Major conurbations

See also: List of places in England

The Greater London Urban Area is by far the largest urban area in England^[122] and one of the busiest cities in the world. It is considered a global city and has a population larger than other countries in the United Kingdom besides England itself.^[122] Other urban areas of considerable size and influence tend to be in northern England or the English Midlands.^[122] There are fifty settlements which have been designated city status in England, while the wider United Kingdom has sixty-six.

While many cities in England are quite large in size, such as Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Bradford, Nottingham and others, a large population is not necessarily a prerequisite for a settlement to be afforded city status.^[123] Traditionally the status was afforded to towns with diocesan cathedrals and so there are smaller cities like Wells, Ely, Ripon, Truro and Chichester.^[123] According to the Office for National Statistics the ten largest, continuous built-up urban areas are:^[122]

Rank	Urban area	Population	Major localities
	Greater London Urban Area	9,787,426	Greater London, divided into the City of London and 32 London boroughs including Croydon, Barnet,Ealing, Bromley
	Greater Manchester Urban Area	2,553,379	Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Stockport, Oldham
	West Midlands Urban Area	2,440,986	Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Aldridge
	West Yorkshire Urban Area	1,777,934	Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield
	Liverpool Urban Area	864,122	Liverpool, St Helens, Bootle, Huyton-with-Roby
	South Hampshire	855,569	Southampton, Portsmouth, Eastleigh, Gosport, Fareham, Havant, Horndean
	Tyneside	774,891	Newcastle, North Shields, South Shields, Gateshead, Jarrow
	Nottingham Urban Area	729,977	Nottingham, Beeston and Stapleford, Carlton, Long Eaton
	Sheffield Urban Area	685,368	Sheffield, Rotherham, Rawmarsh, Killamarsh
	Bristol Urban Area	617,280	Bristol, Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Stoke Gifford

Economy

Main article: Economy of England

The City of London is the world's largestfinancial centre.^[124][125]

England's economy is one of the largest in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £22,907.^[126] Usually regarded as a mixed market economy, it has adopted many free market principles, yet maintains an advanced social welfare infrastructure.^[127] The official currency in England is the pound sterling, whose ISO 4217 code is GBP. Taxation in England is quite competitive when compared to much of the rest of Europe—as of 2009 the basic rate of personal tax is 20% on taxable income up to £37,400, and 40% on any additional earnings above that amount.^[128]

The economy of England is the largest part of the UK's economy,^[126] which has the 18th highest GDP PPP per capita in the world. England is a leader in the chemical^[129] and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software industry. London, home to theLondon Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom's main stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England's financial centre—100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations are based in London.^[130] London is the largest financial centre in Europe, and as of 2009 is also the largest in the world.^[131]

The Bentley Mulsanne. Bentley is a well-known English car company.

The Bank of England, founded in 1694 by Scottish banker William Paterson, is the United Kingdom's central bank. Originally established as private banker to the Government of England, since 1946 it has been a state-owned institution.^[132] The Bank has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, although not in other parts of the United Kingdom. The government has devolved responsibility to the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee for managing the monetary policy of the country and setting interest rates.^[133]

England is highly industrialised, but since the 1970s there has been a decline in traditional heavy and manufacturing industries, and an increasing emphasis on a more service industry oriented economy.^[77] Tourism has become a significant industry, attracting millions of visitors to England each year. The export part of the economy is dominated bypharmaceuticals, cars—although many English marques are now foreign-owned, such as Rolls-Royce, Lotus, Jaguar and Bentley—crude oil and petroleum from the English parts of North Sea oil along with Wytch Farm, aircraft engines and alcoholic beverages.^[134] Agriculture is intensive and highly mechanised, producing 60% of food needs with only 2% of the labour force.^[135] Two thirds of production is devoted to livestock, the other to arable crops.^[136]

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