[2] Within the South itself, multiple influences shape geographic and political divisions, defined by closeness to the capital; Greater London itself, its surrounding Home Counties and outer areas, as well as East Anglia and the West Country.

The geographic split is north-east (fenlands), south (downlands and a coastal plain) and west (following the River Thames to the Bristol channel and a peninsula).

The highest point in the South is High Willhays 2,037 ft (621 m), located in Devon within Dartmoor National Park.

The South East England region was found to have the highest concentration of high-wealth families in the country, followed by London.

[2] Studies have shown that the areas making up Surrey and Sussex are the wealthiest in Britain based on the value of assets owned by the average resident.

[7] Many of the home counties in particular have been considered to be "posh", including Surrey, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire, based on factors such as number of golf clubs, independent schools, and noted "beautiful" countryside villages.

[8] Additionally, the single wealthiest district in Britain, based on residents's income, is London's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

[10] Many London boroughs were also found to be highly deprived, including Kensington and Chelsea where significant wealth inequality exists.

Numerous other districts in the South also ranked among the country's most deprived in these statistics including Swale, Thanet, Hastings and Great Yarmouth.

For example, the standard British accent, Received Pronunciation, is very similar to the educated speech of London, Oxford and Cambridge.

[14][15] Estuary English has grown to become one of the most spoken dialects in London and counties including Kent and Essex.

The broadcaster Stuart Maconie has noted that culturally "there's a bottom half of England [...] but there isn't a south in the same way that there's a north".