Subdivisions of Scotland
For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas", which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government Act 1997 of being known as a "comhairle" when opting for a Gaelic name; only Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has chosen this option, whereas the Highland Council 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. Act 1994. Historically, Scotland has been 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 with reference to 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
- These are mid-year estimates for from the Office for National Statistics.
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 Ayrshire and Arran in other contexts | 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, Aberdeenshire, Moray |
| Glasgow | Glasgow |
| Highlands and Western Isles | Highland and Na h-Eileanan Siar |
| Lanarkshire | North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire |
| Lothian | East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian |
| Orkney and Shetland | Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands |
| Renfrewshire | East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire |
| Tayside | Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross |
Health
See also NHS ScotlandUntil 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.Eurostat NUTS
In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, Scotland is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKM", which is subdivided as follows: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 Dumbarton | 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
s 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
Former police and fire services
The Police and Fire Reform Act 2012 resulted in the merger of local police and fire services on 1 April 2013 to form the Police Service of Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.Prior to 1975 policing was the responsibility of the Cities and Burghs of 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 | Council areas |
| Central Scotland Police Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service | Central | Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling |
| Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service | Dumfries and Galloway | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Fife Constabulary Fife Fire and Rescue Service | Fife | Fife |
| Grampian Police Grampian Fire and Rescue Service | Grampian | Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray |
| 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 |
| Northern Constabulary Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service | Highland, Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles | Highland, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney and Shetland |
| Strathclyde Police Strathclyde Fire and Rescue | Strathclyde | Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire East Renfrewshire, the City of Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire |
| Tayside Police Tayside Fire and Rescue Service | Tayside | Angus, the City of Dundee and Perth & Kinross |
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 have also changed over the years such that a parish mentioned historically as being in one county 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.