A PDF map that shows the local authority districts, counties and unitary authorities in the United Kingdom as at April 2023. The map has been created to show the United Kingdom from country level down to local authority district level. (File Size - 1,909 KB)

The Rural-Urban Classification is a Government Statistical Service product developed by the Office for National Statistics; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and the Welsh Assembly Government.Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.Contains OS data © Crown copyright 2025Links below to FAQ, Methodology and User GuideFAQ https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/documents/f359d48424664a1584dca319f3dac97f/aboutMethodology https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/documents/833a35f2a1ec49d98466b679ae0a0646/aboutUser Guide https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/documents/c8e8e6db38e04cb8937569d74bce277a/about

Local Authority is a generic term used to cover London Boroughs, Metropolitan Districts, Non-Metropolitan Districts, and Unitary Authorities in England; Unitary Authorities in Wales; Council Areas in Scotland; and Local Government Districts in Northern Ireland.

The Local Authorities area list contains 404 areas of the following constituent geographies:

• 36 Metropolitan Districts in England
• 201 Non-Metropolitan Districts in England
• 31 London Boroughs in England
• 54 Unitary Authorities in England
• 26 Local Government Districts in Northern Ireland
• 32 Council Areas in Scotland
• 22 Unitary Authorities in Wales
• 2 Census Merged Districts in England

Please visit ONS Beginner's Guide to UK Geography for more info.

The boundaries are available as either extent of the realm (usually this is the Mean Low Water mark but in some cases boundaries extend beyond this to include off shore islands) or

clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark).

Local Authority Districts (December 2024) Boundaries EW BFE and Rural Urban classification data 2021.

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for Local Authority Districts, in England and Wales, as at December 2024.

It is joined to the Rural Urban Classification data 2021.

The Rural-Urban Classification is a Government Statistical Service product developed by the Office for National Statistics; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and the Welsh Assembly Government.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.

Contains OS data © Crown copyright 2025

Links below to FAQ, Methodology and User Guide for Rural Urban classification

FAQ https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/documents/f359d48424664a1584dca319f3dac97f/about

Methodology https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/documents/833a35f2a1ec49d98466b679ae0a0646/about

User Guide https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/documents/c8e8e6db38e04cb8937569d74bce277a/about

The boundaries available are: (BFE) Full resolution - extent of the realm (usually this is the Mean Low Water mark but in some cases boundaries extend beyond this to include off shore islands).

Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.

File size: 13MB

A lookup table listing each local authority in England and Wales, the region it is located within, its local authority code and region code.

This dataset provides population density estimates in persons per square kilometre for the local authorities in Wales for the period from 1991 onwards. The figures are derived by dividing the mid-year population estimates by the latest land area estimates in square kilometres, measured at the mean high water mark, and excluding areas of inland water as recommended by the Office for National Statistics. The supporting population and area estimates are included in the dataset. It should be noted that there are some definitional changes for mid-2020 (particularly affecting the migration components) compared with mid-2019 populations estimates data, and it is advised users read the Quality and Methodology Information section on the Office for National Statistics website. For Wales, the mid-2021 population estimates are the first population estimates to be based on Census 2021. Internal migration estimates for mid-2023 have been produced using a different method to previous years, following a change to the variables available in the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data. This material is Crown Copyright and may be re-used (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for the historical local authority districts that are split in England and Wales as at Census Day 1921.The boundaries available are: (BGC) Generalised resolution - clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark).Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.

REST URL of WFS Server – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/LAD_PT_JUN_1921_EW_BGC/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilities

REST URL of Map Server – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/LAD_PT_JUN_1921_EW_BGC/MapServer

REST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/LAD_PT_JUN_1921_EW_BGC/FeatureServer

The NTEM SynthPop project required open data, as per OGL License (v1.0).

The data register:

data_register:
geography_msoa_ew:
description: MSOA boundaries, 2021.
geography: MSOA
region: England and Wales
last accessed: 10/06/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::middle-layer-super-output-areas-december-2021-boundaries-ew-bsc-v2/about
notes: (BSC) Super generalised (200m) - clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark).
path: "MSOA_2021_EW_BSC_V2.gpkg"
source: Open Geography Portal
year: 2021
geography_iz_sc:
description: Proposed IZ boundaries, 2022.
geography: IZ
region: Scotland
last accessed: 19/08/2024
link: https://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=90bf46cbf2254e80820a98d815c8fbcf
notes: Proposed Intermediate Zones 2022 Boundaries - for consultation
path: "Proposed_IZ_2022_Boundaries.zip"
source: "Scotland Census"
year: 2022
geography_oa_ew:
description: OA boundaries, 2021.
geography: OA
region: England and Wales
last accessed: 24/06/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::output-areas-december-2021-boundaries-ew-bgc-v2/about
notes: (BGC) Generalised (20m) - clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark).
path: "boundaries/Output_Areas_2021_EW_BGC_V2.gpkg"
source: Open Geography Portal
year: 2021
geography_lad_2018_gb:
description: LAD boundaries, 2018.
geography: LAD
region: England, Wales and Scotland
last accessed: 19/11/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::local-authority-districts-december-2018-boundaries-gb-bfc-2/about
notes: This file contains the digital vector boundaries for Local Authority Districts in Great Britain, as at December 2018.
path: "boundaries/LAD_Dec_2018_Boundaries_GB_BFC_2022_544341751432792127.gpkg"
source: Open Geography Portal
year: 2018
geography_msoa_population_weighted_centroids_ew:
description: Population-weighted centroids for MSOA boundaries.
geography: MSOA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 31/05/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk
notes: "This file contains the digital population weighted centroids for Middle layer Super Output Areas for England and Wales as at 31 December 2021. The centroids were created using Full Resolution, Extent of the Realm boundaries. Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights."
path: "boundaries/Middle_Super_Output_Areas_DEC_2021_EW_PWC.gpkg"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
geography_msoa_2011_2021_ew_lookup_best_fit:
description: Lookup table between 2011 and 2021 MSOA boundaries and 2022 Local Authority Districts (best fit).
geography: MSOA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 31/05/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk
notes: "A best fit lookup file between Middle layer Super Output Areas (MSOA) as at December 2011 and MSOAs as at December 2021 in England and Wales. The lookup contains all the 2011 MSOAs (7,201) and these are point-in-polygon to the 2021 MSOA full extent boundaries (which contains 7,182 records, so 82 MSOAs are missing from the 2021 MSOAs)."
path: "boundaries/MSOA_(2011)_to_MSOA_(2021)_to_Local_Authority_District_(2022)_Best_Fit_Lookup_for_EW_(V2).csv"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
geography_msoa_2011_2021_ew_lookup_exact_fit:
description: Lookup table between 2011 and 2021 MSOA boundaries and 2022 Local Authority Districts (exact fit).
geography: MSOA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 31/05/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk
notes: >
This is an exact fit lookup file between Middle layer Super Output Areas as at December 2011 and Middle layer Super Output Areas as at December 2021 and Local Authority Districts as at December 2022 in England and Wales. This product has been provided with a change indicator field, that define the lookup between 2011 and 2021 MSOA. This field indicates which output areas / super output areas have changed between 2011 and 2021. This version 2 has had some changes to the change indicator field where splits have gone to complexes in under 10 MSOAs. There are four designated categories to describe the changes, and these are as follows:
U - No Change from 2011 to 2021. This means that direct comparisons can be made between these 2011 and 2021 MSOA.
S - Split. This means that the 2011 MSOA has been split into two or more 2021 MSOA. There will be one record for each of the 2021 MSOA that the 2011 MSOA has been split into. This means direct comparisons can be made between estimates for the single 2011 MSOA and the estimates from the aggregated 2021 MSOA.
M - Merged. 2011 MSOA have been merged with another one or more 2011 MSOA to form a single 2021 MSOA. This means direct comparisons can be made between the aggregated 2011 MSOAs’ estimates and the single 2021 MSOA’s estimates.
X - The relationship between 2011 and 2021 MSOA is irregular and fragmented. This has occurred where 2011 MSOA have been redesigned because of local authority district boundary changes, or to improve their social homogeneity. These can’t be easily mapped to equivalent 2021 MSOA like the regular splits (S) and merges (M), and therefore like for like comparisons of estimates for 2011 MSOA and 2021 MSOA are not possible.'
path: "boundaries/MSOA_(2011)_to_MSOA_(2021)_to_Local_Authority_District_(2022)_Lookup_for_England_and_Wales.gpkg"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
lookup_msoa_2021_region_ew:
description: Lookup between 2021 Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOA), built up areas (BUA), local authority districts (LAD) and regions (RGN) (best fit).
geography: MSOA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 24/06/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::msoa-2021-to-bua-to-lad-to-region-december-2022-best-fit-lookup-in-ew-v2/about
notes: "A best fit lookup file between Middle layer Super Output Areas (MSOA) as at December 2011 and MSOAs as at December 2021 in England and Wales. The lookup contains all the 2011 MSOAs (7,201) and these are point-in-polygon to the 2021 MSOA full extent boundaries (which contains 7,182 records, so 82 MSOAs are missing from the 2021 MSOAs)."
path: "boundaries/MSOA_(2021)_to_Built-up_Area_to_Local_Authority_District_to_Region_(December_2022)_Lookup_in_England_and_Wales_v2.csv"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
lookup_oa_2011_oa_2021_ew:
description: Lookup between 2011 Output Areas (OA11) and 2021 Output Areas (OA21).
geography: OA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 28/08/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::oa-2011-to-oa-2021-to-local-authority-district-2022-exact-fit-lookup-in-ew-v2/about
notes: "This is an exact-fit lookup file between Output Areas as at December 2011 and Output Areas as at December 2021 and Local Authority Districts as at December 2022 in England and Wales."
path: "boundaries/OA11_OA21_LAD22_EW_LU_Exact_fit_V2_7175137222568651779.csv"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
lookup_oa_2021_msoa_2021_ew:
description: Lookup between Output Areas (OA 2021) and Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOA 2021).
geography: OA, MSOA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 28/08/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::output-area-2021-to-lsoa-to-msoa-to-lad-december-2021-exact-fit-lookup-in-ew-v3/about
notes: "A lookup between Output Areas (OA), Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOA), Middle layer Super Output Areas (LSOA) and Local Authority Districts (LAD) as at 31 December 2021 in England and Wales."
path: "boundaries/Output_Area_to_Lower_layer_Super_Output_Area_to_Middle_layer_Super_Output_Area_to_Local_Authority_District_(December_2021)_Lookup_in_England_and_Wales_v3.csv"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
census_households_oa_2021_ew:
description: TS041-oa - Number of Households (output areas).
geography: OA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 07/08/2024
link: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/output/census/2021/census2021-ts041.zip
notes: Number of Households (oa).
path: "census_2021/census2021-ts041-oa.csv"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
ruc_oa_ew:
description: Rural / Urban classification at Output Area (OA) level.
geography: OA
region: England & Wales
last accessed: 07/08/2024
link: https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/53360acabd1e4567bc4b8d35081b36ff/about
notes: "This file provides a rural-urban view of 2011 Output Areas (OA) in England and Wales."
path: "ruc/RUC11_OA11_EW.csv"
source: Office for National Statistics
year: 2021
geography_ntem:
description: NTEM zoning system.
geography: NTEM
region: GB
path: "..."
year: 2021
template_populationsim:
description: Template PopulationSim set up.
geography: MSOA
region: GB
path: "template_populationsim"
source: PopulationSim repo & Arup
year: 2021
nts_persons:
description: Individuals table from the National Travel Survey for the period 2002-2022.
geography: Region
region: England, Wales & Scotland
path: "nts/individual_eul_2002-2022.tab"
nts_households:
description: Households table from the National Travel Survey for

These are digital boundaries for the system of districts essentially created by the 1894 Local Government Act and continuing to exist until 1974. England and Wales were divided into County Boroughs, Municipal Boroughs, Urban Districts and Rural Districts. These generally functioned as sub-divisions of Administrative Counties with powers varying according to status, but County Boroughs were large cities with full independence from their County. The County of London was divided into Metropolitan Boroughs, plus the City of London which had the unique status of County Corporate. This file represents the system as it was used to report the 1911 Census of Population. To distinguish between identical place names with different administrative geographies, an Administrative County Boundaries layer may be used to add County name attributes to this layer. Statistical data and other information used in “A Vision of Britain through Time” can be accessed here: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data.

A PDF map that shows the local planning authorities in the United Kingdom as at April 2023. (File Size - 955 KB)

The statistics refer to the volume of road traffic in Wales. Road traffic estimates for Wales are compiled by the Department for Transport on behalf of the Welsh Government. These estimates are based on annual roadside manual road traffic counts carried out across Wales during the year. These roadside counts are combined with automatic traffic count (ATC) data and road lengths to produce overall traffic estimates. Traffic estimates for major roads are based on a census of all such roads whereas traffic estimates for minor roads are estimated by calculating growth rates from a fixed sample of count points on the minor road network. Further details of the methodology are available from the DfT at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-traffic-speeds-and-congestion-statistics-guidance . All surfaced roads (excluding Trunk Roads) are included in the estimates. The categories are: Major roads: Motorways. Dual carriageways designed for fast traffic with access limited to motor vehicles, and with relatively few places for joining or leaving. The only motorway in Wales is the M4. A County roads. All other A roads. Estimates for A roads are also available with sub-categories for urban and rural roads on StatsWales. Urban roads are those within the boundaries of settlements with a population of 10,000 or more, and rural roads are all other non-motorway major roads. Minor roads: B roads. Roads intended to connect different areas, and to feed traffic between A roads and smaller roads on the network. Classified unnumbered. Smaller roads intended to connect together unclassified roads with A and B roads, and often linking a housing estate or a village to the rest of the network. Similar to ‘minor roads’ on an Ordnance Survey map and sometimes known unofficially as C roads. Unclassified. Local roads intended for local traffic. The vast majority of roads fall within this category. The analysis by vehicle type is based on roadside observation where vehicles are classified according to their general appearance. The vehicle types identified are: 1) Pedal cycles: Includes all non-motorised cycles, 2) Motorcycles: Two-wheeled motor vehicles, including mopeds, motor scooters and motorcycle combinations, 3) Cars and taxis: Includes estate cars, all light vans with windows to the rear of the driver's seat, passenger vehicles with 9 seats or fewer, three-wheeled cars, motorised-invalid carriages, Land Rovers, Range Rovers and Jeeps. Cars towing caravans or trailers are counted as one vehicle, 4) Buses and coaches: Includes all public service vehicles and works buses other than vehicles with less than 10 seats, 5) Light vans: All goods vehicles up to 3,500kg gross vehicle weight. This includes all car-based vans and those of the next larger carrying-capacity, such as transit vans. Also included are ambulances, pick-ups, milk floats and pedestrian-controlled motor vehicles. Most of this group are delivery vans of one type or another, 6) Goods vehicles: All goods vehicles over 3,500kg gross vehicle weight. Includes tractors (without trailers), road-rollers, box vans and similar large vans. A two-axle motor tractor unit without trailer is also included, 7) All motor vehicles: All vehicles except pedal cycles. Traffic volume is measured using Vehicle Kilometres (VKM), which are calculated by multiplying the annual average daily flow of traffic by the corresponding length of road. For example, 1 vehicle travelling 1 kilometre a day for a year would be 365 VKM over a year. In this release estimates are presented as billion vehicle kilometres (bvk).

No notes provided

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for the Local Authority Districts, in England and Wales, as at Census 1961.The boundaries available are:(BFC) Full resolution - clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark)Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.These were created by Justin Hayes' team at Salford University.The boundary data have been released alongside our 1961 Census Small Area Statistics which are being treated as a beta product in order that we can obtain feedback from users on all aspects of the data, including the boundary work, as this is the first historic Census digitisation product that Census Historical Research has released.REST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE View Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/LAD_(Dec_1961)_in_England_and_Wales_BFC_Boundaries/MapServerREST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE Feature DownloadService – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/LAD_Dec_1961_in_England_and_Wales_BFC_Boundaries/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilitiesREST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/LAD_Dec_1961_in_England_and_Wales_BFC_Boundaries_2022/FeatureServer

These are digital boundaries for the system of districts essentially created by the 1894 Local Government Act and continuing to exist until 1974. England and Wales were divided into County Boroughs, Municipal Boroughs, Urban Districts and Rural Districts. These generally functioned as sub-divisions of Administrative Counties with powers varying according to status, but County Boroughs were large cities with full independence from their County. The County of London was divided into Metropolitan Boroughs, plus the City of London which had the unique status of County Corporate. This file represents the system as it was used to report the 1931 Census of Population. To distinguish between identical place names with different administrative geographies, an Administrative County Boundaries layer may be used to add County name attributes to this layer. Statistical data and other information used in “A Vision of Britain through Time” can be accessed here: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data.

With the introduction of unitary authorities, there are now two- and three-tier local government hierarchies. The three-tier system remains unchanged. The two-tier system has unitary authorities replacing the county and district levels of administration. Unitary authorities may be divided into civil parishes or communities (except in Scotland), and unitary authority wards or unitary authority EDs for voting purposes. In Wales, the voting area is the unitary authority ED; in Scotland it is the unitary authority ward and in England it is the unitary authority ward or unitary authority ED.

​

England also has metropolitan districts; these have no county administration. These districts are divided for voting purposes into metropolitan district wards.

​

​

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/boundary-line#technical

​

Source:

https://osdatahub.os.uk/downloads/open/BoundaryLine

Licence:

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for Census Merged Local Authority Districts in England and Wales, as at December 2011. The boundaries are super generalised (200m) - clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark). Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.REST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE View Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/CMLAD_(Dec_2011)_SGCB_GB/MapServerREST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE Feature DownloadService – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/CMLAD_Dec_2011_Super_Generalised_Clipped_Boundaries_GB/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilitiesREST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/CMLAD_Dec_2011_SGCB_GB_2022/FeatureServer

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for Grouped Lower Tier Local Authorities in England and Wales as at December 2022. The boundaries available are:Full resolution - clipped to the coastline (Mean High Water mark)Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights. Download File SizesFull resolution - clipped to the coastline (47MB)

REST URL of WFS Server – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/GLTLA_DEC_2022_EW_BFC/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilities

REST URL of Map Server – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/GLTLA_DEC_2022_EW_BFC/MapServer

REST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/GLTLA_DEC_2022_EW_BFC/FeatureServer

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for Grouped Lower Tier Local Authorities in England and Wales as at December 2022. The boundaries available are:Full resolution - extent of the realm (usually this is the Mean Low Water mark but in some cases boundaries extend beyond this to include off shore islands)Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights. Download File SizesFull resolution - extent of the realm (33MB)

REST URL of WFS Server – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/GTLA_DEC_2022_EW_BFE/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilities

REST URL of Map Server – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/GTLA_DEC_2022_EW_BFE/MapServer

REST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/GLTLA_DEC_2022_EW_BFE/FeatureServer

This file is a best fit lookup between 2021 lower layer super output areas and local authority districts in England and Wales as at 1st April 2023 (File Size - 6 MB) Field Names - LSOA21CD, LSOA21NM, LSOA21NMW, LAD23CD, LAD23NM, LAD23NMWField Types - Text, Text, Text, Text, Text, TextField Lengths - 9, 40, 29, 9, 35, 24

For more information and an overview of best-fitting follow this link - https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/f0aac7ccbfd04cda9eb03e353c613faa/about

National and subnational mid-year population estimates for England and Wales by administrative area, age and sex (including components of population change, median age and population density).