Editing Surrey (section)

== Settlements ==
{{see also|List of places in Surrey|List of settlements in Surrey by population}}
[[file:Woking town centre from the west.jpg|thumb|The skyline of [[Woking]], the most populous settlement in Surrey, as seen from the western approach by railway|alt=multiple rail tracks leading away between tall buildings under a blue-grey sky]]
Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/2008+mid-year+estimates+of+population?opendocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404024518/http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/2008%2Bmid-year%2Bestimates%2Bof%2Bpopulation?opendocument |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 April 2010 |publisher=Surrey City Council |title=2008 mid-year estimates of population |access-date=15 January 2009}}</ref> Its largest town is [[Woking]] with a population of 105,367, followed by [[Guildford]] with 77,057, and [[Walton-on-Thames]] with 66,566. Towns of between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants include [[Ewell]], and [[Camberley]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx |title=2011 census table: ONS |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107062420/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>

Much of the north of the county, extending to Guildford, is within the [[Greater London Built-up Area]]. This is an area of continuous [[urban sprawl]] linked without significant interruption of rural area to Greater London. In the west, there is a developing [[conurbation]] straddling the Hampshire/Surrey border, including the Surrey towns of [[Camberley]] and [[Farnham]].

Guildford is often regarded as the historic [[county town]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guildford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=918&p=0 |publisher=Guildford Borough Council |title=Medieval Guildford—"Henry III confirmed Guildford's status as the county town of Surrey in 1257" |access-date=30 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101054620/http://www.guildford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=918&p=0 |archive-date=1 November 2013}}</ref> although the county administration was moved to [[Newington, London|Newington]] in 1791 and to [[Kingston upon Thames]] in 1893. The county council's headquarters were outside the county's boundaries from 1 April 1965, when Kingston and other areas were included within [[Greater London]] by the [[London Government Act 1963]], <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10152902 |publisher=Vision of Britain |title=Relationships / unit history of Surrey |access-date=16 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014091425/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10152902 |archive-date=14 October 2007}}</ref> until the administration moved to Reigate at the start of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surrey-county-council-set-based-19102357 |title=County council base will be in Surrey for first time in 55 years |date=15 October 2020 |access-date=26 February 2021 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303204444/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surrey-county-council-set-based-19102357 |url-status=live}}</ref>