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What are the different types of counties in the UK?
What is a county in England?
How many counties are there in England and Wales?
Are there counties in Britain and Ireland?
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.
British counties are regions of the UK that are used as local government areas, but there can be confusion because the boundaries have changed over time. The history of counties stretches back over 1,000 years.
England is divided into 48 ceremonial counties, which are also known as geographic counties. Many of these counties have their basis in the 39 historic counties whose origins lie in antiquity, although some were established as recently as 1974.
The United Kingdom has different sorts of counties. Some are traditional areas and some are for local government or other government things. Counties (Traditional)
CountyAreaSome Towns In The County1,950 square miles (5,100 km 2)Aberdeen, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, ...276 square miles (710 km 2)Beaumaris, Amlwch, Holyhead, Llangefni, ...889 square miles (2,300 km 2)Forfar, Dundee, Arbroath, Brechin, ...1,175 square miles (3,000 km 2)Belfast, Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, ...However, the counties of England are relatively complex, convoluted, and can be difficult to understand. This is because the term county applies to four potential different things – historic, ceremonial, metropolitan, and non-metropolitan. Each of these has different meanings and relevance to England and its governance today.
There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purposes of lieutenancy; the 84 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties for local government; and the 39 historic counties which were used for administration until 1974.
Find out what counties are and learn all about the different types of counties in the UK: historic, ceremonial and administrative.
