The data are provided free of charge for all personal, educational, non-commercial and commercial use. No specific permission is required. However, we would appreciate an appropriate acknowledgement of the use of the data.
Lookup the county name for a given postcode, or generate a CSV file of counties for a series of postcodes.
Lookup county names for places using Ordnance Survey National Grid co-ordinates or grid reference.
Generate a list of postcodes for a given county.
Download a database of every postcode, county and grid reference.
Show county populations.
These border datasets conform to the Historic Counties Standard (HCS). The HCS Definition A datasets treat detached parts of counties as part of their host county, whereas the HCS Definition B datasets include them separately.
The full-resolution polygons are suitable for 1:5,000-scale applications. The simplified sets are usable at scales greater than 1:50,000. A set of border lines is also available, for applications where a coastline is provided separately.
Last updated on 14 Jul 2020.
| Great Britain & Ireland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 42.42 MB |
WGS84 SHP 44.67 MB |
KMZ 49.4 MB |
OSGB SHP 5.87 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.72 MB |
KMZ 6.3 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.88 MB |
| United Kingdom | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 30.36 MB |
WGS84 SHP 33.33 MB |
KMZ 37.04 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.25 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.21 MB |
KMZ 4.65 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.92 MB |
| Great Britain | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 28.74 MB |
WGS84 SHP 31.78 MB |
KMZ 35.28 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.01 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4 MB |
KMZ 4.41 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.8 MB |
| Great Britain & Ireland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 43.59 MB |
WGS84 SHP 45.83 MB |
KMZ 50.68 MB |
OSGB SHP 6.04 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.88 MB |
KMZ 6.47 MB |
WGS84 SHP 6.51 MB |
| United Kingdom | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 31.42 MB |
WGS84 SHP 34.4 MB |
KMZ 38.2 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.42 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.38 MB |
KMZ 4.84 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.42 MB |
| Great Britain | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 29.79 MB |
WGS84 SHP 32.83 MB |
KMZ 36.44 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.2 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.17 MB |
KMZ 4.6 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.3 MB |
Where there is nothing listed in the Definition B column, this is because the county has no detached parts and therefore the data in the Definition A column are suitable for either HCS definition.
Download a Shapefile, SVG or KMZ of individual counties.
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Yorkshire ridings (Definition A).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Yorkshire ridings (Definition B).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Parts of Lincolnshire (Definition A).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Parts of Lincolnshire (Definition B).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Ridings of Lindsey (Definition A).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Ridings of Lindsey (Definition B).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Ridings of Tipperary.
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Ridings of Cork (Definition A).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Ridings of Cork (Definition B).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Rapes of Sussex (Definition A).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Rapes of Sussex (Definition B).
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Lathes of Kent.
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Districts of Ayrshire.
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Wards of Lanarkshire.
Download a Shapefile (WGS84) or KML of the Sheadings of the Isle of Man.