List of cities in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each country has cities with special status given by the king or queen.

As of August 29, 2022, there are 76 cities in the United Kingdom. Most cities are in England, with 55 there. Scotland has eight cities, Wales has seven, and Northern Ireland has six. Some cities have special leaders called Lord Mayors or Lord Provosts.

Sometimes, a city’s official area is smaller than the town or group of towns people think of as the city. For example, both the City of London and Westminster are separate cities within greater London. Other cities include many smaller towns and villages.

There are also cities outside the United Kingdom, such as in the Falkland Islands and the Isle of Man. These were added during celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee.

History

Main articles: City status in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also Roman cities in Britain.

Long ago, the first cities in Britain were built by the Romans. They were strong places that helped local people.

Later, British leaders kept a list of important cities.

Over time, the idea of a "city" changed. At first, having a special church called a cathedral was important. But as towns grew bigger, new cities were officially recognized. Rules were made to decide which places could be called cities, but these rules changed over time.

Today, cities in the United Kingdom have special titles and leaders.

Statistical role

Further information: City status in the United Kingdom § Smallest and largest cities, and City status in the United Kingdom § Populous towns

In the United Kingdom, having "city status" does not tell us much about how big a place is. It is mostly a special title for ceremonies. Some old cities, like St Davids, are very small. Newer cities given this title in 2022 can have anywhere from 50,000 to over 200,000 people. Big towns such as Luton, Northampton, and Reading do not have city status.

People sometimes use the word "city" to talk about big groups of towns and cities together, called conurbations. The government uses the term primary urban areas for these groups when looking at statistics and the economy. Most people think of greater urban areas as a city region. For example, cities like Manchester or Birmingham are often thought of this way. The area around Manchester, called the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, has more people than the West Midlands conurbation.

Some official cities in the UK also include areas that are not right in the middle of the city. For example, the City of Milton Keynes and the City of Colchester cover large areas that include towns far away from the main city, like Olney and West Mersea.

List of cities

The United Kingdom has 76 cities that have official status. These cities are special because they received this status from a royal charter or special letters patent.

The cities are found all over the country: 55 are in England, 8 in Scotland, 7 in Wales, and 6 in Northern Ireland.

Map of the cities

The map shows the 76 cities in the United Kingdom and one Crown Dependency, Douglas in the Isle of Man.

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!Bath

Bath

!Birmingham

Birmingham

!Bradford

Bradford

!Brighton and Hove

Brighton and Hove

!Bristol

Bristol

!Cambridge

Cambridge

!Canterbury

Canterbury

!Carlisle

Carlisle

!Chelmsford

Chelmsford

!Chester

Chester

!Chichester

Chichester

!Colchester

Colchester

!Coventry

Coventry

!Derby   

Derby   

!Doncaster

Doncaster

!Durham

Durham

!Ely

Ely

!Exeter

Exeter

!Gloucester

Gloucester

!Hereford

Hereford

!Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull

!Lancaster

Lancaster

!Leeds

Leeds

!Leicester

Leicester

!Lichfield

Lichfield

!Lincoln

Lincoln

!Liverpool

Liverpool

!City of London

City of London

!Manchester

Manchester

!Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes

!Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

!Norwich

Norwich

!Nottingham

Nottingham

!Oxford

Oxford

!Peterborough

Peterborough

!Plymouth

Plymouth

!Portsmouth

Portsmouth

!Preston

Preston

!Ripon

Ripon

!Salford

Salford

!Salisbury

Salisbury

!Sheffield

Sheffield

!Southampton

Southampton

!Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

!St Albans

St Albans

!Stoke-on-Trent

Stoke-on-Trent

!Sunderland

Sunderland

!Truro

Truro

!Wakefield

Wakefield

!Wells

Wells

!Westminster

Westminster

!Winchester

Winchester

!Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

!Worcester

Worcester

!York

York

!Aberdeen

Aberdeen

!Dundee

Dundee

!Dunfermline

Dunfermline

!Edinburgh

Edinburgh

!Glasgow

Glasgow

!Inverness

Inverness

!Perth

Perth

!Stirling

Stirling

!Bangor

Bangor

!Cardiff

Cardiff

!Newport

Newport

!St Asaph   

St Asaph   

!St Davids

St Davids

!Swansea

Swansea

!Wrexham

Wrexham

!Armagh

Armagh

!Bangor

Bangor

!Belfast

Belfast

!Lisburn

Lisburn

!Newry

Newry

!Derry

Derry

!Douglas

Douglas

Location of cities in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man:

• Diocese cities before 1230
• English reformation cities (1540–1542); Derry (1604)
• 18th century cities to 2022

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Click for Interactive map of cities and their local extents (excludes Douglas)
Shading key:   local government area   charter trustee extent   urban limits

Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies

Main article: British overseas cities

The British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom, but they belong to the United Kingdom's ruler. In the past, cities needed a special building called a cathedral. Now, this rule has changed. Today, there are five cities in these areas.