The district is named after its largest settlement, Peterborough, but also covers a wider area of outlying villages and hamlets.

Located in the East Anglia region of England, the area borders the surrounding counties of Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

[7] The district also includes outlying villages such as Thorney, Old Fletton, Werrington, Parnwell, Dogsthorpe, Eye Green, Glinton, Northborough, Maxey, Wittering, Wansford and Ailsworth.

The Great Reform Act did not affect the borough, although the remaining, rural portion of the Soke was transferred to the northern division of Northamptonshire.

From 1889, the ancient Soke of Peterborough formed an administrative county in its own right with boundaries similar, although not identical, to the current unitary authority.

[16] The area however remained geographically part of Northamptonshire until 1965, when the Soke was merged with Huntingdonshire to form the county of Huntingdon and Peterborough.

The responsibility of guided primary care services (general practitioners, dentists, opticians and pharmacists) transferred to NHS England.

Although a £300 million health investment plan has seen the transfer of the city's two hospitals into a single site, the Trust has been plagued by financial problems since the move.

Planning permission for the development of an integrated care centre on the site of the former Fenland Wing at Peterborough District Hospital was granted in 2003.

[32] The private Fitzwilliam Hospital run by Ramsay Health Care UK is situated in the landscaped grounds of the Milton Estate.

[35] The main source of non-school funding is the formula grant, which is paid by central government to local authorities based on the services they provide.

Local loop unbundling, giving other internet service providers direct access, is completed at four out of 12 exchanges.

[citation needed] Stewart Jackson, the then MP for the parliamentary constituency of Peterborough, backed "Leave".

Shailesh Vara, MP for the neighbouring constituency of North West Cambridgeshire which includes a substantial part of the city, campaigned for a "Remain" vote.