This is a List of Ceremonial counties of England by Population - 2002 mid-year estimates from the Office for National Statistics, unrounded figures published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the Entitlement Notification Reports for Revenue Support Grants [1].
See also: List of Administrative shire counties of England by Population - List of Ceremonial counties of England by Area
| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater London | 7,355,354 |
| 2 | West Midlands | 2,575,768 |
| 3 | Greater Manchester | 2,513,468 |
| 4 | West Yorkshire | 2,089,212 |
| 5 | Hampshire | 1,654,802 |
| 6 | Essex | 1,622,403 |
| 7 | Kent | 1,589,252 |
| 8 | Lancashire | 1,421,912 |
| 9 | Merseyside | 1,361,009 |
| 10 | South Yorkshire | 1,267,288 |
| 11 | Devon | 1,082,287 |
| 12 | North Yorkshire | 1,076,514 |
| 13 | Tyne and Wear | 1,073,515 |
| 14 | Surrey | 1,059,900 |
| 15 | Staffordshire | 1,047,528 |
| 16 | Hertfordshire | 1,036,144 |
| 17 | Nottinghamshire | 1,023,160 |
| 18 | Cheshire | 986,079 |
| 19 | Lincolnshire | 969,569 |
| 20 | Derbyshire | 962,502 |
| 21 | Leicestershire | 899,069 |
| 22 | Somerset | 862,476 |
| 23 | Gloucestershire | 813,250 |
| 24 | County Durham | 810,191 |
| 25 | Berkshire | 803,566 |
| 26 | Norfolk | 802,766 |
| 27 | West Sussex | 755,855 |
| 28 | East Sussex | 744,142 |
| 29 | Cambridgeshire | 716,285 |
| 30 | Dorset | 696,327 |
| 31 | Buckinghamshire | 688,536 |
| 32 | Suffolk | 671,931 |
| 33 | Northamptonshire | 638,238 |
| 34 | Wiltshire | 616,907 |
| 35 | Oxfordshire | 607,457 |
| 36 | Bedfordshire | 570,831 |
| 37 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 558,945 |
| 38 | Worcestershire | 545,897 |
| 39 | Warwickshire | 512,680 |
| 40 | Cornwall | 508,412 |
| 41 | Cumbria | 488,513 |
| 42 | Shropshire | 445,780 |
| 43 | Bristol | 381,618 |
| 44 | Northumberland | 308,386 |
| 45 | Herefordshire | 176,471 |
| 46 | Isle of Wight | 134,876 |
| 47 | Rutland | 34,680 |