An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

from 1888 to 1974, and in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from 1899 until 1973 in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, 2002 in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. They are now abolished, although most Northern Ireland lieutenancy areas and Republic of Ireland counties have the same boundaries as former administrative countries.

History

England and Wales

The term was introduced for England and Wales by the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

, which created

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

s for various areas, and called them ''administrative counties'' to distinguish them from the continuing ''statutory

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

''. In England and Wales the legislation was repealed in 1974, and entities called ' metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties' in England and 'counties' in Wales were introduced in their place. Though strictly inaccurate, these are often called 'administrative counties' to distinguish them from both the historic counties, and the ceremonial counties.

Scotland

For local government purposes Scottish counties were replaced in 1975 with a system of

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

and island council areas.

Ireland

The

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots diale ...

created administrative counties in Ireland on the same model that had been used in England and Wales. In Northern Ireland the administrative counties were replaced by a system of 26

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

on 1 October 1973. Section 131 of the

Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 The Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972 (c. 9 (N.I.)) was an act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland that constituted district councils to administer the twenty-six local government districts created by the Local Government (Bounda ...

stated that "every county and every county borough shall cease to be an administrative area for local government purposes". The areas of the former administrative counties (and county boroughs) remain in use for Lieutenancy purposes, being defined as the areas used "for local government purposes immediately before 1 October 1973, subject to any subsequent definition of their boundaries …". In the

the legislation that created them remained in force until 1 January 2002, when they were renamed as ''counties'' under the

Local Government Act 2001 The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and amendment of pr ...

. The term ''administrative county'' is retained by the

Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland (), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, ...

to distinguish the modern counties in Dublin of

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former ...

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which ...

and

South Dublin South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...

from the traditional counties, which include

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

. vs.

New entities

The administrative counties that did not share the names of previous counties: England Scotland *

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

and Cromartyshire (

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

) Republic of Ireland *

and

(

). Created in 1994.

References

External links

The Boundary Committee for EnglandThe Boundary Committee for ScotlandThe Boundary Committee for Wales
{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities Local government in the United Kingdom Administrative counties Defunct types of subdivision in the United Kingdom