Greater London shares border with Kent
Greater London is an administrative area in England governed by the Greater London Authority. It is organised into 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. Greater London is one of the regions of England, also known as the London Region. The Greater London Authority, based in Newham as of the start of 2022, is responsible for strategic local government across the area and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
Greater London can also refer to a ceremonial county formed by the 32 London boroughs. It excludes the City of London (the original walled "square mile"), which forms a separate ceremonial county.Greater London was first established in 1965 as a sui generis council area and ceremonial county under the Greater London Council on 1 April 1965 through the London Government Act 1963. The GLC was abolished in 1986. In 1994, the area was established as a government office region called "London". The Greater London Authority was formed in 2000.The region covers 1,572 km2 (607 sq mi) and has a population of over 9 million. Other areas, such as the London metropolitan area and Greater London Urban Area, are used in some national statistics for London, including areas outside this administrative region.
Greater London lacks any formal recognised city status in the UK, though the local authorities of the City of Westminster and the City of London have official city status.As a ceremonial county, Greater London has a Lord-Lieutenant and a High Sheriff, both appointed by the British monarch, but Greater London is not one of England's historic counties. Greater London is split between parts of the historic counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.
Before the UK withdrew from the European Union in 2020 after Brexit, Greater London was a regional constituency of the European Parliament, known generally as "London".Geography
Greater London includes the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers and includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a similar way to the city's parks. The closest and furthest boundaries are with Essex to the northeast between Sewardstonebury next to Epping Forest and Chingford and with the Mar Dyke between Bulphan and North Ockendon. Greater London is also bounded by Hertfordshire to the north, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west, Kent to the southeast and Surrey to the south and southwest. The highest point is Westerham Heights, in the North Downs and on the boundary with Kent, at 245 m (804 ft).
Central government has implemented small boundary changes. The greatest were the 1969 transfers of Farleigh to Surrey and Knockholt to Kent. Others have included exchange of two Thames islands with Surrey and adjustments during the 1990s to parts of the boundaries of three boroughs near the M25. The only part of Greater London outside the motorway is North Ockendon, the furthest land unit from its centre. The majority of Greater London forms the London low emission zone.
The London postal district does not cover all of Greater London.
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