List of counties of the United Kingdom
This is a list of the counties of the United Kingdom. The history of local government in the United Kingdom differs between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the subnational divisions within these which have been called counties have varied over time and by purpose. The county has formed the upper tier of local government over much of the United Kingdom at one time or another,[1] and has been used for a variety of other purposes, such as for Lord Lieutenants, land registration and postal delivery. This list is split by constituent country, time period and purpose.
England
Following changes to local government in some areas in the 1990s and 2009 creating unitary authorities, a number of districts, although forming part of a larger ceremonial county themselves form a non-metropolitan county (see Non-metropolitan county § List of non-metropolitan counties).
Northern Ireland
| County | Before 1899 | 1899–1973 | Current lieutenancy[11] |
Postal before 1996[4] | |
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| Antrim | 
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| Armagh |
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| City of Belfast | Part of counties Antrim and Down | CB[12]
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| Down |
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| Fermanagh |
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| Londonderry |
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| City of Derry | Part of County Londonderry | CB[12]
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| Tyrone |
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Scotland
| County | Before 1890 | 1890–1975 | Lieutenancy | Registration[13] | Postal before 1996[4] |
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| City of Aberdeen | 1900
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| Aberdeenshire |
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| Angus (Forfarshire) |
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| Argyll |
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| Ayrshire |
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| Banffshire |
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| Berwickshire |
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| Bute |
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| Caithness |
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| Clackmannanshire |
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| Cromartyshire |
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| Dumfriesshire |
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| Dunbartonshire (Dumbarton) |
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| City of Dundee | 1894
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| East Lothian (Haddingtonshire) |
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| City of Edinburgh |
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| Fife |
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| City of Glasgow | 1893
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| Inverness-shire |
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| Kincardineshire |
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| Kinross-shire |
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| Kirkcudbrightshire |
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| Lanarkshire |
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| Midlothian (County of Edinburgh) |
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| Moray (Elginshire) |
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| Nairnshire |
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| Orkney |
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| Peeblesshire |
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| Perthshire |
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| Renfrewshire |
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| Ross and Cromarty |
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| Ross-shire |
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| Roxburghshire |
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| Selkirkshire |
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| Shetland (Zetland) |
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| Stirlingshire |
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| Sutherland |
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| West Lothian (Linlithgowshire) |
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| Wigtownshire |
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Wales
See also
- Toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom
- List of United Kingdom county nicknames
- Counties of Ireland
- Alias Data
References
- ^ HMSO, Aspects of Britain: Local Government, (1996)
- ^ Local Government Act 1972
- ^ a b Lieutenancies Act 1997
- ^ a b c d Royal Mail - PAF Digest Issue 6.0 Since 1996 these have been known as "former postal counties", and need no longer be used in addressing mail. Post Towns created since 1996 are not allocated to a postal county. The PAF also includes an "Alias File" that includes postally not required information including "Traditional County" and "Administrative County" fields. The list is not comprehensive and Royal Mail does not guarantee its accuracy.
- ^ The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996; SI 1996 No. 1879
- ^ For ceremonial purposes only
- ^ a b c Non-metropolitan district with the powers of a county, following the Local Government Act 1992
- ^ The Metropolis was an ad hoc administrative area covering parts of three counties
- ^ AFD Software - Latest PAF Data News
- ^ a b c Appointed a Lord Lieutenant, but not a county under the Local Government Act 1888
- ^ Northern Ireland (Lieutenancy) Order 1975 (SI 1975 No. 156)
- ^ a b County styled as county borough by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
- ^ Registers of Scotland - Land Register Counties
- ^ Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 S.1 - Principal areas styled as a county