GCSE Geography | Inequality in London (UK City Study: London 5)

London is the most unequal region in the UK and has the greatest gap between the richest and poorest residents. It has the highest property prices in the UK, but also some of the most deprived boroughs.

The 2024 World's Wealthiest Cities Report by Henley & Partners found that London has 227,000 millionaires and 35 billionaires. The top 10% of Londoners hold 44.3% of London's total net wealth, whereas 41% of Londoners have an annual household income of less than £20,000.

Housing

In December 2024 the average house price in London was £550,000 compared to £290,000 across the UK - but this varies widely across London. Over 400,000 properties in London are valued at £1 million or more, concentrated in Kensington & Chelsea (pictured below), Westminster, Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Richmond Upon Thames - this is 52% of the number of properties valued at £1 million or more across the UK.

Poverty and deprivation

The map showing the Index of Multiple Deprivation below shows that there is a higher level of deprivation from in eastern boroughs of London, including Haringey and Hackney close to central London, across to Newham and Barking and Dagenham. There are also some patches of high deprivation in other areas, including Brent, Westminster and Croydon. These boroughs also have the highest proportion of people claiming benefits - with Newham having the highest figure at over 20%.

This unequal distribution of wealth is also matched by child poverty across London, as you can see in this second map. Almost 40% of children in London (around 800,000) are classified as living in poverty (compared to 30% across the UK). The boroughs experiencing the highest levels of poverty are generally in the east, with Tower Hamlets and Camden with having the highest proportion of children living in poverty.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is closely linked to poverty. In 2012 the Lives on the line project mapped the average life expectancies along the London tube map, and observed that those born close to Oxford Circus can expect to live to 96, compared to 75 for those living in Star Lane right over in the east - a difference of 21 years. The project stated that in general for every tube station you travel east, you can expect to lose one year in life expectancy (although this is very generalised and there are many areas that do not fit this pattern).

Kensington and Chelsea is regarded as one of the most affluent boroughs of London and has an average life expectancy of 83.7 years, compared to 75.1 in Islington and 75.7 in Hackney (both regarded as boroughs experiencing a high level of deprivation. Low life expectancy is closely linked to poor diet, housing and education, as well as lack of employment.

Education

There is educational inequality across London - generally, the schools in the poorest areas score the lowest number of GCSE points per pupil. However, the gap in attainment has has narrowed in recent years, and some of the schools in London’s poorest boroughs are amongst the fastest improving schools in the country.

London is considered to have the greatest school improvement in the UK due to a combination of factors including focused initiatives like the 'London Challenge' - which focused on raising the quality of school leadership and teaching and learning, through funding for better training programmes, and used detailed data to drive decision making.

London has several school academy chains, including the City of London Academies Trust, the London South East Academies Trust, Ark Schools and the Harris Federation. Academies have been important in improving education - they are able to invest in schools and also have a strong political will to improve education standards, particularly in disadvantaged areas. There has been significant gains in student attainment, especially among pupils from diverse backgrounds - this is often referred to as the 'London effect'.