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 Unique Property Reference Numbers.
Lookup county names for places using Ordnance Survey National Grid co-ordinates or grid reference.
Generate a list of postcodes or UPRNs for a given county.
Download a database or CSV file 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 24 Feb 2021.
| Great Britain & Ireland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 42.86 MB |
WGS84 SHP 45.12 MB |
KMZ 49.89 MB |
OSGB SHP 5.78 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.63 MB |
KMZ 6.2 MB |
WGS84 SHP 6.25 MB |
| United Kingdom | ||||||
| Full-resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 30.77 MB |
WGS84 SHP 33.76 MB |
KMZ 37.51 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.2 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.16 MB |
KMZ 4.6 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.19 MB |
| Great Britain | ||||||
| Full-resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 29.14 MB |
WGS84 SHP 32.19 MB |
KMZ 35.74 MB |
OSGB SHP 3.99 MB |
WGS84 SHP 3.97 MB |
KMZ 4.38 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.03 MB |
| Great Britain & Ireland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 44.05 MB |
WGS84 SHP 46.3 MB |
KMZ 51.18 MB |
OSGB SHP 5.99 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.83 MB |
KMZ 6.41 MB |
WGS84 SHP 6.84 MB |
| United Kingdom | ||||||
| Full-resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 31.86 MB |
WGS84 SHP 34.85 MB |
KMZ 38.68 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.37 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.33 MB |
KMZ 4.79 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.74 MB |
| Great Britain | ||||||
| Full-resolution polygons | Simplified polygons | Border lines only | ||||
| OSGB SHP 30.22 MB |
WGS84 SHP 33.27 MB |
KMZ 36.9 MB |
OSGB SHP 4.17 MB |
WGS84 SHP 4.14 MB |
KMZ 4.57 MB |
WGS84 SHP 5.57 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.