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 04 Apr 2020.
| Great Britain & Ireland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 42.15 MB |
WGS84 SHP 44.4 MB |
KMZ 49.1 MB |
OSGB SHP 5.85 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.7 MB |
KMZ 6.27 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.74 MB |
| United Kingdom | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 30.09 MB |
WGS84 SHP 33.06 MB |
KMZ 36.74 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.22 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.19 MB |
KMZ 4.63 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.78 MB |
| Great Britain | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 28.49 MB |
WGS84 SHP 31.52 MB |
KMZ 35 MB |
OSGB SHP 3.99 MB |
WGS84 SHP 3.97 MB |
KMZ 4.39 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.68 MB |
| Great Britain & Ireland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 43.3 MB |
WGS84 SHP 45.54 MB |
KMZ 50.36 MB |
OSGB SHP 6.02 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.86 MB |
KMZ 6.45 MB |
WGS84 SHP 6.36 MB |
| United Kingdom | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 31.14 MB |
WGS84 SHP 34.1 MB |
KMZ 37.88 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.4 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.36 MB |
KMZ 4.81 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.28 MB |
| Great Britain | ||||||
| Full resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | OSGB SHP 29.53 MB |
WGS84 SHP 32.56 MB |
KMZ 36.14 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.18 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.15 MB |
KMZ 4.58 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.16 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 Sheadings of the Isle of Man.