| Scotland |
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Scotland in the UK
Scotland in the EU
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For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities[1] designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997[2] of being known (but not re-designated) as a "comhairle" when opting for a Gaelic name; only Na h-Eileanan Siar has chosen this option whereas the Highland Council (Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd) has adopted its Gaelic form alongside its English equivalent informally.
The council areas have been in existence since 1 April 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.
Other administrative bodies (some of which are described below) still follow boundaries derived from older local government arrangements.
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From 16 May 1975 to 1996 the local government divisions of Scotland consisted of an upper tier of regions each containing a lower tier of districts except for the single-tier island council areas.
Before then there existed counties, counties of cities, large burghs and small burghs, these being introduced since 1889. Before 1889 administration was on a burgh and parish basis.
Traditionally burghs have been the key unit of the local government of Scotland, being highly autonomous entities, with rights to representation in the old Parliament of Scotland. Even after the Acts of Union 1707, burghs continued to be the principal subdivision.
| MAINLAND | Area (sq miles) |
Area (km²) |
Population (2001) |
Density (per km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen City | 70 | 182 | 212,125 | 1164 |
| Aberdeenshire | 2439 | 6317 | 226,871 | 36 |
| Angus | 843 | 2184 | 108,400 | 50 |
| Argyll and Bute | 2712 | 7023 | 91,306 | 13 |
| Clackmannanshire | 61 | 158 | 48,077 | 304 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 2489 | 6446 | 147,765 | 23 |
| Dundee City | 21 | 55 | 145,663 | 2648 |
| East Ayrshire | 492 | 1275 | 120,235 | 94 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 68 | 176 | 108,243 | 617 |
| East Lothian | 257 | 666 | 90,088 | 135 |
| East Renfrewshire | 65 | 168 | 89,311 | 532 |
| City of Edinburgh | 100 | 260 | 448,624 | 1725 |
| Falkirk | 113 | 293 | 145,191 | 496 |
| Fife | 517 | 1340 | 349,429 | 261 |
| Glasgow City | 68 | 175 | 577,869 | 3307 |
| Highland | 10,085 | 26,119 | 208,914 | 8 |
| Inverclyde | 64 | 167 | 84,203 | 503 |
| Midlothian | 135 | 350 | 80,941 | 231 |
| Moray | 864 | 2237 | 86,940 | 39 |
| North Ayrshire | 343 | 888 | 135,817 | 153 |
| North Lanarkshire | 184 | 476 | 321,067 | 674 |
| Perth and Kinross | 2083 | 5395 | 134,949 | 25 |
| Renfrewshire | 102 | 263 | 172,867 | 659 |
| Scottish Borders | 1825 | 4727 | 106,764 | 23 |
| South Ayrshire | 475 | 1230 | 112,097 | 93 |
| South Lanarkshire | 686 | 1778 | 302,216 | 170 |
| Stirling | 866 | 2243 | 86,212 | 38 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 68 | 176 | 93,378 | 531 |
| West Lothian | 165 | 427 | 158,714 | 372 |
| TOTAL MAINLAND | 28,260 | 73,193 | 4,994,276 | 68 |
| ISLANDS | ||||
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 1185 | 3070 | 26,502 | 9 |
| Orkney Islands | 396 | 1025 | 19,245 | 19 |
| Shetland Islands | 568 | 1471 | 21,988 | 15 |
| TOTAL ISLANDS | 2149 | 5566 | 67,735 | 12 |
| TOTAL SCOTLAND | 30,409 | 78,759 | 5,062,011 | 64 |
Scotland has several other administrative divisions, some of which are handled by joint boards of the councils.
Police and fire service areas date from the era (1975 to 1996) of regions and districts and island council areas. In both cases there are current (2011) intentions announced by the Scottish Government to reduce the overall number of separate services.
There are several joint boards for electoral registration and the purposes of property valuation for assessing council tax and rates.[3]
| Joint board area | Council areas |
|---|---|
| Ayrshire Ayrshire and Arran in other contexts |
East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire |
| Borders | Scottish Borders |
| Central Scotland | Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute | East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, Argyll and Bute |
| Fife | Fife |
| Grampian | Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray |
| Glasgow | Glasgow |
| Highlands and Western Isles | Highland and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) |
| Lanarkshire | North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire |
| Lothian | East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian |
| Orkney and Shetland | Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands |
| Renfrewshire | East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire |
| Tayside | Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross |
See also NHS Scotland
| Health board area | Council areas |
|---|---|
| Ayrshire and Arran | East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire |
| Borders | Scottish Borders |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Fife | Fife |
| Forth Valley Central Scotland in other contexts |
Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling |
| Grampian | Aberdeenshire, City of Aberdeen and Moray |
| Greater Glasgow and Clyde | City of Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, together with the towns of Cambuslang and Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire |
| Highland | Argyll and Bute and Highland |
| Lanarkshire | North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire (excepting the towns of Cambuslang and Rutherglen which are in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area) |
| Lothian | City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian |
| Orkney | Orkney Islands |
| Shetland | Shetland Islands |
| Tayside | Angus, City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross |
| Western Isles (Eileanan Siar) | Western Isles (Na h-Eileanan Siar) |
The Scottish Government has created seven "Regional Transport Partnerships", for establishing transport policy in the regions. They broadly follow council area groupings.
| RTP area | Council areas |
|---|---|
| NESTRANS | Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire |
| TACTRAN | Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Stirling |
| HITRANS | Argyll and Bute (except Helensburgh and Lomond), Highland, Moray, Western Isles, Orkney |
| Shetland | Shetland |
| SEStran | Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Midlothian, Fife, Scottish Borders, West Lothian |
| SWESTRANS | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Strathclyde Partnership for Transport | Argyll and Bute (Helensburgh and Lomond only), West Dunbartonshire, East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire |
The current land registration system in Scotland divides Scotland into 33 counties[4], each coming into effect on various dates between 1981 and 2003. These areas in most cases resemble those of the pre-1975 administrative counties with Glasgow being the only current city to form a registration county.
Sheriffdoms are judicial areas. Since 1 January 1975 these have been six in number:[5]
Scotland is divided into 871 civil parishes which often resemble same-named but legally different ecclesiastical parishes. Although they have had no administrative function since 1930, they still exist and are still used for statistical purposes such as the census. Many former civil parish areas also continue to form current registration districts. It should be noted that many boundary changes have occurred over the years and that an area currently derived from an old parish might no longer contain a place previously within that parish. Similarly, county boundaries (as still used for land registration) have also changed over the years such that a parish mentioned historically (generally before the 1860s) as being in one county (or sometimes two due to straddling a border) might now be in a neighbouring county and consequentially in a different succeeding council area.
The base level of sub-division in Scotland is that of communities which may elect community councils (CCs). The main role of the CCs is to channel local opinion to larger local-government bodies. Otherwise they have very limited powers. There are around 1,200 communities in Scotland. Not all communities have councils; some have joint councils.
Scottish communities are the nearest equivalent to civil parishes in England.
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