Nottinghamshire - the County

Nottinghamshire is situated in the heart of England and covers an area of 2,085 sq km (805 sq miles). It has a population of just under 766,400 people and a workforce of 360,000. The largest concentration of people is found in the Greater Nottingham conurbation, the suburbs of which lie mostly in the county. In total (including Nottingham city, 283,200 with a workforce of 125,000) this area has a population in excess of 500,000 (with a further 130,000 in parts extending into Derbyshire).

The other main towns of the county are Mansfield (87,500), Kirkby-in-Ashfield (27,000) Sutton-in-Ashfield (45,400), Newark-on-Trent (26,700), Worksop (43,500) and Retford (21,700).

About a fifth of the population live outside these areas, mostly in small (under 10,000 population) towns and villages. The density of population is about 3.6 persons per hectare, ranging from over 35 in the urban areas to below 3 p/ha in rural parishes.

A diverse local economy features world-renowned companies in the fields of healthcare, pharmaceuticals, precision engineering, textiles and clothing and professional services. Boots, Raleigh, Imperial Tobacco, Experian and Capital One have homes here, as do Government bodies, including the Inland Revenue and the Driving Standards Agency.

The County and City boast two universities – the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University – offering courses to over 45,000 full and part-time students. In addition, New College in Nottingham is the second largest college in Europe with more than 50,000 full and part-time students.

For more information, including population and census, the economy and employment return to the facts about Nottinghamshire web page.