This is a list of counties in England by population. England's counties are variously defined. Ceremonial counties were formed from local government counties in 1997 and are used for lieutenancy and shrievalty, whereas historic counties are based on the boundaries counties used before 1884. The list includes both types.
RankCountyCeremonial county population(2021-22)Historic county population(2011)Local government counties(2024)Region 1 Greater London 8,901,000 N/A N/A London 2 West Midlands 2,910,000 N/A 3,036,605 West Midlands 3 Greater Manchester 2,824,000 N/A 3,009,664 North West 4 West Yorkshire 2,314,000 N/A 2,435,236 Yorkshire and the Humber 5 Hampshire 1,852,000 2,099,640 1,447,214 South East 6 Kent 1,845,000 2,747,715 1,639,029 South East 7 Essex 1,825,000 2,999,248 1,563,365 East of England 8 Lancashire 1,505,000 4,942,364 1,294,914 North West 9 Merseyside 1,496,000 N/A 1,475,541 North West 10 South Yorkshire 1,396,000 N/A 1,430,623 Yorkshire and the Humber 11 Surrey 1,195,000 2,975,836 1,248,649 South East 12 Devon 1,186,000 1,133,463 842,313 South West 13 Hertfordshire 1,174,000 1,157,166 1,236,191 East of England 14 Nottinghamshire 1,167,000 1,096,617 857,013 East Midlands 15 North Yorkshire 1,164,000 N/A 635,270 Yorkshire and the HumberNorth East 16 Tyne and Wear 1,128,000 N/A 1,178,389 North East 17 Staffordshire 1,125,000 2,159,392 907,153 West Midlands 18 Lincolnshire 1,079,000 1,038,510 789,502 East MidlandsYorkshire and the Humber 19 Cheshire 1,064,000 1,668,894 N/A North West 20 Derbyshire 1,060,000 1,148,373 822,377 East Midlands 21 Leicestershire 1,058,000 975,403 745,573 East Midlands 22 Somerset 983,000 1,053,504 588,328 South West 23 Berkshire 916,000 842,804 N/A South East 24 Gloucestershire 907,000 1,147,106 669,380 South West 25 Norfolk 894,000 807,721 940,359 East of England 26 County Durham 860,000 1,467,037 538,011 North East 27 West Sussex 863,000 N/A 915,037 South East 28 Cambridgeshire 846,000 460,448 710,317 East of England 29 East Sussex 843,000 N/A 560,882 South East 30 Buckinghamshire 800,000 916,903 578,772 South East 31 Suffolk 767,000 775,099 786,231 East of England 32 Dorset 764,000 543,296 389,947 South West 33 Northamptonshire 741,000 838,786 N/A East Midlands 34 Wiltshire 713,000 682,380 523,700 South West 35 Oxfordshire 695,000 512,345 763,218 South East 36 Bedfordshire 653,000 602,847 N/A East of England 37 East Riding of Yorkshire 594,000 N/A 355,884 Yorkshire and the Humber 38 Worcestershire 590,000 1,125,037 621,360 West Midlands 39 Warwickshire 581,000 1,632,885 632,207 West Midlands 40 Cornwall 564,000 533,594 583,289 South West 41 Cumbria 501,000 N/A N/A North West 42 Shropshire 492,000 472,027 332,455 West Midlands 43 Bristol 470,000 N/A 494,399 South West 44 Northumberland 314,000 797,006 331,420 North East 45 Herefordshire 187,557 183,631 191,047 West Midlands 46Isle of Wight 140,889 N/A 141,660South East 47Rutland 42,000 37,677 41,443East Midlands -Yorkshire Historic county 5,218,838 N/A -Cumberland Historic county 306,241 280,495 -Westmorland Historic county 87,466 N/A -Middlesex Historic county 4,000,927 N/A -Huntingdonshire Historic county 211,776 190,619 -Sussex Historic county 1,612,454 N/A
References