Highland
| |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Highland_Area_Council.svg) Coat of arms | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Highland_UK_location_map.svg) Highland shown within Scotland | |
| Coordinates: 57°30′N 5°00′W / 57.500°N 5.000°W | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Lieutenancy areas | |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | The Highland Council Headquarters, Inverness |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council |
| • Body | The Highland Council |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | 3 MPs
|
| • MSPs | 4 MSPs
|
| Area | |
| • Total | 9,905 sq mi (25,653 km2) |
| • Rank | 1st |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
| • Total | 235,710 |
| • Rank | 7th |
| • Density | 20/sq mi (9/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-HLD |
| GSS code | S12000017 |
| Website | highland |
Highland (Scottish Gaelic: Gàidhealtachd, pronounced [ˈkɛːəl̪ˠt̪əxk];[a] Scots: Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It has land borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. The wider upland area of the Scottish Highlands after which the council area is named extends beyond the Highland council area into all the neighbouring council areas plus Angus and Stirling.
The Highland Region was created covering the area in 1975 as part of a two-tier local government structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. The Highland Region had eight districts. Local government was reorganised again in 1996 into single-tier council areas, with the former region becoming one of the new council areas.
The Highland Council is based in Inverness, the area's largest settlement. The area is generally sparsely populated, with much of the inland area being mountainous with numerous lochs. The area includes Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. Most of the area's towns lie close to the eastern coasts. Off the west coast of the mainland the council area includes some of the Inner Hebrides, notably the Isle of Skye.
The Highland area covers the historic counties of Caithness, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Ross and Cromarty and Sutherland, with the exception of the parts of Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty in the Outer Hebrides. The area also includes an area around Ardnamurchan from the historic county of Argyll and the Grantown-on-Spey area from Moray, which were both transferred to the Highland region as part of the 1975 reforms.
- ^ "Council and government". The Highland Council. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
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