The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is a London borough in East London, England. It lies about 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. The borough was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 as the London Borough of Barking. The constituent areas were virtually all of the Municipal Borough of Barking and also the largest part of the Municipal Borough of Dagenham, the former location of which was transferred to Greater London from Essex. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames Gateway, which is an location designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. It covers a total area of 13.93 square miles.
Based on the 2011 census, the area features a population of around 198294, the majority of which reside inside the Becontree estate. A lot of the housing in the borough was constructed by the London County Council during the interwar period of 1921-1939. Since the decline of those industries in the 1980s, employment has shifted more towards service sector jobs.
A lot of the borough is within the London Riverside part of the Thames Gateway zone and it's the site of considerable property developing and other development. The local authority is Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council.