Download UK Counties & District Boundaries
Free download of all UK second-level administrative areas — English counties, Scottish council areas, Welsh principal areas, and Northern Ireland districts — in one file. Loads automatically — pick the format you need.
Boundary data provided by geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), licensed CC-BY 4.0. Please provide attribution when using this data.
About the UK counties dataset
This page provides a one-click download of all UK second-level administrative areas in every common geospatial and design format. Data is sourced from geoBoundaries — an open, peer-reviewed dataset released under CC-BY 4.0. The authoritative UK source is the ONS Open Geography Portal.
For higher-level (UK country) boundaries — England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland — see the UK countries page.
Structure of UK second-level divisions
- • England — uses a mix of two-tier counties (with districts), unitary authorities, metropolitan boroughs, and London boroughs. Around 90+ second-level units depending on the cut-off.
- • Scotland — 32 single-tier council areas, established in 1996. Includes special units such as the City of Edinburgh and the Highland Council (the largest by area in the UK).
- • Wales — 22 unitary principal areas, established in 1996. Mix of counties, county boroughs, and cities.
- • Northern Ireland — 11 district councils, established in 2015. Replaced an earlier 26-district structure.
When to use which format
GeoJSON
The most flexible choice — opens in QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, Mapbox, Leaflet, MapLibre, D3. Use the simplified version for web maps.
Shapefile
Use for desktop GIS workflows in ArcGIS, QGIS, or MapInfo. ZIP contains .shp / .dbf / .prj / .shx.
KML
Use for Google Earth and Google My Maps. KML preserves the district name in each feature popup.
SVG
Designer-ready vector paths with each county/district as a separate path. Opens in Illustrator, Figma, Sketch, or Inkscape.
DXF
AutoCAD format for engineers and architects. Each unit becomes a closed polyline.
TopoJSON
Topology-encoded GeoJSON, much smaller for choropleths. Common in D3.js dashboards.
GeoPackage
OGC-standard single-file SQLite container. Ideal for portable GIS workflows.
FlatGeobuf
Binary streaming format optimised for fast loading in MapLibre, OpenLayers, or Leaflet.
Common uses for UK county / district boundaries
- • Local-election mapping (English county councils, Scottish council areas)
- • Joining ONS, Welsh Government, or NRS statistics to geometry
- • NHS England / NHS Scotland health-board reporting
- • Sales-territory and market-area mapping at sub-national scale
- • Insurance and risk modelling at council level
- • Backgrounds for D3.js / MapLibre choropleths and dashboards
- • Spatial-join filtering of point data by council area
- • Editorial maps for newspapers (SVG export)
Need to process these boundaries before download?
Download the UK counties / districts GeoJSON above, then drop it into the Workflow Builder to simplify, buffer, clip to a bounding box, generate centroids, or chain multiple operations before exporting in any format.
Alternative UK boundary sources
- • ONS Open Geography Portal — the authoritative UK source, with multiple resolutions, vintages, and detailed metadata.
- • Ordnance Survey OpenData — high-precision UK national mapping, free for commercial use.
- • Natural Earth — cartographer-friendly generalised data for small-scale maps.
- • OpenStreetMap — community-edited boundaries via Overpass queries or Geofabrik extracts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the UK ADM2 dataset cover?
UK ADM2 covers the second-level subnational division across all four UK countries. The exact units differ: England has counties and unitary authorities, Scotland has 32 council areas, Wales has 22 principal areas, and Northern Ireland has 11 districts. They are bundled together in one file in geoBoundaries.
What is the difference between UK counties and council areas?
In England, counties (ceremonial and administrative) and unitary authorities make up the second level. In Scotland, the equivalent unit is the council area (introduced in 1996 to replace the former regions and districts). In Wales, the equivalent is the principal area (since 1996). In Northern Ireland, the equivalent is the district council area (since 2015).
Where does this UK boundary data come from?
The boundaries are sourced from geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), an open peer-reviewed dataset. The authoritative UK source is the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Open Geography Portal. geoBoundaries data is released under CC-BY 4.0.
Can I download UK parliamentary constituencies?
No — parliamentary constituencies are a separate geography, not the same as administrative units. For constituency boundaries use the ONS Open Geography Portal directly. ONS publishes both Westminster constituency boundaries and devolved Assembly/Parliament constituency boundaries.
How accurate are these boundaries?
geoBoundaries UK ADM2 boundaries are accurate enough for thematic mapping, choropleth visualisation, sales-territory work, and most analytical use cases. For boundary-precise work (legal, planning, statutory) use the ONS Open Geography Portal which delivers full-precision geometry at multiple resolutions.
How big is the UK ADM2 GeoJSON file?
The full-resolution UK ADM2 GeoJSON is typically 5–15 MB because there are about 150 features and the British coastline is highly detailed. The simplified version is well under 1 MB. The SVG export is around 100–250 KB.
Can I use this data commercially?
Yes — geoBoundaries data is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY) licence. You may use it in commercial products, modify it, and redistribute it as long as you provide attribution to geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020).