For evidence, look no further than the findings of the government's annual Regional Trends survey.

Amid the more predictable results - house prices are highest in the South East, Scotland has the highest death rate - the survey reveals some interesting tidbits about the people inhabiting the UK.

Taken as a whole, it paints a complex picture of the richly diverse lives led by the UK's 57 million individuals.

Among the most interesting conclusions are:

London

On average, you spend almost £10,000 a year on yourself, and give £2 a week to charity.

You spend the most on housing, yet are the least likely to be happy with your accommodation and the area in which you live.

You pay an average weekly rent of £133, but if you're selling, the value of your property is most likely to be £128,000.

With 4,500 people per sq km, you live in the second most densely populated area in the EU. Only Brussels has greater density.

You spend the longest length of time commuting to work, and travel more than 1,000 miles a year on public transport.

You have a one-in-four chance of belonging to an ethnic minority, compared to one in 100 in the South West, Wales and Scotland.

You may be among one in five people of working age who are qualified to degree level or equivalent, compared to one in eight in the UK over all.

Your average gross weekly earnings are the highest in the country, at £566 for men and £403 for women.

Three in 10 jobs are in the financial and business services. If you are a man, you are more likely to work part-time than men anywhere else in the country.

You spend more on fruit than the people in any other region.

You are less likely to be an owner occupier than anywhere else in Britain. You are least likely to be very satisfied with your home and area.

If you are between 16-29 years old, there is a 29% chance you have tried illegal drugs.

Northern Ireland

You are the most generous, giving £3.40 a week to charity, yet spend less than £8,000 a year on yourself.

You have the fastest growing population in the UK. At nearly 5%, it is more than double the UK average. You also have the youngest population, the highest proportion of children and lowest proportion of pensioners of any region.

You are least-likely to have received job-related training and your average gross weekly earnings are the lowest in the UK - £338 if you are a man, £272 if you are a woman.

Scotland

You travel more than 1,000 miles on public transport a year.

Along with people in the North West of England, you have the newest cars - Londoners and people in the South West have the oldest.

You have the highest death rate in the UK.

Almost a third of all households contain just one person while almost a third again live in a purpose-built flat or maisonette.

Wales

You have the highest density of sheep and lambs of any region in the EU.

If you are 16, you are more likely to be in full-time education or on a government-supported training scheme than anywhere else in Britain

If you live in council accommodation, there is a one in two chance it has been sold off to a private buyer.

North East

You spend, on average, less than £8,000 a year on yourself. You give 60p a week to charity.

You are most likely to have received job-related training but only 46% of you said you felt in good health.

East Midlands

You have the cheapest private sector rents, averaging just £59 a week.

If you are a woman, your average gross weekly earnings are, along with Northern Ireland, the lowest in Britain at £272.

East of England

You are the least likely to be the victim of crime, with recorded crime rates 40 percent lower than in Yorkshire and the Humber region, which have the highest rates.

Along with people in the South East, you travel the furthest to work.

You cycle almost four times further a year than people in the West Midlands.

Along with those in the South East, as a full-time employee you usually work almost 45 hours per week.

South East England

Along with people in the East of England, you travel the furthest to work, and spend the most money on fares and motoring.

Your region has the highest level of ground-level ozone pollution.

Sixty per cent of you feel in good health. Patients in the South Thames NHS region stayed in hospital the longest in England, at an average of nearly eight days.

South West England

You live in the region with the highest projected urban growth between 1991 and 2016 - 18%, followed by 15% in the East Midlands and East of England.

You have a higher proportion of pensioners than anywhere else in the UK. Five people in the region are over state pension age.

If you are a working woman, it is a 50/50 chance you are part-time.

You are more likely than elsewhere to profess being very satisfied with your accommodation and area.

Northumbria