United Kingdom Administrative Divisions
What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions in United Kingdom?
Here’s a breakdown of the hierarchy:
1. Countries: The United Kingdom is made up of 4 countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
2. Regions (England only): England is subdivided into 9 regions for statistical purposes.
3. Counties and Unitary Authorities: Regions are further subdivided into non-metropolitan counties, 62 unitary authorities, 6 metropolitan counties, and Greater London.
4. Districts, London boroughs, Metropolitan boroughs: These are the smallest administrative units, often found within non-metropolitan counties, unitary authorities, metropolitan counties, and Greater London (which has 32 London boroughs and the City of London).
List of United Kingdom's administrative divisions with their counts and names
These are the summarized administrative divisions. The full dataset is available in the Download Center.
| iso | country | admin level 1 | admin level 2 | admin level 3 | admin level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB | United Kingdom | British Forces (British Force) | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| GB | United Kingdom | England (Constituent country) | 9 Regions | 21 Non-metropolitan counties, 63 Unitary Authorities, 6 Metropolitan counties | 164 Non-metropolitan districts, 33 London boroughs, 36 Metropolitan boroughs |
| GB | United Kingdom | Northern Ireland (Constituent country) | 11 Local Government Districts | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| GB | United Kingdom | Scotland (Constituent country) | 32 Council areas | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| GB | United Kingdom | Wales (Constituent country) | 22 Principal areas | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
Why is building an Administrative Divisions Database complex?
The complexity arises from inconsistent global standards, frequent boundary changes, non-uniform naming conventions (e.g., “suburb” in Australia vs. “county” in the US), and variations in administrative levels across countries. Integrating and harmonizing data from multiple sources requires advanced normalization, versioning, and geospatial validation techniques.
How does GeoPostcodes solve the problem for you?
Our standardized database overcomes the complexity of different administrative division
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each country’s unique administrative hierarchy.
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