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Since 1 April 1996 Scotland has been divided into 32 Council Areas, each of which is governed by a unitary Council. Population, area and population density figures for each Council Area can be found here. A map of Council Areas Post 1996 is set out below. Over the years Local Government in Scotland has been reorganised on a number of occasions. Up until 1890, there were 34 County Councils whose areas had evolved over the centuries from the mormaerdoms, stewartries and sheriffdoms of medieval Scotland. In 1890, these were reorganised into 33 County Councils, removing a number of enclaves and exclaves and producing a map that in some areas was much neater than the one it replaced. Maps of the Counties from 1890 to 1975 and Counties Before 1890 are set out below. The biggest single change came in 1975. Counties were swept away, to be replaced by 12 Regions, with all those on the mainland being subdivided into between 3 and 19 Districts. A map of the Regions from 1975 to 1996 is set out below. You can also view a list of Regions and their Districts. An equally dramatic change occurred in 1996 when the 12 regions were replaced by the current 32 Council Areas. Some of these reflect traditional counties that had disappeared in 1975, while others were based on Regions or Districts from the 1975 to 1996 era. As a result of all these changes there remains considerable nostalgia amongst many in Scotland for the "lost" pre-1975 counties, and their names continue to crop up in descriptions of places and in addresses. You will even still find in fairly common use at least one name, Ross-shire, which technically ceased to exist in 1890. The series of maps below move backwards in time, showing post-1996 Council areas; the 1975 Regions; the Counties introduced in 1890; and the pre-1890 Counties. |
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Key to Council Areas since 1996:1. Inverclyde |
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Key to Council Areas since 1996:18. City of Aberdeen Not Shown: |
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From 1975 to 1996 local government in Scotland had a two-tier structure. There were 12 Regions, most divided into between three and nineteen Districts each, though three were not divided. Some council functions were delivered by the Regional Councils, while others were delivered by the District Councils. For the first time the Western Isles were brought under a single locally-based administration. A list of the districts within each region is can be found here. |
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Key to Regions, 1975-1996:1. Strathclyde Not Shown: |
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In 1890 Local Government in Scotland was reorganised into 33 County Councils. This system was to remain in place until 1975. The map was much neater than that in place before 1890, with only one exclave remaining, of Dunbartonshire (the name was changed from Dumbartonshire in the early 1900s) squeezed between Stirlingshire and Lanarkshire. The Western Isles remained spit between two counties whose county towns were at distant Dingwall and Inverness. |
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Key to Counties, 1890-1975:1. Caithness |
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23. West Lothian (Linlithgowshire until 1921) Not Shown: |
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Up until 1890, Local Government in Scotland comprised 34 County Councils whose areas had evolved over the centuries from the mormaerdoms, stewartries and sheriffdoms of medieval Scotland. Because of this background, the arrangements were chaotic in places, with numerous enclaves and exclaves: islands of one county surrounded by another. Cromartyshire, which comprised a series of small areas scattered across Ross-shire, was the most obvious example. It is also striking how Lewis was governed as part of distant Ross-shire, while Harris and the Uists formed part of even more distant Inverness-shire. |
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Key to Counties, Pre-1890:1. Caithness |
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26. Roxburghshire Not Shown: |
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