South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. Major towns and cities in the region include Brighton and Hove, Milton Keynes, Southampton, Portsmouth, Slough, Reading and Oxford.

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South East England
Region of England
From top, left to right: Brighton; Oxford; Southampton; Canterbury; Windsor Castle; Blenheim Palace; White Cliffs of Dover
South East England, highlighted in red on a beige political map of England
Coordinates: 51.3°N 0.8°W / 51.3; -0.8
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Districts	13 unitary 51 non-metropolitan in 6 non-metropolitan counties
Counties	Berkshire Buckinghamshire East Sussex Hampshire Isle of Wight Kent Oxfordshire Surrey West Sussex
Government
• Type	Local authority leaders' board
• Body	South East England Councils
• MPs	84 (of 650)
Area [1]
• Total	7,500 sq mi (19,400 km2)
• Land	7,364 sq mi (19,072 km2)
• Water	6 sq mi (16 km2)
• Rank	3rd
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	9,278,065
• Estimate  (Mid-2021)[3]	9,294,023
• Rank	1st
• Density	1,260/sq mi (487/km2)
• Rank	3rd
Ethnicity (2021) [2]
• Ethnic groups	86.3% White 7.0% Asian 2.8% Mixed 2.4% Black 1.5% other
Religion (2021) [2]
• Religion	46.5% Christianity 40.2% no religion 3.3% Islam 1.7% Hinduism 0.8% Sikhism 0.6% Buddhism 0.2% Judaism 0.6% other 6.1% not stated
GSS code	E12000008
ITL code	TLJ
GVA	2021 estimate[4]
• Total	£301.5 billion
• Rank	2nd
• Per capita	£32,443
• Rank	2nd
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate[5]
• Total	£336.2 billion
• Rank	2nd
• Per capita	£36,174
• Rank	2nd

This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the
Politics of England
The Crown Monarch: Charles III Heir Apparent: William, Prince of Wales Republicanism in the United Kingdom
Governance King-in-Council: Charles III Prime Minister: Rishi Sunak (C) Deputy Prime Minister: Oliver Dowden (C)
Legislative King-in-Parliament: Charles III House of Lords Lord Speaker: The Lord Fowler Reform of the House of Lords House of Commons Speaker: Sir Lindsay Hoyle MPs for England Constituencies
Elections UK General Elections in England 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019
Judiciary King-on-the-Bench: Charles III Supreme Court President: The Lord Reed High Court of Justice Courts English Law
Regions East of England London East Midlands West Midlands North East North West South East South West Yorkshire and the Humber
Administration History Subdivisions Historic Counties Ceremonial Counties Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Greater London Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Metropolitan Borough Non-metropolitan District London Borough Civil parishes (list)
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South East England is the third-largest region of England, with an area of 19,096 km² (7,373 sq mi), and is also the most populous with a total population of over eight and a half million (2011). The region contains eight legally chartered cities: Brighton and Hove, Canterbury, Chichester, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester. The region's close proximity to London has led to South East England becoming a prosperous economic hub with the largest economy of any region in the UK, after London. The region is home to Gatwick Airport, the UK's second-busiest airport, and Heathrow Airport (the UK's busiest airport) is located adjacent to the region's boundary with Greater London. The coastline along the English Channel provides numerous ferry crossings to mainland Europe.

The region is known for its countryside, which includes two national parks: the New Forest and the South Downs, as well as the North Downs, the Chiltern Hills and part of the Cotswolds. The River Thames flows through the region and its basin is known as the Thames Valley. It is also the location of a number of internationally known places of interest, such as HMS Victory in Portsmouth, Cliveden in Buckinghamshire, Thorpe Park and RHS Wisley in Surrey, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Windsor Castle in Berkshire, Leeds Castle, the White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, Brighton Palace Pier, and Hammerwood Park in East Sussex, and Wakehurst Place in West Sussex. The region has many universities; the University of Oxford is the oldest in the English-speaking world, and ranked among the best in the world.

South East England is host to various sporting events, including the annual Henley Royal Regatta, Royal Ascot and The Derby, and sporting venues include Wentworth Golf Club and Brands Hatch. Some of the events of the 2012 Summer Olympics were held in the south east, including the rowing at Eton Dorney and part of the cycling road race in the Surrey Hills.

In medieval times, South East England included much of the Kingdom of Wessex, which was the precursor to the modern state of England. Winchester was the capital of England after unification of the various states, including the kingdoms of Kent, Sussex and Mercia. Winchester stopped being the administrative capital of England some time in the 13th century as its influence waned while the City of London dominated commerce. The last monarch to be crowned at Winchester was Richard II in 1377, although the last monarch to be crowned by the Bishop of Winchester was Queen Mary I in 1553.