London

Main article: Britain

Population

Migrants

The second most spoken language in London after English. Data for 2020

For 2020, London has a very large number of people from Pakistan and India.

Among European peoples, emigrants from Poland and Turkey predominate in London.

Affluent class

2022: London ranks 4th in the world in the number of millionaires

Britain is losing millionaires after leaving the EU, reversing the net inflow of investment seen in the first half of the 2010s.

As of December 2022

Transport

Airports

• London Heathrow Airport
• Gatwick Airport (LGW)

Subway

Main article: London Underground

Economy

LSE Stock Exchange

Main article: London Stock Exchange (London Stock Exchange, LSE)

Oil products

2025: Cost of petrol - $1.92 per litre

Data for October 2025

Digitalization and video surveillance

2023:800 road cameras broken and stolen in London in six months

Between April 1 and September 30, 2023, approximately 800 traffic cameras were broken or stolen in Greater London. Such data were disclosed by the local police on October 2, 2023.

According to the published statistics, a total of 795 incidents with traffic cameras were recorded during the specified period. Of these, 595 cases were caused by damage to video recording complexes. Another 200 cameras have been stolen. It is noted that the peak of vandalism occurred in September 2023, when at least 285 relevant offenses were recorded. On average, 9 road cameras were abducted or disabled every day during this month. Thus, in September 2023, approximately 36% of the total number of crimes against video recording complexes registered in six months accounted for.

For six months, a total of 795 incidents with road cameras were recorded

London police say "significant resources" had to be brought in to solve the problem. The surge in vandalism is partly due to the decision of the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan from August 29, 2023 to expand the zone of ultra-low emissions of harmful substances (ULEZ) throughout Greater London. Any car owner driving a vehicle that does not meet certain emission standards is charged a fee of £12.5 ($15.2 at the rate of October 5, 2023) per day or a fine of up to £180. This caused a negative reaction among citizens: throughout the city, vandals paint camera lenses with canisters, cut cables or steal surveillance devices altogether.

By September 2023, almost 2,700 road cameras had been installed in Greater London to track older vehicles. At the same time, about every fifth of them is disabled, damaged or stolen. Local police managed to detain only two people suspected of committing acts of vandalism. ^[1]]

2022

The total capacity of London data centers is 1.053 MW

Data for 2022

13.4 cameras per 1,000 residents

Data for 2022

2021: In the top 5 largest cities in the world in terms of the number of CCTV cameras per square kilometer

Surfshark: Ranking the world's largest cities by number of cameras per square kilometer. Photo: pixabay.com

2016:300 CCTV cameras per 1 sq km and fire prediction system

Per 1 sq. km. London has over 300 outdoor CCTV cameras. The statistical analytical system (SAS) helps in predicting a fire hazard situation. The static analysis that underpins SAS helps detect the most fire-proof buildings and dysfunctional families. Demographic, geological, historical and other data (60 criteria considered) are used in the modeling of each district. This significantly reduced the cases of fires in residential buildings.

In London, a fire prediction system similar to New York has also been introduced. Here it is called the "Statistical Analytical System" - SAS. It allows you to identify the most fire-hazardous houses using statistical analysis. Modeling of each district of the city is carried out taking into account about 60 criteria, including demographic, geological and historical data. This made it possible to significantly reduce the number of fires. So Londoners may not be afraid of a repeat of the 1666 incident.

2013: Smart London initiative launched to manage transport in the city

The Smart London initiative was proclaimed by the city administration in 2013. Thanks to it, many sectors of urban economy are developing, and especially the transport industry. The Department of Transport of the capital of Britain, receiving heterogeneous data, draws up optimal routes for urban transport and timely notifies the population about changes in traffic routes, road works and emergencies. PwC analysts note that several dozen mobile services for passengers are available to Londoners.

Open data on the transport situation allowed many independent developers to come to this market. In London, there are a dozen applications and online services for passengers. They help to navigate the difficult scheme of street transport, it is convenient to plan trips and simply not be late for your train.

Real estate

2025: The fifth city in the world with the highest property prices

Average price sq. m in the city center as of April 2025:

1. Hong Kong: $26 '587

2. Zurich: $24 '157

3. Singapore: $22 '211

4. Seoul: $21 '008

5. London: $20 '792

6. Geneva: $19 '256

7. Tel Aviv: $17 '976

8. New York: $17 '954

9. Beijing: $14 '502

10. Shanghai: $14 '486

2022

Blocking real estate of Russians for $2.1 billion after the start of the conflict in Ukraine

The total value of London real estate, which belongs to Russians under sanctions, is at least $2.1 billion, analyzed Bloomberg in November 2022.

The average cost of luxury housing fell 18% from the peak of 2014

The average cost of luxury housing in London fell by almost 18% from its 2014 peak by August 2022, the FT learned. The market is hampered from year to year by either Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, or the Russian military operation in Ukraine, because of which wealthy Russian clients leave. In conditions of reduced demand, inflation also negatively affects, which leads to an increase in the cost of construction.

2021: Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom flat in central London - $2,310

Средняя стоимость месячной аренды однокомнатной квартиры в центре столиц countries Europe, October 2021

2020

Prices in the luxury housing market have been declining for 5 years in a row

4 skyscrapers built per year

Cities of the world in which the largest number of skyscrapers were built in 2020 (200 meters high or higher)

Restaurants and bars

2022: Average price of 0.5 L of beer in a restaurant - $7.21

Data for 2022

Culture and art

Museums

• British Museum (British Museum)

• Tate Modern

Crime

2024: Crime capital of Europe. 80 thousand phones stolen

In 2024, about 80 thousand smartphones were stolen in London. For comparison, a year earlier, 64 thousand similar cases were recorded. Thus, over the year, the number of theft of cellular devices in the British capital jumped by a quarter. The corresponding data in mid-October 2025 were released by local law enforcement agencies.

As noted, London has become a "European crime capital." Smartphone thefts in 2024 accounted for approximately 70% of the total number of thefts in the city. The observed trend is partly because cell theft is both "very profitable" and "less risky" than car theft or drug dealing. The British police note that thieves can receive up to 300 pounds sterling (approximately $400) per device - this is more than three times the minimum daily wage in the country. Therefore, the number of such thefts is growing rapidly: often attackers in masks and on e-bikes grab phones from the hands of passers-by.

𝓲

Фото: Freepik

For years, London police have assumed that the majority of smartphone thefts are committed by petty thieves for the sake of quick profit. But in December 2024, law enforcement officers received a tip from a woman who used a special function to track the location of her stolen iPhone: the device ended up in a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. Arriving there, police found boxes intended for shipment to Hong Kong. They were labeled as batteries but actually contained nearly a thousand stolen Apple smartphones.

Despite police raids, smartphone thefts in the British capital remain high. The stolen devices are resold to unsuspecting citizens or transported abroad.^[2]

History

Main article: History of the UK

2020: Distribution of tobacco heating systems to homeless people reduced the number of fires

In 2020, British national initiatives stimulating the transition of the adult smoking population to electronic smokeless devices led to an unexpected but positive result. According to Deborah Robson, a senior lecturer at King's College in London, in March 2020, the homeless service in London was instructed to carry out work aimed at introducing a strategy for reducing harm from tobacco smoke. During this period, when a nationwide lockdown was introduced in Britain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the authorities began to place homeless Londoners in idle hotels at public expense. All hotels participating in the project were equipped with starter sets of tobacco products with a reduced risk so that guests did not smoke indoors. As a result, the switching of socially unprotected segments of the population to smokeless devices made it possible to reduce the number of fires by 1/3, and false fire alarms by 2/3. At the same time, the homeless themselves participating in the project said that as a result of the transition to smokeless devices, their quality of life has improved.

2014

Actress Angelina Jolie attends a private reception with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace during her award of the title of Cavalry Lady. London, 2014

2004

Morning. Milk. Oman Embassy in London, 2004Credit: TAdviser

1997:1 million people walk out to Princess Diana's mourning procession

On September 6, 1997, on the day of the funeral of Princess Diana, more than a million people took to the streets of London to honor her memory.

1984

Princess Diana and actor Rowan Atkinson, London, 1984

1980

The elephant takes the bus to Earls Court. London, 1980

1978

British police guard fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. 1978 London. England.

1976

An 8-year-old boy named Mark lies on a bed of nails while playing Monopoly, London, 1976.

1970

American singer Stevie Wonder during a visit to a children's school for the blind, London, 1970.

1969

London, 1960s.

A group of skinheads walk past a group of hippies. Piccadilly Square. London. 1969

Broadcaster Pete Brady participates in a demonstration of the protective properties of bulletproof glass developed by the firm Triplex Safety Glass Co. London, Chelsea, 1960s.

1968

London's first black police officer is Norvell Roberts, near Charing Cross station, 1968.

Piccadilly, London, 1960s

London, 1960s

1967

Journalists of the popular tabloid Sun, who were tasked with getting on Wednesday with hippies and writing a report on this subculture. London, 1960s.

1965

The generational gap at Kings Road, London, 1965.

1963

Sir Winston Churchill feeds deer at Richmond Park in London on 25 March 1963. In this photo, he is 89 years old. And still the same unchanging cigar.

1958

Director Alfred Hitchcock lies in the River Thames for inspiration. London, 1958.

The first strip club in London, 1958

1956

Acquaintance of Elizabeth II and American actress Marilyn Monroe at the premiere of the film "Bus Stop." London, 1956.

1955

So in 1955, booths looked like for listening to records in a London record store.

1953: Coronation of Elizabeth II

Coronation of Elizabeth II. London, Buckingham Palace, 1953

A girl feeds a porcupine in a London zoo, 1953.

1952

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stopped to pet a cat at Liverpool Stree Station, London, on 24 May 1952.

1951

At a festive dinner organized after her official approval as a candidate for the Conservative Party in Dartford in February 1951, the future British Prime Minister Margaret Roberts met the successful and wealthy divorced businessman Denis Thatcher. Margaret lost the election, but married Thatcher (pictured) in December of the same 1951.

1949

1940

London taxi with gas cylinders on the roof, 1940. At one gas station of such a cylinder, a car could drive about 50 km.

London, 1940

Readers are looking for books in the destroyed bombing library. London, 1940

1939

Baroness Dorothy Dorndorf on her Peugeot. London. 1939

Tortoiseshell cleaning at London Zoo, 1930s.

1938

A stroller to protect a child from a gas attack. London. 1938

Pupils at Toringdon Road School in Catford learn how to make Christmas pudingo

London, 16.11.1938 years]]

Wards of the Society for the Help of Homeless Children in London at Christmas, 1938.

Hay unloading on the south bank of the Thames. 1938

Walking Bibliote

London, 1930s]]

1937

Locomotive LMS, London, 1937.

Christmas lights at St Martin's in the Fields church, 1937

Coronation of King George VI

At the coronation of King George VI, May 12, 1937, London.

1936: Demonstrations by the unemployed

Demonstration of the unemployed in London, 1936.

A trendy show of beachwear. London, 1936

1935

Burmese women in London, 1935.

Women of the Padaung people look at the royal guard at the gates of the residence of the Prince of Wales, London, 1935

1934

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Workshop. London, 1934.

There should be a lot of good clown! Circus of London. Great Britain. 1930s

1933

Cat meat salesman. London, 1933.

So the creators of London double-decker buses proved that there was no danger of overturning the vehicle. 1933

1932

A couple in London wearing masks during a flu epidemic in 1932.

1931

Street Artist at Work, London, 1931

1930

Drying of snake skins in the warehouse of the Port of London, September 16, 1930.

In the port of London, police are testing life jackets. 1930

"Mickey Mouse" week winners at Russell's. London. 1930

1928

Londoners carry injured animals to a free mobile veterinary hospital during the flood, 1928.

Fresh milk on the road. Milking a cow on the platform of Kings Cross railway station. London, 1920s

1924

1920

People attack trams on the waterfront in London during a railway strike, 1920.

Telephone Engineer, London, 1920

1915

Zeppelin flies over Westminster, London, 1915.

Zebra pulled into a wagon on Brixton Road in London, 1915

1910: Funeral of King Edward VII

Nine Kings of Europe at the funeral of King Edward VII in London. May 20, 1910

1908

Under-Secretary for the Colonies, Boer War veteran Winston Churchill. London. Britain. 1905-1908

The smallest shoe shop in London, 1900s.

1900

Before the invention of alarms, workers were woken up by banging on windows. Mary Smith earned 6p a week by launching dried peas into workers' windows. Limehouse Fields, London.

London's slums, 1900

1899

Kings Cross, London. July 20, 1899

1898

A boy with a basket helping his parents. Photographer Horace Warner. London. England. The end of the XIX century.

1897: World's first car dealer

October 22, 1897. The world's first car dealer is starting in London.

1892

Construction of Tower Bridge, 1892

1891

London, 1891

1889

Tower Bridge, London, 1889.

1888

Traffic jam in London, 1888

1887

Cleopatra obelisk brought from Alexandria to Long

1887]]

1877

London. 1877

1860: Britain's first tram

On August 31, 1860, the first British tram (Birkenhead Street) was launched.

Endangered specialty. Scottish chimney sweep. Great Britain. Around 1860

See also

• History of Great Britain