Borough of Colchester
Shown within Essex
Geography
Status:	Borough
Region:	East of England
Admin. County:	Essex
Area: - Total	Ranked 147th 333.18 km²
Admin. HQ:	Colchester
ONS code:	22UG
Demographics
Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density	Ranked 100th 155,427 466 / km²
Ethnicity:	96.2% White 1.2% S.Asian
Politics
Colchester Borough Council http://www.colchester.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Conservative
MPs:	Bob Russell, Bernard Jenkin

Colchester is a local government district and borough in Essex, England, named for its main town, Colchester. The borough covers an area of 125 square miles and stretches from Dedham Vale on the Suffolk border in the north to Mersea Island on the Colne Estuary in the south.

The borough was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of the former borough of Colchester with the urban districts of West Mersea and Wivenhoe, along with Lexden and Winstree Rural District.