In article ,
exmetman writes:
Admittedly you have to take into account the population of the two
regions:

SE England = 8.6 million (1)
SW England = 5.2 million (2)

These figures were a bit surprising, I thought the population of
London was as high as this (I'm sure someone will enlightenment
me).

Your reference for the population of the SE says:

"The population of the South East on census day (27 March 2011) was 8.6
million...

"It remains the region with the largest population in England and Wales.
It was one of three English regions that grew by 8 per cent between 2001
and 2011. London grew the most, by 12 per cent."

In other words their SE region doesn't include London, so to get the
total for the SE including London you will have to add the London
figure.
--
John Hall
"Sir, I have found you an argument;
but I am not obliged to find you an understanding."
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)