List of two-tier counties of England facts for kids

This page helps you understand the different types of counties in England and how many people live in them. We'll focus on a special kind of county called a "two-tier" county.

England's Counties: Who Lives Where?

What is a Two-Tier County?

England has many different areas, and they are often grouped into 'counties'. Some counties have a special way of being managed, called a "two-tier" system. This means they have two main levels of local government:

• A county council that looks after big things like schools, main roads, and social care for the whole county.
• Smaller district councils or borough councils within the county that handle local services like rubbish collection, planning permission, and parks.

This list only includes these "two-tier" counties, also known as shire counties. It doesn't include areas like big cities (called metropolitan counties) or places where one council does everything (called unitary authorities).

For example, the city of Blackpool used to be part of Lancashire county. But now, Blackpool has its own council that does everything. So, when we count people for Lancashire, we don't include the people living in Blackpool.

How We Count People

The numbers you see in the table below tell us how many people live in each county. These numbers are estimates from the Office for National Statistics. They are usually counted in the middle of the year.

We also show you the area of each county in square kilometers (km²). The density tells you how many people live in each square kilometer. This helps us see how crowded or spread out a county is. A higher density means more people live closer together.