55°30′N 4°18′W﻿ / ﻿55.5°N 4.3°W﻿ / 55.5; -4.3 East Ayrshire (Scots: Aest Ayrshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Road, Kilmarnock. With South Ayrshire and the mainland areas of North Ayrshire, it formed the former county of Ayrshire.
 East Ayrshire had a population of 122,100 at the 2011 census, making it the 16th most populous local authority in Scotland. Spanning a geographical area of 1,262 km2 (487 sq mi), East Ayrshire is the 14th-largest local authority in Scotland in terms of geographical area. The majority of the population of East Ayrshire live within and surrounding the main town, Kilmarnock. Other large population areas in East Ayrshire include Cumnock, the second-largest town, and smaller towns and villages such as Stewarton, Darvel and Hurlford.
 The largest school in Scotland, the Robert Burns Academy, is located in Cumnock.
 In May 1975, the county council was abolished and its functions were transferred to Strathclyde Regional Council. 
 Subsequently, the county area was divided between four new districts within the two-tier Strathclyde region: Cumnock and Doon Valley, Cunninghame, Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Kyle and Carrick.
 The Cunninghame district included the Isle of Arran, Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae, which had until then been administered as part of the County of Bute.
 The former Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council was twinned with Sukhumi, Abkhazia. Following a review of such links in 2005, East Ayrshire continues the link as a friendship link.
 East Ayrshire was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which replaced Scotland's previous local government structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts with unitary council areas providing all local government services. 
 East Ayrshire covered the combined area of the abolished Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Cumnock and Doon Valley districts, and also took over the functions of the abolished Strathclyde Regional Council within the area. The area's name references its location within the historic county of Ayrshire, which had been abolished for local government purposes in 1975 when Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Cumnock and Doon Valley, and Strathclyde region had been created.
 In April 1996 the two-tier system of regions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the unitary council areas of East Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kilmarnock & Loudoun District and Cumnock & Doon Valley District), North Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Cunninghame District Council) and South Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kyle and Carrick District). There are many early settlements within East Ayrshire. 
 There are many early settlements within East Ayrshire. The Burns Monument Centre and Dick Institute (both in Kilmarnock) are notable museums and cultural venues.
 In 2017, East Ayrshire Council was named as the UK Council of the Year. In 2016, East Ayrshire Council was awarded and recognised for its recycling and resource management.
 Historically the economy of East Ayrshire was dependent on industries such as coal mining, textiles and general manufacturing which largely fell into decline in Scotland during the 1970s and 1980s. Certain parts of East Ayrshire, particularly in the south of the region, such as Auchinleck, Bellsbank and Dalmellington have struggled to recover from the economic hardship caused by the decline and gradual closure of traditional industries, and are supported through various initiatives to try and rejuvenate their economies.
 Kilmarnock has seen a gradual decline in manufacturing performance in recent years. In 2009, Diageo, owner of whisky maker Johnnie Walker (which had been founded in Kilmarnock) announced the proposed closure of the bottling plant facility in Hill Street, and in 2012, Diageo closed the facility with the loss of 700 jobs. In December 2015, Kilmarnock was awarded the title of Scotland's Most Improved Town due to efforts towards town regeneration and restoration.
 Food and drink as well as local tourism provides a large sum to the economy of East Ayrshire, with visitor attractions such as Dean Castle, Palace Theatre and Dumfries House generating large means of income for the area. In rural communities of the authority, agriculture continues to be the leading sources of employment and economic productivity, particularly in the southern communities of the area. The public sector is the largest employer within the area, with the council and NHS Ayrshire and Arran being significant employers. Kilmarnock is home to the Halo Urban Generation (Kilmarnock) Ltd. company which was founded by Marie Macklin CBE, with a focus on providing opportunities for new businesses within the area, and with an estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) revenue of £205 million to the Scottish economy, it supports 1,500 jobs within the area.
 Health care in East Ayrshire is provided by NHS Ayrshire and Arran, one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. The health boards main, and largest, hospital is University Hospital Crosshouse located between the village of Crosshouse and the administrative town of East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. Other NHS Ayrshire and Arran hospitals within East Ayrshire include East Ayrshire Community Hospital in Cumnock, and the former Kirklandside Hospital in Hurlford. 
 Work on University Hospital Crosshouse, which was commissioned to replace the Kilmarnock Infirmary, began on the site in August 1972 with completion expected in May 1977. The contractor, Melville Dundas & Whitson, encountered difficulties with the water supply and ventilation systems and the facility was only officially opened by George Younger, Secretary of State for Scotland, as Crosshouse Hospital in June 1984. A new maternity unit, which replaced a similar facility at Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine was opened in the grounds of the hospital in 2006. In March 2012, the hospital officially became University Hospital Crosshouse as a result of a partnership with the University of the West of Scotland.
 Kirklandside Hospital, in neighbouring village Hurlford closed between 2018 and 2020. Kirklandside hospital provided consultant-led services for frail elderly patients. It had 25 long-stay beds for inpatient care and a day hospital which provided assessment and rehabilitation facilities.
 East Ayrshire is served by a number of general practice (GP) surgeries under NHS Scotland and a variety of other healthcare services including dental treatment and pharmacies.
 East Ayrshire has nine secondary schools, forty-three primary schools, four schools which cater for children with additional support needs, thirty-three early education childhood centres and three children's houses. 
 Kilmarnock Academy is one of only two schools in the world to have educated two Nobel laureates: Alexander Fleming and John Boyd Orr. Both men attended Kilmarnock Academy when it was located on North Hamilton Street; the school has since relocated to Sutherland Drive.
 Grange Academy in Kilmarnock, is one of only seven Scottish Football Association (SFA) Performance Schools. 
 The Robert Burns Academy in Cumnock is the largest educational campus in Scotland.
 The area's secondary schools include:
 Kilmarnock is home to a campus of Ayrshire College, which provides a range of courses to adults as well as school-aged pupils. It is funded by East Ayrshire council and other educational providers. The campus opened in October 2016 in a new, £53 million, building on the site of the Johnnie Walker bottling plant. It superseded the Kilmarnock College building on Holehouse Road.
 Policy and decision making in East Ayrshire is the responsibility of East Ayrshire Council, the body of elected councillors elected to represent East Ayrshire on the council. The council chambers and HQ is located on London Road in Kilmarnock. 
 Kilmarnock is the largest town, followed by Cumnock; other towns are New Cumnock and Stewarton.
 Largest settlements by population:
 46,970
 8,700
 7,770
 4,710
 4,400
 3,900
 3,900
 3,630
 3,060
 2,790