3% of English people think London is in the North, YouGov survey finds

A remarkable 3% of English adults think London is in the north of England, according to a YouGov survey.

The research highlighted a widespread lack of agreement among the English as to the definitions of North and South – however, a small percentage of citizens were shown to be completely ignorant of the nation's fundamental geography.

Almost 8,000 English adults were shown a map of England with the nine regions and London demarcated – though not explicitly named.

They were then asked which regions they thought belonged to the North, the South or neither.

Not only did 3% of respondents regard London as being in the North of England, the same number also identified the South and the South West as belonging to the regions bordering Scotland.

A less frightening, but still significant, 1% of English adults believe that the North East, North West and Yorkshire are in the South of England.

There were far more incorrect answers when it came to the Midlands and the East of England – the large body of protruding land land protruding land north-east of London but below Lincolnshire.

"While the majority of English adults said that the East and West Midlands were part of neither the North nor South [62-65%, respectively], people are much more likely to assign them to the North [24-26%] than the South [7-8%]," YouGov's Matthew Smith wrote.

"This includes Midlanders themselves, with 25% of East Midlanders and 16% of West Midlanders saying their own region was part of the North, compared to 5% and 7% respectively saying it forms part of the South," he added.

"Intriguingly, North Easterners hold a dissenting view. They are alone among the regions in being more likely to say that the East and West Midlands are part of the South [22% and 26%, respectively] than the North [11% and 9%]."

The location of the East of England was likewise a matter of serious dispute. On the whole, it was more likely to be considered part of the South then the anywhere else, with 57% of Englanders picking that option.

Interestingly, East of Englanders themselves were not that inclined to disagree with the wider population. Only 60% of residents within the region would describe themselves as being in the South of England.

Northern people were more likely to say the East of England was in the South, while Southern people were more likely to say the region was neither North nor South.