List of counties of England by population in 1981
This is a list of counties of England, ordered by population as at the 1981 census.
| Rank | County | Total population | 
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater London | 6,495,163 | 
| 2 | West Midlands | 2,605,113 | 
| 3 | Greater Manchester | 2,547,045 | 
| 4 | West Yorkshire | 1,999,043 | 
| 5 | Merseyside | 1,481,857 | 
| 6 | Essex | 1,446,621 | 
| 7 | Kent | 1,428,921 | 
| 8 | Hampshire | 1,423,915 | 
| 9 | Lancashire | 1,348,440 | 
| 10 | South Yorkshire | 1,282,161 | 
| 11 | Tyne and Wear | 1,120,100 | 
| 12 | Staffordshire | 999,539 | 
| 13 | Surrey | 974,479 | 
| 14 | Nottinghamshire | 967,734 | 
| 15 | Hertfordshire | 936,123 | 
| 16 | Devon | 919,483 | 
| 17 | Cheshire | 911,980 | 
| 18 | Derbyshire | 895,149 | 
| 19 | Avon | 891,560 | 
| 20 | Humberside | 835,643 | 
| 21 | Leicestershire | 827,407 | 
| 22 | Norfolk | 676,688 | 
| 23 | Berkshire | 662,689 | 
| 24 | North Yorkshire | 643,475 | 
| 25 | West Sussex | 641,071 | 
| 26 | East Sussex | 633,613 | 
| 27 | Hereford and Worcester | 617,671 | 
| 28 | Durham | 594,788 | 
| 29 | Suffolk | 583,594 | 
| 30 | Dorset | 570,321 | 
| 31 | Cambridgeshire | 563,773 | 
| 32 | Cleveland | 558,820 | 
| 33 | Buckinghamshire | 553,225 | 
| 34 | Lincolnshire | 538,269 | 
| 35 | Northamptonshire | 519,046 | 
| 36 | Wiltshire | 504,984 | 
| 37 | Oxfordshire | 500,554 | 
| 38 | Bedfordshire | 497,639 | 
| 39 | Gloucestershire | 487,806 | 
| 40 | Cumbria | 467,355 | 
| 41 | Warwickshire | 466,045 | 
| 42 | Somerset | 413,048 | 
| 43 | Cornwall & Isles of Scilly | 412,835 | 
| 44 | Salop (Shropshire) | 365,355 | 
| 45 | Northumberland | 291,175 | 
| 46 | Isle of Wight | 113,008 | 
| TOTAL | 45,214,323 | |
References
- 1981 census