# Subdivisions of Scotland

For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" (Scottish Gaelic: comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997 of being known (but not re-designated) as a "comhairle" when opting for a Gaelic name; only Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Council of the Western Isles) has chosen this option, whereas the Highland Council (Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd) 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. Historically, Scotland was divided into 34 counties or shires. Although these no longer have any administrative function, they are still used to some extent in Scotland for cultural and geographical purposes, and some of the current council areas are named after them. There are also a number of other administrative divisions, some of which are handled by joint boards of the councils.
At the most local level, Scotland is divided into civil parishes, which are now used only for statistical purposes such as the census. The lowest level of administrative subdivision are the communities, which may elect community councils.

## History of the subdivisions of Scotland

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. Until 1889, administration was on a burgh and parish basis.
The years following 1889 saw the introduction of a hierarchy of local government administration comprising counties, counties of cities, large burghs and small burghs.
With effect from 16 May 1975 and until 31 March 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. Since 1996 there has only been a single tier of government, and the former island council areas are of equal status to the other councils.

## Council areas

| Coat of arms | Council area | Council | Population (2022) | Area (km$^2$) | Administrative centre |
| | Aberdeen City | Aberdeen City Council | 224,190 | 186 | Aberdeen |
| – | Aberdeenshire | Aberdeenshire Council | 263,750 | 6,313 | Aberdeen |
| | Angus | Angus Council | 114,660 | 2,181 | Forfar |
| | Argyll and Bute | Argyll and Bute Council | 87,920 | 6,907 | Lochgilphead |
| | Clackmannanshire | Clackmannanshire Council | 51,750 | 159 | Alloa |
| | Dumfries and Galloway | Dumfries and Galloway Council | 145,770 | 6,426 | Dumfries |
| | Dundee City | Dundee City Council | 148,350 | 60 | Dundee |
| | East Ayrshire | East Ayrshire Council | 120,390 | 1,262 | Kilmarnock |
| | East Dunbartonshire | East Dunbartonshire Council | 108,980 | 174 | Kirkintilloch |
| | East Lothian | East Lothian Council | 112,450 | 679 | Haddington |
| – | East Renfrewshire | East Renfrewshire Council | 97,160 | 174 | Giffnock |
| | City of Edinburgh | City of Edinburgh Council | 514,990 | 263 | Edinburgh |
| | Falkirk | Falkirk Council | 158,450 | 297 | Falkirk |
| | Fife | Fife Council | 371,340 | 1,325 | Glenrothes |
| | Glasgow City | Glasgow City Council | 622,820 | 175 | Glasgow |
| | Highland | Highland Council | 235,710 | 25,653 | Inverness |
| | Inverclyde | Inverclyde Council | 78,340 | 160 | Greenock |
| | Midlothian | Midlothian Council | 97,030 | 354 | Dalkeith |
| | Moray | Moray Council | 94,280 | 2,238 | Elgin |
| | Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) | Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 26,120 | 3,056 | Stornoway |
| | North Ayrshire | North Ayrshire Council | 133,490 | 885 | Irvine |
| | North Lanarkshire | North Lanarkshire Council | 340,930 | 470 | Motherwell |
| | Orkney | Orkney Islands Council | 22,020 | 990 | Kirkwall |
| | Perth and Kinross | Perth and Kinross Council | 151,120 | 5,286 | Perth |
| | Renfrewshire | Renfrewshire Council | 184,340 | 261 | Paisley |
| | Scottish Borders | Scottish Borders Council | 116,820 | 4,732 | Newtown St Boswells |
| | Shetland Islands | Shetland Islands Council | 23,020 | 1,467 | Lerwick |
| | South Ayrshire | South Ayrshire Council | 111,560 | 1,222 | Ayr |
| | South Lanarkshire | South Lanarkshire Council | 327,430 | 1,772 | Hamilton |
| | Stirling | Stirling Council | 92,530 | 2,186 | Stirling |
| | West Dunbartonshire | West Dunbartonshire Council | 88,270 | 159 | Dumbarton |
| | West Lothian | West Lothian Council | 181,720 | 428 | Livingston |

## Other subdivisions

Scotland has several other administrative divisions, some of which are handled by joint boards of the councils.

### Electoral and valuation

There are several joint boards for electoral registration and the purposes of property valuation for assessing council tax and rates.
| Joint board area | Council areas |
| Ayrshire | East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire |
| Borders | Scottish Borders |
| Central Scotland | Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute | Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire |
| Fife | Fife |
| Grampian | Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Moray |
| Glasgow | Glasgow City |
| Highlands and Islands | Highland and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) |
| Lanarkshire | North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire |
| Lothian | East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian |
| Orkney and Shetland | Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands |
| Renfrewshire | East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire |
| Tayside | Angus, Dundee City, Perth and Kinross |

### Health

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 | Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling |
| Grampian | Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and Moray |
| Greater Glasgow and Clyde | Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire |
| Highland | Argyll and Bute and Highland |
| Lanarkshire | North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire |
| Lothian | City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian |
| Orkney | Orkney Islands |
| Shetland | Shetland Islands |
| Tayside | Angus, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross |
| Western Isles (Eileanan Siar) | Western Isles (Na h-Eileanan Siar) |
Until 1 April 2014 the towns of Cambuslang and Rutherglen were in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area despite being located in South Lanarkshire. They are now part of NHS Lanarkshire.

### Transport

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, Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles), Orkney |
| ZetTrans | 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 |

### Eurostat NUTS

In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), Scotland is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKM", which is subdivided as follows:
| NUTS 1 | Code | NUTS 2 | Code | NUTS 3 | Code |
| Scotland | UKM | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | Angus and Dundee | UKM21 |
| | | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | Clackmannanshire and Fife | UKM22 |
| | | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | East Lothian and Midlothian | UKM23 |
| | | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | Scottish Borders | UKM24 |
| | | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | Edinburgh | UKM25 |
| | | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | Falkirk | UKM26 |
| | | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | Perth and Kinross, and Stirling | UKM27 |
| | | Eastern Scotland | UKM2 | West Lothian | UKM28 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, and Helensburgh and Lomond | UKM31 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | Dumfries and Galloway | UKM32 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | East and North Ayrshire mainland | UKM33 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | Glasgow | UKM34 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire | UKM35 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | North Lanarkshire | UKM36 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | South Ayrshire | UKM37 |
| | | South Western Scotland | UKM3 | South Lanarkshire | UKM38 |
| | | North Eastern Scotland | UKM5 | Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire | UKM50 |
| | | Highlands and Islands | UKM6 | Caithness and Sutherland, and Ross and Cromarty | UKM61 |
| | | Highlands and Islands | UKM6 | Inverness, Nairn, Moray, and Badenoch and Strathspey | UKM62 |
| | | Highlands and Islands | UKM6 | Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute (except Helensburgh and Lomond) | UKM63 |
| | | Highlands and Islands | UKM6 | Eilean Siar (Western Isles) | UKM64 |
| | | Highlands and Islands | UKM6 | Orkney Islands | UKM65 |
| | | Highlands and Islands | UKM6 | Shetland Islands | UKM66 |

### Land registration

The current land registration system in Scotland divides Scotland into 33 Registration Counties, 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.
| Registration county | Operational from |
| County of Renfrew | 6 April 1981 |
| County of Dunbarton | 4 October 1982 |
| County of Lanark | 3 January 1984 |
| County of the Barony and Regality of Glasgow | 30 September 1985 |
| County of Clackmannan | 1 October 1992 |
| County of Stirling | 1 April 1993 |
| County of West Lothian | 1 October 1993 |
| County of Fife | 1 April 1995 |
| County of Aberdeen | 1 April 1996 |
| County of Kincardine | 1 April 1996 |
| County of Ayr | 1 April 1997 |
| County of Dumfries | 1 April 1997 |
| County of Kirkcudbright | 1 April 1997 |
| County of Wigtown | 1 April 1997 |
| County of Angus | 1 April 1999 |
| County of Kinross | 1 April 1999 |
| County of Perth | 1 April 1999 |
| County of Berwick | 1 October 1999 |
| County of East Lothian | 1 October 1999 |
| County of Peebles | 1 October 1999 |
| County of Roxburgh | 1 October 1999 |
| County of Selkirk | 1 October 1999 |
| County of Argyll | 1 April 2000 |
| County of Bute | 1 April 2000 |
| County of Midlothian | 1 April 2001 |
| County of Inverness | 1 April 2002 |
| County of Nairn | 1 April 2002 |
| County of Banff | 1 April 2003 |
| County of Caithness | 1 April 2003 |
| County of Moray | 1 April 2003 |
| Counties of Orkney and Zetland | 1 April 2003 |
| County of Ross and Cromarty | 1 April 2003 |
| County of Sutherland | 1 April 2003 |

### Sheriffdoms

Sheriffdoms are judicial areas. Since 1 January 1975, these have been six in number:
* Glasgow and Strathkelvin
* Grampian, Highland and Islands
* Lothian and Borders
* North Strathclyde
* South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway
* Tayside, Central and Fife

### Lieutenancy areas

The Lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives. The areas are similar to the Historic Counties and the Registration Counties, but are not identical to either. Most notably, the four cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow form separate areas from the surrounding countryside, with the Lord Provost of each city acting ex officio as the lord-lieutenant.
Lieutenancy areas of Scotland :
* Aberdeen
* Aberdeenshire
* Angus
* Argyll and Bute
* Ayrshire and Arran
* Banffshire
* Berwickshire
* Caithness
* Clackmannanshire
* Dumfries
* Dunbartonshire
* Dundee
* East Lothian
* Edinburgh
* Fife
* Glasgow
* Inverness
* Kincardineshire
* Lanarkshire
* Midlothian
* Moray
* Nairn
* Perth and Kinross
* Renfrewshire
* Ross and Cromarty
* Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale
* Stirling and Falkirk
* Sutherland
* The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
* Tweeddale
* West Lothian
* Western Isles
* Wigtown
* Not shown:
* Orkney
* Shetland

### Former police and fire services

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 resulted in the merger of local police and fire services on 1 April 2013 to form the Police Service of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis Phoilis na h-Alba) and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS, Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis Smàlaidh agus Teasairginn na h-Alba).
Prior to 1975 policing was the responsibility of the Cities and Burghs of Scotland (see List of burghs in Scotland). Between 1975 and 2013 Scotland was subdivided into Police and fire service areas based on the regions and districts and island council areas that were also formed in 1975. The police and fire service regions used between 1975 and 2013 are listed below.
| Services | Original area (former regions) | Council areas | Police Scotland Division |
| Central Scotland Police Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service | Central | Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling | Forth Valley (C Division) |
| Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service | Dumfries and Galloway | Dumfries and Galloway | Dumfries & Galloway (V Division) |
| Fife Constabulary Fife Fire and Rescue Service | Fife | Fife | Fife (P Division) |
| Grampian Police Grampian Fire and Rescue Service | Grampian | Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray | Aberdeenshire (A Division) |
| Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service | Lothians and the Scottish Borders | City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders, West Lothian | Lothian & Borders (J Division) Edinburgh City (E Division) |
| Northern Constabulary Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service | Highland, Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles | Highland, Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles), Orkney and Shetland | Highland & Islands (N Division) |
| Strathclyde Police Strathclyde Fire and Rescue | Strathclyde | Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire | Argyll & West Dunbartonshire (L Division) Renfrewshire & Inverclyde (K Division) Ayrshire (U Division) Greater Glasgow (G Division) Lanarkshire (Q Division) |
| Tayside Police Tayside Fire and Rescue Service | Tayside | Angus, Dundee City and Perth & Kinross | Tayside (D Division) |

## Lower level subdivisions

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 continued to form registration districts until 1 January 2007. Many boundary changes have occurred over the years and 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.
For most administrative purposes, the base level of sub-division in Scotland is now that of communities, which may elect community councils. The main role of these bodies is to channel and reflect local opinion to other bodies; they otherwise 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.