List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population Information & List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population Links at HealthHaven.com

See List of ceremonial counties of England by population for a list including metropolitan counties and unitary authorities.

This is a list of non-metropolitan counties of England by population.

It includes those non-metropolitan counties (also known as shire counties) with a two-tier county council structure and does not include metropolitan counties or unitary authorities.

In cases where a unitary authority has been detached from a shire county the population of the unitary authority is excluded. For example, Peterborough is excluded from the population figure for Cambridgeshire.

The figures are mid-year estimates for 2008 from the Office for National Statistics [1]. The Unitary Authorities of Cornwall, County Durham, Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Shropshire and Wiltshire (which were formerly counties) are now listed in the List of English districts by population.

Rank	County	Population	Area (in km²)	Density (people/km²)
1	Kent	1,406,600	3,544	397
2	Essex	1,396,300	3,465	403
3	Hampshire	1,286,000	3,679	350
4	Lancashire	1,169,100	2,903	403
5	Surrey	1,109,700	1,663	667
6	Hertfordshire	1,078,400	1,643	656
7	Norfolk	850,800	5,371	158
8	Staffordshire	828,900	2,620	316
9	West Sussex	781,600	1,991	393
10	Nottinghamshire	776,500	2,085	372
11	Derbyshire	762,300	2,547	299
12	Devon	754,800	6,564	115
13	Suffolk	715,700	3,800	188
14	Lincolnshire	698,100	5,921	118
15	Northamptonshire	685,000	2,364	290
16	Leicestershire	645,800	2,083	310
17	Oxfordshire	639,700	2,605	246
18	Cambridgeshire	605,100	3,046	199
19	North Yorkshire	599,300	8,038	75
20	Gloucestershire	582,500	2,653	220
21	Worcestershire	557,600	1,741	320
22	Warwickshire	530,500	1,975	269
23	Somerset	525,800	3,451	152
24	East Sussex	509,800	1,709	298
25	Cumbria	496,600	6,767	73
26	Buckinghamshire	493,200	1,565	315
27	Dorset	407,800	2,542	160