Outer London is the name for the group of London Boroughs that form a ring around Inner London.

These were areas that were not part of the County of London and became formally part of Greater London in 1965. An exception is North Woolwich, which was in the County of London but was transferred to Newham in 1965.

London Government Act 1963

Outer London - Primary Definition

ONS's Outer London

The outer London boroughs were defined by the London Government Act 1963.

• Barking and Dagenham
• Barnet
• Bexley
• Brent
• Bromley
• Croydon
• Ealing
• Enfield
• Haringey
• Harrow
• Havering
• Hillingdon
• Hounslow
• Kingston upon Thames
• Merton
• Newham
• Redbridge
• Richmond upon Thames
• Sutton
• Waltham Forest

ONS definition (statistics)

The Office for National Statistics and the Census define Outer London differently, excluding Haringey and Newham (which are defined as Inner London), and including Greenwich. This is reflected in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) classification. Under this classification, Outer London consists of Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and Waltham Forest.

Historical population

Please note: Figures here are for the Office for National Statistics defined Outer London (in its 2001 limits), whose land area is 1,254 km² (484 sq. miles). Figures before 1971 have been reconstructed by the Office for National Statistics based on past censuses in order to fit the 2001 limits. Figures from 1981 onward are midyear estimates (revised as of 2004), which are more accurate than the censuses themselves, known to underestimate the population of London.

• 1891, April 5/6 1,083,770
• 1901, March 31/April 1 1,647,396
• 1911, April 2/3 2,162,288
• 1921, June 19/20 2,413,978
• 1931, April 26/27 3,217,219
• 1939, Mid-year estimate 4,250,788
• 1951, April 8/9 4,517,588
• 1961, April 23/24 4,499,737
• 1971, April 25/26 4,420,585
• 1981, Midyear estimate 4,254,900
• 1991, Midyear estimate 4,230,000
• 2001, Midyear estimate 4,463,000
• 2003, Midyear estimate 4,483,300
• 2004, Midyear estimate 4,498,200
• 2005, Midyear estimate 4,532,100

Other definitions

From 1990 to 2000 London used two telephone area codes with a separate code for 'Outer London', however the area covered by this code was widely different from all of the above definitions.

References

1. Office of Public Sector Information - London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended)