Edinburgh
259 km²
London
1,572 km²
United Kingdom
UK
Area Comparison
Edinburgh is 6.1x smaller than London
Population Comparison
Edinburgh has 18.3x fewer people than London
Yes — London is 6.1x larger than Edinburgh by area. London spans 1,572 km² (607 mi²) while Edinburgh covers 259 km² (100 mi²) — a difference of 1,313 km². You could fit Edinburgh inside London approximately 6 times.
To put Edinburgh's size in perspective, its area of 259 km² is about 1.2x the size of Amsterdam. Meanwhile, London at 1,572 km² is about 1.4x smaller than Tokyo (city proper).
Picture Edinburgh another way: its area is large enough to fit about 36,000 American football fields, 130 times the area of Monaco, or 76 times the area of Central Park. London works out to about 220,000 American football fields, 27 times the area of Manhattan, or 15 times the area of Paris.
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. It is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in 2020, making it the second-most-populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most-populous in the United Kingdom. The wider metropolitan area had a population of 912,490 in the same year.
Known as "Auld Reekie", Edinburgh covers 259 km² with a population of 0.5 million. The city was established in 601. Edinburgh is known for Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Arthur's Seat, among other attractions.
Edinburgh is bounded by the Firth of Forth to the north and the Pentland Hills to the south.
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 9.1 million people in 2024. Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 15.1 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years.
Nicknamed "The Big Smoke", London has an area of 1,572 km² and is home to 9.0 million people. The city dates back to 43. Visitors come for Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, and much more. Getting around is easy with the London Underground.
London has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years, tracing its roots back to Roman times around 47 AD.
Edinburgh has a population density of 1,892 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. London, with 5,712 people per km², is a densely populated city. London is dramatically more crowded, with 3.0x the population density.
Size Ratio
Edinburgh fits inside London ~6 times
Density Gap
London is 3.0x more densely populated
History
London is ~558 years older
Edinburgh covers 259 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Taipei (272 km²), Kuala Lumpur (243 km²), Boston (232 km²), Osaka (225 km²), or Amsterdam (219 km²).
London covers 1,572 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Bangkok (1,569 km²), Bogotá (1,578 km²), São Paulo (1,521 km²), Johannesburg (1,644 km²), or Mexico City (1,485 km²).
The straight-line distance from Edinburgh to London is 534 km (332 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~1h 8m.
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