Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Great Britain Historical Database has been assembled as part of the ongoing Great Britain Historical GIS Project. The project aims to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain at sub-county scales. Further information about the project is available on A Vision of Britain webpages, where users can browse the database's documentation system online.

These digital boundaries were created by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and form part of the Great Britain Historical Database, which contains a wide range of geographically-located statistics, selected to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain, generally at sub-county scales.

These digital boundaries can be used to map economic, social and demographic statistics from the Censuses of Population, 1911 to 1971, the Registrar-General's reports from the same period, and other relevant statistical sources. They can also be used as reference maps for these administrative units.

These units were aggregations of Local Government Districts and differed significantly from both Ancient Counties and the Registration Counties covered by earlier censuses. Difference include that the three Ridings of Yorkshire and the three Parts of Lincolnshire were separate Administrative Counties, as were East and West Suffolk, and East and West Sussex. The Isle of Ely and the Soke of Peterborough were also separate Administrative Counties until 1965, when Middlesex was also abolished as the County of London was expanded to become Greater London. The Isle of Wight was a separate Administrative County from Hampshire throughout the period.

The boundary data contain the same numerical identifiers as are included in the GBHD transcriptions of census and vital registration statistics for Administrative Counties, making statistical mapping straightforward.

A PDF map that shows the counties in England and Wales as at 31 December 1961. (File Size - 2.6 MB)

In 2023, almost nine million people lived in Greater London, making it the most populated ceremonial county in England. The West Midlands Metropolitan County, which contains the large city of Birmingham, was the second-largest county at 2.98 million inhabitants, followed by Greater Manchester and then West Yorkshire with populations of 2.95 million and 2.4 million, respectively. Kent, Essex, and Hampshire were the three next-largest counties in terms of population, each with around 1.89 million people. A patchwork of regions England is just one of the four countries that compose the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with England, Scotland and Wales making up Great Britain. England is therefore not to be confused with Great Britain or the United Kingdom as a whole. Within England, the next subdivisions are the nine regions of England, containing various smaller units such as unitary authorities, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts. The counties in this statistic, however, are based on the ceremonial counties of England as defined by the Lieutenancies Act of 1997. Regions of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Like England, the other countries of the United Kingdom have their own regional subdivisions, although with some different terminology. Scotland’s subdivisions are council areas, while Wales has unitary authorities, and Northern Ireland has local government districts. As of 2022, the most-populated Scottish council area was Glasgow City, with over 622,000 inhabitants. In Wales, Cardiff had the largest population among its unitary authorities, and in Northern Ireland, Belfast was the local government area with the most people living there.

This dataset is intended for researchers, students, and policy makers for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production, or to provide a basemap to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data.

This dataset is from the Ordnance Survey and it provides a representation of the hierarchy of administrative and electoral boundaries for GB (England, Scotland and Wales). The product is part of the new OS Open products suite and is designed to be used with other OpenData sets.The dataset is made up of 18 layers which are grouped in their respective categories. It contains all levels of electoral and administrative boundaries, from district, wards, civil parishes (or communities) up to parliamentary and assembly constituencies. The layers can be grouped as followed:Administrative Boundaries• Mean high water (GB)• Country (GB)• Historic European regions (GB)• Historic counties (GB)• Ceremonial counties (GB)• District, Metropolitan district, Unitary authority (GB)• Civil parish and community (GB)• Ward (district, unitary, metropolitan, London borough) (England, Scotland)• English region (England)• County (England)• Community (Wales)Electoral Boundaries• Westminster constituencies (GB)• Scottish and Welsh constituency• Scottish and Welsh electoral region• Polling districts (England)• County electoral division (England)• Unitary electoral division (England and Wales)• Greater London Authority Assembly constituenciesThe currency of this data is 04/2022 and the coverage of this service is GB.The map projection is British National Grid.

For much of the Geological Survey's existence, the County Series of maps were the standard large-scale maps on which geological mapping was undertaken. These maps are based on the Ordnance Survey County (or six-inch to the mile) series of maps. These maps were cut up to be used in the field to record geological observations, and on return to the office, the geology was transferred to a complete County Series map, which after approval was known as a 'standard' (England / Wales) or 'clean copy' (Scotland). This dataset contains the 'standard' or 'clean copy' County Series maps held by BGS. Geological maps represent a geologist's compiled interpretation of the geology of an area. A geologist will consider the data available at the time, including measurements and observations collected during field campaigns, as well as their knowledge of geological processes and the geological context to create a model of the geology of an area. This model is then fitted to a topographic basemap and drawn up at the appropriate scale, with generalization if necessary, to create a geological map, which is a representation of the geological model. Explanatory notes and vertical and horizontal cross sections may be published with the map. Geological maps may be created to show various aspects of the geology, or themes. The most common map themes held by BGS are solid (later referred to as bedrock) and drift (later referred to as superficial). These maps are hard-copy paper records stored in the National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) and are delivered as digital scans through the BGS website.

A PDF map shows the Regions and their constituent counties, metropolitan counties, Greater London authority and unitary authorities in England, council areas in Scotland, unitary authorities in Wales and district council areas in Northern Ireland as at April 2011. (File Size - 638 KB).

This file contains the names and codes for counties in England and Wales as at Census day 1991 (21 April). (File Size 2KB).Field Names – CTY91CDC, CTY91CDO, CTY91CD, CTY91NM

Field Types – Text, Text, Text, Text

Field Lengths – 2, 2, 2, 28REST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/Counties_21_April_1991_Names_and_Codes_in_England_and_Wales_2022/FeatureServer

This map shows the extent of the various datasets comprising the World Elevation dynamic (Terrain, TopoBathy) and tiled (Terrain 3D, TopoBathy 3D, World Hillshade, World Hillshade (Dark)) services.The tiled services (Terrain 3D, TopoBathy 3D, World Hillshade, World Hillshade (Dark)) also include an additional data source from Maxar's Precision3D covering parts of the globe.Topography sources listed in the table below are part of Terrain, TopoBathy, Terrain 3D, TopoBathy 3D, World Hillshade and World Hillshade (Dark), while bathymetry sources are part of TopoBathy and TopoBathy 3D only. Data Source Native Pixel Size Approximate Pixel Size (meters) Coverage Primary Source Country/Region

Topography

Australia 1m 1 meter 1 Partial areas of Australia Geoscience Australia Australia

Moreton Bay, Australia 1m 1 meter 1 Moreton Bay region, Australia Moreton Bay Regional Council Australia

New South Wales, Australia 5m 5 meters 5 New South Wales State, Australia DFSI Australia

SRTM 1 arc second DEM-S 0.0002777777777779 degrees 31 Australia Geoscience Australia Australia

Burgenland 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Burgenland State, Austria Land Burgenland Austria

Upper Austria 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Upper Austria State, Austria Land Oberosterreich Austria

Austria 1m 1 meter 1 Austria BEV Austria

Austria 10m 10 meters 10 Austria BEV Austria

Wallonie 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Wallonie state, Belgium Service public de Wallonie (SPW) Belgium

Vlaanderen 1m 1 meter 1 Vlaanderen state, Belgium agentschap Digitaal Vlaanderen Belgium

Canada HRDEM 1m 1 meter 1 Partial areas of Canada Natural Resources Canada Canada

Canada HRDEM 2m 2 meter 2 Partial areas of the southern part of Canada Natural Resources Canada Canada

Denmark 40cm 0.4 meters 0.4 Denmark KDS Denmark

Denmark 10m 10 meters 10 Denmark KDS Denmark

England 1m 1 meter 1 England Environment Agency England

Estonia 1m 1 meter 1 Estonia Estonian Land Board Estonia

Estonia 5m 5 meters 5 Estonia Estonian Land Board Estonia

Estonia 10m 10 meters 10 Estonia Estonian Land Board Estonia

Finland 2m 2 meters 2 Finland NLS Finland

Finland 10m 10 meters 10 Finland NLS Finland

France 1m 1 meter 1 France IGN-F France

Bavaria 1m 1 meter 1 Bavaria State, Germany Bayerische Vermessungsverwaltung Germany

Berlin 1m 1 meter 1 Berlin State, Germany Geoportal Berlin Germany

Brandenburg 1m 1 meter 1 Brandenburg State, Germany GeoBasis-DE/LGB Germany

Hamburg 1m 1 meter 1 Hamburg State, Germany LGV Hamburg Germany

Hesse 1m 1 meter 1 Hesse State, Germany HVBG Germany

Nordrhein-Westfalen 1m 1 meter 1 Nordrhein-Westfalen State, Germany Land NRW Germany

Saxony 1m 1 meter 1 Saxony State, Germany Landesamt für Geobasisinformation Sachsen (GeoSN) Germany

Sachsen-Anhalt 2m 2 meters 2 Sachsen-Anhalt State, Germany LVermGeo LSA Germany

Hong Kong 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Hong Kong CEDD Hong Kong SAR

Italy TINITALY 10m 10 meters 10 Italy INGV Italy

Japan DEM5A *, DEM5B * 0.000055555555 degrees 5 Partial areas of Japan GSI Japan

Japan DEM10B * 0.00011111111 degrees 10 Japan GSI Japan

Latvia 1m 1 meters 1 Latvia Latvian Geospatial Information Agency Latvia

Latvia 10m 10 meters 10 Latvia Latvian Geospatial Information Agency Latvia

Latvia 20m 20 meters 20 Latvia Latvian Geospatial Information Agency Latvia

Lithuania 1m 1 meters 1 Lithuania NZT Lithuania

Lithuania 10m 10 meters 10 Lithuania NZT Lithuania

Netherlands (AHN3/AHN4) 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Netherlands AHN Netherlands

Netherlands (AHN3/AHN4) 10m 10 meters 10 Netherlands AHN Netherlands

New Zealand 1m 1 meters 1 Partial areas of New Zealand Land Information New Zealand (Sourced from LINZ. CC BY 4.0) New Zealand

Northern Ireland 10m 10 meters 10 Northern Ireland OSNI Northern Ireland

Norway 10m 10 meters 10 Norway NMA Norway

Poland 1m 1 meter 1 Partial areas of Poland GUGIK Poland

Poland 5m 5 meters 5 Partial areas of Poland GUGIK Poland

Scotland 1m 1 meter 1 Partial areas of Scotland Scottish Government et.al Scotland

Slovakia 1m 1 meter 1 Slovakia ÚGKK SR Slovakia

Slovakia 10m 10 meters 10 Slovakia GKÚ Slovakia

Slovenia 1m 1 meter 1 Slovenia ARSO Slovenia

Madrid City 1m 1 meter 1 Madrid city, Spain Ayuntamiento de Madrid Spain

Spain 2m (MDT02 2019 CC-BY 4.0 scne.es) 2 meters 2 Partial areas of Spain IGN Spain

Spain 5m 5 meters 5 Spain IGN Spain

Spain 10m 10 meters 10 Spain IGN Spain

Varnamo 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Varnamo municipality, Sweden Värnamo Kommun Sweden

Canton of Basel-Landschaft 25cm 0.25 meters 0.25 Canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland Geoinformation Kanton Basel-Landschaft Switzerland

Grand Geneva 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Grand Geneva metropolitan, France/Switzerland SITG Switzerland and France

Switzerland swissALTI3D 50cm 0.5 meters 0.5 Switzerland and Liechtenstein swisstopo Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Switzerland swissALTI3D 10m 10 meters 10 Switzerland and Liechtenstein swisstopo Switzerland and Liechtenstein

OS Terrain 50 50 meters 50 United Kingdom Ordnance Survey United Kingdom

Douglas County 1ft 1 foot 0.3048 Douglas County, Nebraska, USA Douglas County NE United States

Lancaster County 1ft 1 foot 0.3048 Lancaster County, Nebraska, USA Lancaster County NE United States

Sarpy County 1ft 1 foot 0.3048 Sarpy County, Nebraska, USA Sarpy County NE United States

Cook County 1.5 ft 1.5 foot 0.46 Cook County, Illinois, USA ISGS United States

3DEP 1m 1 meter 1 Partial areas of the conterminous United States, Puerto Rico USGS United States

NRCS 1m 1 meter 1 Partial areas of the conterminous United States NRCS USDA United States

San Mateo County 1m 1 meter 1 San Mateo County, California, USA San Mateo County CA United States

FEMA LiDAR DTM 3 meters 3 Partial areas of the conterminous United States FEMA United States

NED 1/9 arc second 0.000030864197530866 degrees 3 Partial areas of the conterminous United States USGS United States

3DEP 5m 5 meter 5 Alaska, United States USGS United States

NED 1/3 arc second 0.000092592592593 degrees 10 conterminous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Territorial Islands of the United States USGS United States

NED 1 arc second 0.0002777777777779 degrees 31 conterminous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Territorial Islands of the United States; Canada and Mexico USGS United States

NED 2 arc second 0.000555555555556 degrees 62 Alaska, United States USGS United States

Wales 1m 1 meter 1 Wales Welsh Government Wales

WorldDEM4Ortho 0.00022222222 degrees 24 Global (excluding the countries of Azerbaijan, DR Congo and Ukraine) Airbus Defense and Space GmbH World

SRTM 1 arc second 0.0002777777777779 degrees 31 all land areas between 60 degrees north and 56 degrees south except Australia NASA World

EarthEnv-DEM90 0.00083333333333333 degrees 93 Global N Robinson,NCEAS World

SRTM v4.1 0.00083333333333333 degrees 93 all land areas between 60 degrees north and 56 degrees south except Australia CGIAR-CSI World

GMTED2010 7.5 arc second 0.00208333333333333 degrees 232 Global USGS World

GMTED2010 15 arc second 0.00416666666666666 degrees 464 Global USGS World

GMTED2010 30 arc second 0.0083333333333333 degrees 928 Global USGS World

Bathymetry

Canada west coast 10 meters 10 Canada west coast Natural Resources Canada Canada

Gulf of Mexico 40 feet 12 Northern Gulf of Mexico BOEM Gulf of Mexico

MH370 150 meters 150 MH370 flight search area (Phase 1) of Indian Ocean Geoscience Australia Indian Ocean

Switzerland swissBATHY3D 1 - 3 meters 1, 2, 3 Lakes of Switzerland swisstopo Switzerland

NCEI 1/9 arc second 0.000030864197530866 degrees 3 Puerto Rico, U.S Virgin Islands and partial areas of eastern and western United States coast NOAA NCEI United States

NCEI 1/3 arc second 0.000092592592593 degrees 10 Partial areas of eastern and western United States coast NOAA NCEI United States

CRM 1 arc second (Version 2) 0.0002777777777779 degrees 31 Southern California coast of United States NOAA United States

NCEI 1 arc second 0.0002777777777779 degrees 31 Partial areas of northeastern United States coast NOAA NCEI United States

CRM 3 arc second 0.00083333333333333 degrees 93 United States Coast NOAA United States

NCEI 3 arc second 0.00083333333333333 degrees 93 Partial areas of northeastern United States coast NOAA NCEI United States

The population of the United Kingdom in 2023 was estimated to be approximately 68.3 million in 2023, with almost 9.48 million people living in South East England. London had the next highest population, at over 8.9 million people, followed by the North West England at 7.6 million. With the UK's population generally concentrated in England, most English regions have larger populations than the constituent countries of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which had populations of 5.5 million, 3.16 million, and 1.92 million respectively. English counties and cities The United Kingdom is a patchwork of various regional units, within England the largest of these are the regions shown here, which show how London, along with the rest of South East England had around 18 million people living there in this year. The next significant regional units in England are the 47 metropolitan and ceremonial counties. After London, the metropolitan counties of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire were the biggest of these counties, due to covering the large urban areas of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds respectively. Regional divisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The smaller countries that comprise the United Kingdom each have different local subdivisions. Within Scotland these are called council areas whereas in Wales the main regional units are called unitary authorities. Scotland's largest Council Area by population is that of Glasgow City at over 622,000, while in Wales, it was the Cardiff Unitary Authority at around 372,000. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has eleven local government districts, the largest of which is Belfast with a population of around 348,000.

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for Counties and Unitary Authorities in England and Wales, as at April 2019. The BGC boundaries are generalised (20m) - 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/Counties_and_Unitary_Authorities_(April_2019)_Generalised_Boundaries_EW/MapServerREST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE Feature DownloadService – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/Counties_and_Unitary_Authorities_April_2019_Generalised_Boundaries_EW/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilitiesREST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/Counties_and_Unitary_Authorities_April_2019_Generalised_Boundaries_EW_2022/FeatureServer

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for the Counties in England and Wales as at 1981.

Contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.

This file contains digital vector boundaries for counties, metropolitan districts, London boroughs and unitary authorities in England and Wales as at December 2015. The boundaries 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.REST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE View Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/CTYUA_(Dec_2015)_FEB_in_England_and_Wales/MapServerREST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE Feature DownloadService – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/CTYUA_Dec_2015_Full_Extent_Boundaries_in_England_and_Wales/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilitiesREST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/CTYUA_Dec_2015_FEB_in_England_and_Wales_2022/FeatureServer

A county is a sub-national division of a country and where introduced by the Normans after the conquest of England in 1066, although a similar Anglo-Saxon administrative system of 'Shires' where in existence prior to this. Counties where usually overseen by a sheriff (Shire Reeve) who was appointed by the crown to collect taxes, raise militia and keep the peace though the administration of law. The implementation of the county system in Wales is a little complicated. In 1284 the Statute of Rhuddlan created six sheriffdoms or 'Shires' in Wales; Anglesey, Caernarfon, Merioneth, Flint, Carmarthen and Cardigan known as the Principality of Wales. The remainder of Wales consisted of the two Royal Lordships of Glamorgan and Pembroke and various Marcher Lordships which often made use of the earlier Commote and Cantref boundaries. The Marcher Lordships were abolished by the Laws in Wales Acts (1535) and the five new counties of Denbighshire, Monmouthshire, Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire were created to replace them. This created a total of thirteen historical counties in Wales. Some townships usually considered a part of Wales were assigned to Shropshire and Herefordshire and minor changes to the boundaries were made in the Laws in Wales Act (1542). The thirteen historic counties remained in use until the Local Government Act 1972, the implementation of which in 1974 saw the abolishment of the historic counties and the creation of eight new administrative counties, Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan and Powys. These themselves where replaced in 1996 by the creation of twenty two Unitary Authorities (or 'Principal Areas'), although the former eight counties still have ceremonial significance.

This file contains digital vector boundaries for counties, metropolitan districts, London boroughs and unitary authorities in England and Wales as at December 2012. The boundaries 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.REST URL of Feature Access Service –https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/CTYUA_DEC_2012_EW_BFE/FeatureServerREST URL of WFS Server – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/CTYUA_DEC_2012_EW_BFE/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilitiesREST URL of Map Server – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/CTYUA_DEC_2012_EW_BFE/MapServer

This file contains the digital vector boundaries for Counties and Unitary Authorities (also known as Upper Tier Local Authorities) in England and Wales, as at 31 December 2017. The boundaries available 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/Counties_and_Unitary_Authorities_(December_2017)_EW_BSC/MapServerREST URL of ArcGIS for INSPIRE Feature DownloadService – https://dservices1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/services/Counties_and_Unitary_Authorities_December_2017_EW_BSC/WFSServer?service=wfs&request=getcapabilitiesREST URL of Feature Access Service – https://services1.arcgis.com/ESMARspQHYMw9BZ9/arcgis/rest/services/Counties_and_Unitary_Authorities_December_2017_EW_BSC_2022/FeatureServer

There were 20,944 incidences of racist hate crime reported by the London Metropolitan Police in the 2023/24 reporting year, by far the most of any police force area in England and Wales. In the same time period, there were 7,466 racist incidents reported in the West Midlands.

These geolocated datasets derive from annotations of Christopher Saxton's County Maps of England & Wales, annotations of published volumes of John Leland's Itineraries in Wales, and annotations of Wenceslaus Hollar's vignettes intended for publication in Britannia. Please see the GitHub repository for details of the sources used and visualisation of their geographic scope.

Survey name: Bishop Auckland, Farnley Hill (County Durham Minerals Local Plan) Post 1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) site survey data – scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites surveyed in detail between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Where Grade 3 is mapped this includes the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b. Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales," a link for which is provided with the data. Individual sites have been mapped at varying scales and level of detail from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 (typically 1:10,000). Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].