath (51,000)20Stoke (456,000)Stoke-on-Trent (359,000)21Hull (419,000)Hull (284,000)22Blackburn–Burnley (391,000)Blackburn (182,000) • Burnley (125,000)23Norwich (364,000)Norwich (193,000)24Preston (354,000)Preston–Leyland (249,000)25Plymouth (343,000)Plymouth (228,000)26Aberdeen (332,000)Aberdeen (183,000)27Blackpool (304,000)Blackpool (239,000)28Northampton (288,000)Northampton (220,000)29Cambridge (283,000)Cambridge (142,000)30Milton Keynes (271,000)Milton Keynes (136,000)31Swindon (260,000)Swindon (144,000)32Exeter (259,000)Exeter (105,000) • Exmouth (25,000)33Oxford (244,000)Oxford (122,000)34Ipswich (240,000)Ipswich (120,000)35York (234,000)York (135,000)36Torbay (231,000)Torbay (178,000)37Peterborough (219,000)Peterborough (127,000)38Dundee (211,000)Dundee (150,000)39Telford (209,000)Telford (105,000)40Bedford (202,000)Bedford (108,000)41Colchester (191,000)Colchester (95,000)42Lincoln (176,000)Lincoln (99,000)43Grimsby (174,000)Grimsby (123,000)44Gloucester (166,000)Gloucester (134,000)45Hastings–Bexhill (164,000)Hastings–Bexhill (103,000)46Cheltenham (164,000)Cheltenham (82,000)

By region (2001 data)

RegionRegion populationMetro RankMetropolitan areaMetro Population (2001)Greater London8,173,9411London13,709,000West Midlands5,601,8472Birmingham3,683,00020Stoke456,00039Telford209,000North West7,052,1773Manchester2,556,0005Liverpool–Birkenhead2,241,00022Blackburn–Burnley391,00024Preston354,00027Blackpool304,000Yorkshire and the Humber5,283,7334Leeds–Bradford2,302,0007Sheffield1,569,00021Hull419,00035York234,00043Grimsby174,000 North East2,596,8866Newcastle–Sunderland1,599,00017Middlesbrough656,000South East8,634,7508Portsmouth–Southampton1,547,00015Brighton–Worthing–Littlehampton769,00030Milton Keynes271,00033Oxford244,00045Hastings–Bexhill164,000East Midlands4,533,2229Nottingham–Derby1,543,00016Leicester745,00028Northampton288,00042Lincoln176,000Wales11Cardiff and South Wales valleys1,097,00019Swansea462,000South West5,288,93512Bristol1,041,00018Bournemouth–Poole531,00025Plymouth343,00031Swindon260,00032Exeter259,00036Torbay231,00044Gloucester166,00046Cheltenham164,000East of England5,846,96523Norwich364,00029Cambridge283,00034Ipswich240,00037Peterborough219,00040Bedford202,00041Colchester191,000Scotland5,404,70010Glasgow1,395,00014Edinburgh782,00026Aberdeen332,00038Dundee211,000Northern Ireland13Belfast799,000

See also List of metropolitan economies in the United Kingdom Core Cities Group Combined authority List of towns and cities in England by population List of urban areas in the United Kingdom Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England Travel to work area List of metropolitan areas in Europe by population List of metropolitan areas by population for the world Larger urban zone

References