East of England
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East of England | |
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![]() East of England region shown within England | |
Coordinates: 52°14′N 0°25′E / 52.24°N 0.41°E | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | England |
GO established | 1994 |
RDA established | 1998 |
GO abolished | 2011 |
RDA abolished | 31 March 2012 |
Largest city | Peterborough |
Subdivisions |
1 combined authorities |
Government | |
• Type | Local authority leaders' board |
• Body | East of England Local Government Association |
• MPs | 58 MPs (of 650) |
Area | |
• Total | 7,563 sq mi (19,587 km2) |
• Land | 7,381 sq mi (19,116 km2) |
• Rank | 2nd |
Population (2022)[3] | |
• Total | 6,398,497 |
• Rank | 4th |
• Density | 870/sq mi (335/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
UTC+1 (BST) | |
ITL code | TLH |
GSS code | E12000006 |
This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
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The East of England is one of nine official
The population of the East of England in 2022 was 6,398,497.[3] Bedford, Luton, Basildon, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Cambridge are the most populous settlements.[7] Peterborough is the largest city in the East of England at 215,000. The southern part of the region lies in the London commuter belt.
Geography

The East of England has the lowest elevation range in the UK. Twenty per cent of the region is below mean sea level, most of this in North Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and on the Essex Coast.[8][9] Most of the remaining area is of low elevation, with extensive glacial deposits.[10] The Fens, a large area of reclaimed marshland, are mostly in North Cambridgeshire.[11] The Fens include the lowest point in the country in the village of Holme: 2.75 metres (9.0 ft) below mean sea level. This area formerly included the body of open water known as Whittlesey Mere. The highest point in the region is at Clipper Down at 817 ft (249 m) above mean sea level, in the far southwestern corner of the region in the Ivinghoe Hills.[12][13][14]
Communities known as
Historical use
The East of England succeeded the
East Anglia with Home Counties
Essex, despite meaning East-Saxons, previously formed part of South East England, along with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, a mixture of definite and debatable Home counties. The earliest use of the term is from 1695. Charles Davenant, in An essay upon ways and means of supplying the war, wrote, "The Eleven Home Counties, which are thought in Land Taxes to pay more than their proportion..." then cited a list including these four. The term does not appear to have been used in taxation since the 18th century.[18]
Despite The East Of England being an informal region, there are many theories of what grouping it falls into, with the most popular theories being that it falls into either the Southern England or Midlands grouping, with many parts of The East Of England falling into other definitions.[19] Furthermore, due to The East Of England serving as the area of land between The Midlands and Southern England, there are many theories that several areas in The East Of England correspond to different groupings, the most popular belief being that there is an official divide between the northern side, East Anglia, and the southern side. This means the northern side, East Anglia, is considered the area of land within The East Of England that corresponds with The Midlands and the southern side is considered the area of land that corresponds with Southern England, backed by the idea that Hertfordshire and Essex are considered Home Counties.[18] The latter counties can also be considered part of South East England for that reason.
Some native Eastern English citizens believe The East Of England should be its own independent state.[20] This also came into play during the Brexit debacle where many citizens wanted Eastern England to leave The United Kingdom and become a separate state respectively to avoid the European Union split. [citation needed] However, these plans never came into fruition.
Climate
East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the United Kingdom, with average rainfall ranging from 450 to 750 mm (18 to 30 in).[21] The area receives such low rainfall amounts because low pressure systems and weather fronts from the Atlantic lose a lot of moisture over land (and therefore are usually much weaker) by the time they reach Eastern England.[22]
Winter (mid-November – mid-March) is mostly cool, but non-prevailing cold easterly winds can affect the area from the continent. These can bring heavy snowfall if the winds interact with a low-pressure system over the Atlantic or France.[22] Northerly winds also can be cold but are not usually as cold as easterly winds. Westerly winds bring milder and, typically, wetter weather. Southerly winds usually bring mild air (if from the Atlantic or North Africa) but chill if coming from further east than Spain.[23]
Spring (mid-March – May) is a transitional season that initially can be chilly but is usually warm by late-April/May. The weather at this time is often changeable (within each day) and occasionally showery.[24]
Summer (June – mid-September) is usually warm. Continental air from mainland Europe or the
Autumn (mid-September – mid-November) is usually mild with some days being very unsettled and rainy and others warm. At least part of September and early October in the East have warm and settled weather, but only in rare years is there an Indian summer where fine weather marks the entire traditional harvest season.[24]
Dust devils were reported in Essex and Cambridgeshire on 17 August 2024, causing minor injuries and some disruption. These small whirlwinds, which form from the ground up, are less powerful than tornadoes. In Essex, they caused tents and gazebos to be lifted during a local event, resulting in minor injuries. Witnesses described the event as unexpected, noting that such phenomena are rare in the area.[25]
Demographics

Ethnicity
Ethnic group | Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991[26] | 2001[27] | 2011[28] | 2021[29] | |||||
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
White: Total | 4,891,675 | 96.8% | 5,125,003 | 95.11% | 5,310,194 | 90.81% | 5,478,364 | 86.5% |
White: British | 4,927,343 | 91.44% | 4,986,170 | 85.27% | 4,972,149 | 78.5% | ||
White: Irish
|
61,208 | 55,573 | 57,964 | 0.9% | ||||
White: Irish Traveller/Gypsy
|
- | - | 8,165 | 8,977 | 0.1% | |||
White: Roma | 9,675 | 0.2% | ||||||
White: Other
|
136,452 | 260,286 | 429,599 | 6.8% | ||||
Asian or Asian British : Total
|
99,720 | 2% | 142,137 | 2.63% | 278,372 | 4.76% | 405,869 | 6.5% |
Asian or Asian British: Indian
|
39,292 | 51,035 | 86,736 | 136,974 | 2.2% | |||
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani
|
24,713 | 38,790 | 66,270 | 99,452 | 1.6% | |||
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi
|
10,934 | 18,503 | 32,992 | 50,685 | 0.8% | |||
Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 12,494 | 20,385 | 33,503 | 38,444 | 0.6% | |||
Asian or Asian British: Asian Other
|
12,287 | 13,424 | 58,871 | 80,314 | 1.3% | |||
Black or Black British: Total | 42,310 | 0.8% | 48,464 | 0.89% | 117,442 | 2% | 184,949 | 3% |
Black or Black British: African
|
6,373 | 16,968 | 69,925 | 118,731 | 1.9% | |||
Black or Black British: Caribbean
|
21,892 | 26,199 | 33,614 | 41,884 | 0.7% | |||
Black or Black British: Other
|
14,045 | 5,297 | 13,903 | 24,334 | 0.4% | |||
Mixed: Total | 57,984 | 1.07% | 112,116 | 1.91% | 179,654 | 2.8% | ||
Mixed: Caribbean
|
19,882 | 37,222 | 51,950 | 0.8% | ||||
Mixed: African
|
6,109 | 15,388 | 27,376 | 0.4% | ||||
Mixed: Asian
|
17,385 | 32,226 | 51,448 | 0.8% | ||||
Mixed: Other Mixed
|
14,608 | 27,280 | 48,880 | 0.8% | ||||
Other: Total | 21,810 | 0.4% | 14,552 | 0.27% | 28,841 | 0.49% | 86,232 | 1.3% |
Other: Arab
|
- | - | 10,367 | 15,639 | 0.2% | |||
Other: Any other ethnic group | 21,810 | 0.4% | 14,552 | 18,474 | 70,593 | 1.1% | ||
Total | 5,055,515 | 100% | 5,388,140 | 100% | 5,846,965 | 100% | 6,335,068 | 100% |
Religion
Religion | 2021[30] | 2011[31] | 2001[32] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
Christianity | 2,955,071 | 46.6% | 3,488,063 | 59.7% | 3,886,778 | 72.1% |
Islam | 234,744 | 3.7% | 148,341 | 2.5% | 78,931 | 1.5% |
Hinduism | 86,631 | 1.4% | 54,010 | 0.9% | 31,386 | 0.6% |
Judaism | 42,012 | 0.7% | 34,830 | 0.6% | 30,367 | 0.6% |
Buddhism | 26,814 | 0.4% | 22,273 | 0.4% | 12,065 | 0.2% |
Sikhism | 24,284 | 0.4% | 18,213 | 0.3% | 13,365 | 0.2% |
Other religion | 36,380 | 0.6% | 24,981 | 0.4% | 15,471 | 0.3% |
No religion | 2,544,509 | 40.2% | 1,631,572 | 27.9% | 902,145 | 16.7% |
Religion not stated | 384,627 | 6.1% | 424,682 | 7.3% | 417,632 | 7.8% |
Total population | 6,335,072 | 100% | 5,846,965 | 100% | 5,388,140 | 100% |
Politics
Elections

In the
In the 2019 United Kingdom general election, the Conservatives gained Peterborough and Ipswich from Labour. They also gained North Norfolk from the Liberal Democrats but lost St Albans to Daisy Cooper.[34]
Number of MPs returned per party, total 59 (situation at end of parliament in brackets) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Affiliation | 2010–15 | 2015–17 | 2017–19 | 2019–24 | 2024–present | ||||
Labour Party | 2 | 4 | 7 (5) | 5 (7) | 27 | ||||
Conservative Party | 52 | 52 | 50 (46) | 52 (51) | 23 | ||||
Liberal Democrats | 4 | 1 | 1 (2) | 1 | 7 | ||||
Reform UK | 0 | 3 | |||||||
Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
The Independents | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | ||||
Independent | 0 | 1 | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 |
Governance and regions
East of England Plan
The East of England Plan, a revision of the
Local government
The official region consists of the following subdivisions:
Map | Ceremonial county | Shire county / unitary | Districts |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Essex | 1. Thurrock U.A. | |
2. Southend-on-Sea U.A.
| |||
3. Essex | a) Colchester, l) Tendring
| ||
4. Hertfordshire | a) St Albans, j) Dacorum
| ||
Bedfordshire | 5. Luton U.A.
| ||
6. Bedford U.A. | |||
7. Central Bedfordshire U.A. | |||
Cambridgeshire | 8. Cambridgeshire | a) Cambridge, b) South Cambridgeshire, c) Huntingdonshire, d) Fenland, e) East Cambridgeshire | |
9. Peterborough U.A. | |||
10. Norfolk | a) Breckland, g) King's Lynn and West Norfolk
| ||
11. Suffolk | a) West Suffolk
|
Eurostat NUTS
In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), the East of England was a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKH", which was subdivided as follows:
NUTS 1 | Code | NUTS 2 | Code | NUTS 3 | Code |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East of England | UKH | East Anglia | UKH1 | Peterborough | UKH11 |
![]() |
Cambridgeshire CC | UKH12 | |||
Norfolk | UKH13 | ||||
Suffolk | UKH14 | ||||
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | UKH2 | Luton
|
UKH21 | ||
Hertfordshire CC | UKH23 | ||||
Bedford | UKH24 | ||||
Central Bedfordshire | UKH25 | ||||
Essex | UKH3 | Southend-on-Sea
|
UKH31 | ||
Thurrock | UKH32 | ||||
Essex CC | UKH33 |
After the UK's departure from the EU, the UK NUTS regions were renamed as International Territorial Level regions in 2021.
History
Civil War and the Protectorate
The East of England was a major force and resource for Parliament and, in particular, in the form of the Eastern Association. Oliver Cromwell came from Huntingdon.[36]
Second World War
Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex played host to the American VIII Bomber Command and Ninth Air Force. The Imperial War Museum at Duxford has an exhibition, commemorating their participation and sacrifice, near to the M11 south of Cambridge.[36]
Stansted Airport was RAF Stansted Mountfitchet, home to the 344th Bombardment Group. The de Havilland Mosquito was mainly assembled at Hatfield and Leavesden, although much of the innovative wooden structure originated outside the region from the furniture industry of High Wycombe; the Mosquito entered service in 1942 with 105 Sqn at RAF Horsham St Faith. RAF Tempsford in Bedford is the airfield from where SOE secret agents for Europe took off, with 138 Sqn which parachuted agents and equipment and 161 Sqn which landed and retrieved agents. 19 Sqn at Duxford was the first to be equipped with the Spitfire on 4 August 1938.[36]
Cold War
The 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was at RAF Bentwaters from January 1952 and also at RAF Woodbridge; in the late 1980s some of the aircraft went to RAF Alconbury. Alconbury closed in 1992 and Bentwaters closed in 1993, with the American air forces being in the area for 42 years; the USAF aircraft subsequently moved to Spangdahlem Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[37]
At RAF Marham in west Norfolk, 214 Sqn with the Vickers Valiant developed the RAF's refuelling system; later the squadron would be equipped with the Handley Page Victor. Work on refuelling had also taken place at RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset.[37]
From the 1950s, RAF Wyton was an important reconnaissance base for the RAF, mainly 543 Sqn. The base is now home of the Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre, previously known as JARIC, or the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre from 1956.[37]
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2018) |
Official region
The East of England region was officially created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999.
Healthcare
Economy

This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
![]() | This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia's inclusion policy. (December 2018) ) |
The former electricity company for the area,
Hertfordshire

The Greater
Bedfordshire

Moto Hospitality has its headquarters at Toddington in Bedfordshire (at the Toddington services).
Luton is home to
East Anglia

The economy in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk is traditionally mostly agricultural. Norfolk is the UK's biggest producer of potatoes. Nationally known companies include the
Around Cambridge on numerous
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
Universities
The most famous university in the region is the University of Cambridge.[48] The university has been officially rated as the best in the world in 2010.[49] It has the second-best medicine course in the world, and in 2010 became the only university outside of the US to raise over £1 billion in charitable donations.
There are eight universities in the region. Cambridge hosts two universities: the
.

The University of Cambridge receives almost three times as much funding as any other university in the region, due to its huge research grant—the largest in England (and the UK). The next largest, by funding, is UEA in Norwich. The University of Essex and Cranfield University also have moderately large research grants, but no other universities in the region do. The largest university by student numbers is ARU, and the next biggest is Cambridge. The smallest is Essex.[50]
For total income to universities, Cambridge receives around £1 billion—around six times larger than any other university in the region. The University of Bedfordshire receives the least income. Cambridge has the lowest drop-out (discontinuation) rate in the region. Once graduated, over 50% of students stay in the region, with 25% going to London and 10% going to the South East. Very few go elsewhere—especially the North of England.[50]
- University of Cambridge
- University of East Anglia
- University of Essex
- University of Hertfordshire
- Anglia Ruskin University
- University of Bedfordshire
Sport
Football
During the nineteenth century, several formulations of the laws of football, known as the Cambridge rules, were created by students at the University. One of these codes, dating from 1863, had a significant influence on the creation of the original laws of The Football Association.[51]
East of England's top representatives in the English football league system today are Ipswich Town, Norwich City, Watford and Luton Town, who have competed in the top flight at various points. Alongside teams Peterborough United, and Cambridge United.[52]
Literature
Children's author Dodie Smith lived near the town of Sudbury in Suffolk, and part of her famous novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians which inspired the Disney animated film of the same name takes place in the town at St Peter's Church.[53]
Media
Television
Much of the region receives the
Radio
- BBC Local Radio services in the region include stations for Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Three Counties Radio, which serves Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Radio Cambridgeshire previously broadcast some split programming specific to the Peterborough area - at one point broadcasting this under the BBC Radio Peterborough name - but this opt-out was withdrawn in 2012 as a cost-cutting measure.[55]
See also
- East of England (European Parliament constituency)
- East of England Regional Strategy Board
- East of England Development Agency
- Regions of England
- East Anglia
Lists
- List of future transport developments in the East of England
- List of schools in the East of England
Notes
References
- ^ "Home - EELGA". East of England Local Government Association. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Standard Area Measurements (Latest) for Administrative Areas in the United Kingdom". Open Geography Portal. Office for National Statistics. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "UK: county population". Statista. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Eurostat". circabc.europa.eu. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
- ^ "East of England (United Kingdom): Counties and Unitary Districts & Settlements - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "A Summary of Climate Change To coincide with the publication of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) 2012 Risks for the East of England" (PDF). Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ "Norfolk topographic map, elevation, relief". topographic-map.com. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
- ^ "East Anglia | region, England, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Fens | marshland, England, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Holme Fen | The Great Fen". www.greatfen.org.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Whittlesey Mere | The Great Fen". www.greatfen.org.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ Ltd, Copyright The mountain Guide-A.-Connect. "Clipper Down | England". UK mountain Guide. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Celebrating 70 Years of the New Towns Act". Town and Country Planning Association. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
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- ^ a b Home counties#In official use
- ^ Rodger, James; Jones, Amy (7 March 2023). "Map showing where 'north' and 'south' begin splits Cambs in two". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "We, the proud people of East Anglia, declare our statehood". East Anglian Daily Times. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
- ^ "UK climate - Weather and climate - GCSE Geography Revision". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ S2CID 153499701.
- ^ Met, Office (2016). "Eastern England: climate". UK regional climates. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ .
- ^ "Dramatic dust devils spotted in East of England". 16 August 2024. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England Archived 5 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine (Table 6)
- ^ "Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ "TS030 - Religion Edit query". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ "KS209EW (Religion) - Nomis - 2011". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "KS007 - Religion - Nomis - 2001". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-315-03966-4, retrieved 23 March 2022
- ^ Davies, Joe (13 December 2019). "The Lib Dems have gained a key Hertfordshire seat in the general election". Herts Live. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ "The East of England Plan, the Revision to the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England, has been published today (12 May 2008)". Go East. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
- ^ S2CID 159751130.
- ^ S2CID 154674169.
- JSTOR 1602792.
- ^ "Business Link". Archived from the original on 3 April 2011.
- ^ "Business Map East". Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ MAS East Archived 26 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "UK Trade & Investment – GOV.UK". Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ISSN 0013-8266.
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- ^ Archives, The National. "The National Archives – UK Government Web Archive". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Jeevan Vasagar (8 September 2010). "The world's top 100 universities, 2010". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ S2CID 149676241, retrieved 24 March 2022
- ISBN 0-415-35019-0. Archivedfrom the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- OCLC 252707881.
- ^ "101 Dalmatians and Sudbury". www.visitchurches.org.uk.
- ISBN 978-1-4725-5338-6, retrieved 24 March 2022
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