Counties of Wales

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Wales was divided into 22 Principal Areas for local government purposes by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. 11 of them are known as Counties, and 11 are known as County Boroughs.

These 22 Principal Areas replaced the 8 Ceremonial Counties that had been created by the Local Government Act 1972. These 8 Ceremonial Counties became known as Preserved Counties, which are used for purposes such as Lieutenancy.

Counties of Scotland

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In Scotland, the term county is now officially used to mean the Registration Counties that are used for land registration.

Local government is operated by a separate subdivision of the country into Council Areas.

And, finally, another subdivision of the country, into Lieutenancy Areas, is used for the ceremonial Lord Lieutenants, the representatives of the UK monarch in Scotland.

Counties of England

Counties of England
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England is divided into 48 counties, that together cover all of the country. These counties are commonly called the geographical counties of England for that reason.

Each county has a county town, which historically was the administrative centre for local government and was often the largest town in the county.

Countries in the United Kingdom (UK)

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The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. More formally, these four countries form the sovereign state known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which itself is also described as a country.