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 practically 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 inside the London Riverside portion of the Thames Gateway, which is an region designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. It covers a total area of 13.93 square miles.
In line with the 2011 census, the area has a population of about 198294, the majority of which reside within the Becontree estate. Significant settlement of the location, largely escaping slum conditions in the East End of London, occurred throughout the time when the new motor and chemical industries, including the Ford Motor Company plant at Dagenham were set up. Since the decline of those industries during the 1980s, employment has shifted much more towards service sector jobs.
Much of the borough is inside the London Riverside part of the Thames Gateway zone and it is the site of considerable property developing and also other development. Barking and Dagenham was 1 of six London boroughs to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.