Leicester urban area

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The Leicester Built Up Area (BUA), Leicester Urban Area, or Greater Leicester is an urban agglomeration defined by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), centred on the City of Leicester in the East Midlands, England. With a population of 559,017 at the time of the 2021 census, Greater Leicester BUA is the eleventh largest in England and thirteenth largest in the United Kingdom.^[1] It comprises Leicester itself and its suburbs, all of which are contiguous with or situated in close proximity to the city.

As at 2011 the Greater Leicester BUA was home to 51.8% of the total population of Leicestershire^[2] (2001: 48.5%). A 2017 quote from the Leicester City Council website states that "The Greater Leicester urban area is one of the fastest growing in the country, with a population of about 650,000, of which 350,000 live within the city council area"^[3].