Facts and Stats

London, capital city of the UK or, to be accurate in the eyes of the Scots, the Welsh, the Irish, and, in some cases, the English too, capital city of England. The home of the UK government, the UK’s financial hub, the main base for the Queen and the royal family, the location for England’s national football stadium, as well as cricket and rugby union, in the opinion of the
International Olympic Committee the only place on this island of ours fit to host an Olympic games (Manchester and Birmingham did have a shot at convincing them otherwise), an entertainment centre to rival any in the world and the point from where, much to the annoyance of those from other parts of the UK, most of the national media is produced.

A few facts and stats about London for starters. In 2005 the city had a population of over 7.5 million residents, in that over half a million children lived below the poverty line. A 2009 figure released in June revealed that 15 per cent of children UK-wide live in homes where no one is working, In London that figure jumps to 23 per cent. London is also one of the European Union's most densely settled areas, only Brussels and central Paris had more bodies crammed into a smaller patch of land. The poverty line statistic might, in part, be explained by the fact that in 2005, London had proportionately more residents aged under 5 than the UK average. There were also more between 20 and 44 than elsewhere in Britain, 44 per cent of Londoners were aged 20-44 compared with only 35 per cent of all UK residents.

The same figures published by the
Greater London Authority (GLA) in conjunction with the
Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2007 show that London has an above national average unemployment rate, and, as with much of the rest of the country, exam results continue to improve. No wonder the unemployment rate is high if, kids leave school or university in other parts of the country, then, armed with their impressive qualifications, head for London
Dick Whittington-style once in their twenties, hoping to find work with the multitude of companies who have their head quarters in the South East. Unsurprisingly migration from both the UK and the rest of the world is high, in 2004 an estimated 218,000 international migrants came to live in London, equivalent to nearly 3 per cent of its population. A further 155,000 came from the rest of the UK. As fast as people were coming here, plenty were upping sticks and getting the hell out though. Over 350,000 people moved out of London, including 260,000 to the rest of the UK. London had a net loss of persons at all ages except 16-24, perhaps the mass of newly qualified bright young hopefuls realised it was no easier getting a job down here so scarpered off back to where they came by their mid twenties.

I’m not going to continue with this bombardment of figures, this after all isn’t a piece of Geography A level coursework. Incidentally, I only just scraped an E grade for that subject having failed the GCSE, so it’s probably just as well I plan to swerve away from in depth analysis of the numbers. For the record it took me two attempts to pass maths GCSE, further proof I’d tie myself in knots if I try to do anymore than regurgitate the results of a Google search. The one observation that does leap out at you though is, it’s easy to see why London might appear to be crowded, culturally diverse and, for many, a pretty damn tough place to live.