About City of London
The City of London is a city and county that contains the historic centre and the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages. The City is now only a tiny part of the metropolis of London, though it remains a notable part of central London. Administratively, it forms one of the 33 local authority districts of Greater London; however, the City of London is not a London borough, a status reserved for the other 32 districts (including London's only other city, the City of Westminster). It is also a separate county of England, being an enclave surrounded by Greater London. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City and is also colloquially known as the Square Mile, as it is 1.12 sq mi (716.80 acres; 2.90 km2) in area. The name London is now ordinarily used for a far wider area than just the City. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 London boroughs, in addition to the City of London itself. This wider usage of London is documented as far back as 1888, when the County of London was created. The Office for National Statistics recorded the population in 2011 as 7,375; the population was once 130,000 in the late 1880s.