Oxford

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This article is about the city of Oxford in the United Kingdom. For other cities and other meanings, see Oxford (disambiguation).

Oxford City of Oxford
City and non-metropolitan district
From top left to bottom right: Oxford skyline panorama from St Mary's Church; Radcliffe Camera; High Street from above looking east; University College; High Street by night; Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers Museum.
Coat of arms of Oxford
Nickname(s): "the City of Dreaming Spires"
Motto: "Fortis est veritas" "The truth is strong"
Shown within Oxfordshire
Coordinates: 51°45′7″N 1°15′28″W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Ceremonial county	Oxfordshire
Admin HQ	Oxford City Centre
Founded	8th century
City status	1542
Government
• Type	City
• Governing body	Oxford City Council
• Lord Mayor	Cllr Rae Humberstone[1] (2015–2016) (Lab)
• Sheriff of Oxford	Cllr Sajjad Malik (Lab)
• Executive Council Leader	Labour Cllr Bob Price
• MPs	Nicola Blackwood (C) Andrew Smith (L)
Area
• City and non-metropolitan district	45.59 km2 (17.60 sq mi)
Population
• City and non-metropolitan district	168,270
• Density	3,270/km2 (8,500/sq mi)
• Metro	244,000
• Ethnicity[2]	72.4% White British 6.7% Other White 8.5% South Asian 3.7% Black 4.3% Chinese 3.0% Mixed Race 2.5% Other 1.4% White Irish
Demonym(s)	Oxonian
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
• Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
Postcode	OX1, OX2, OX3, OX4
Area code(s)	01865
ISO 3166-2	GB-OXF
ONS code	38UC (ONS) E07000178 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SP513061
Website	www.oxford.gov.uk

Oxford (/ˈɒksfərd/^[3][4]) is a city in the South East region of England and the county town of Oxfordshire. With an estimated 2015 population of 168,270, it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom,^[5][6] and one of the fastest growing and most ethnically diverse.^[7][8] The city is situated 57 miles (92 km) from London, 69 miles (111 km) from Bristol, 65 miles (105 km) from both Southampton and Birmingham and 25 miles (40 km) from Reading.
The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.^[9] Buildings in Oxford demonstrate notable examples of every English architectural period since the late Saxon period. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold. Oxford has a broad economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a large number of information technology and science-based businesses, some being academic offshoots.