Bristol

Bristol ( ) is a city and ceremonial county in South West England. It is located on the River Avon, and bordered by Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south with a short coastline on the Bristol Channel to the west. The county includes the majority of the Bristol conurbation, however, the urban area of the city extends into the neighbouring districts of South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset. The county is almost entirely urbanised and had an estimated population of 494,399 in 2024, making Bristol the most populous city in the region. For local government purposes the county is a unitary authority area governed by Bristol City Council. The council is a member of the West of England Combined Authority, which allows it to collaborate with South Gloucestershire Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council. Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Bristol received a royal charter in 1155, but was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until it became a county corporate in 1373. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A major port, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. At the height of the Bristol slave trade, from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried an estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. The Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock. The city's modern economy is built on the creative media, electronics, and aerospace industries; the city-centre docks have been redeveloped as cultural and heritage centres. There are a variety of artistic and sporting organisations and venues, including the Royal West of England Academy, the Arnolfini, Ashton Gate and the Memorial Ground. The city has two universities: the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). It is connected to the world by Bristol Airport; to the rest of the Great Britain via Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations; by road by both the south-west to West Midlands M5 and the London to South Wales M4 (which connect to the city centre by the Portway and M32).

Infobox

Sovereign state

United Kingdom

Country

England

Region

South West

Combined authority

West of England

Royal charter

1155

County corporate

1373

City status

1542

Ceremonial county

1996

Administrative HQ

City Hall

• Type

Unitary authority

• Body

Bristol City Council

• Executive

Committee system

• Control

No overall control

• Leader

Tony Dyer (G)

• Lord Mayor

Henry Michallat

• MPs

5 MPs Carla Denyer (G) Kerry McCarthy (L) Darren Jones (L) Karin Smyth (L) Damien Egan (L)

• Total

494,399

• Rank

13th

• Density

11,680/sq mi (4,508/km2)

Demonym

Bristolian

• Ethnic groups

List 81.1% White 6.6% Asian 5.9% Black 4.5% Mixed 1.9% other

• Religion

List 51.4% no religion 32.2% Christianity 6.7% Islam 0.8% Hinduism 0.6% Buddhism 0.5% Sikhism 0.3% Judaism 0.8% other 6.9% not stated

Time zone

UTC 0 (GMT)

• Summer (DST)

UTC 1 (BST)

Postcode area

Dialling codes

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ISO 3166 code

GB-BST

GSS code

E06000023

Website

bristol.gov.uk

Tables

Political makeup of the council[94] · Government

Green Party

Party

Green Party

Councillors

Labour Party

Party

Labour Party

Councillors

Liberal Democrats

Party

Liberal Democrats

Councillors

Conservative Party

Party

Conservative Party

Councillors

Party	Councillors
Green Party	34
Labour Party	21
Liberal Democrats	8
Conservative Party	7

Month