In the most commonly referenced sense, there are 29 shire counties in England. However, if you look at the modern administrative structure, the number drops to 24 (or even 21, depending on the definition). If you go back to the historic counties, the total is 39.
However, the 1990s brought a wave of "county reviews," converting many two-tier shire counties into single-tier unitary authorities. For instance:
To give you the most useful, all-purpose answer:
(often called "shire counties") currently operate under a two-tier local government system (a county council and multiple district councils). how many shire counties are there in england
It created "non-metropolitan counties," which the media and public immediately dubbed "shire counties" to distinguish them from the new metropolitan areas. This established a clearer map where roughly 39 counties existed.
From these 48, the “shire counties” are generally defined as those that:
| Context | Number of Shire Counties | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | | 34 | Excludes ancient non-shires like Cornwall, Kent, Essex. | | Ceremonial (modern Lord-Lieutenancies) | 29 | Most common answer in atlases and quizzes. | | Administrative (functioning county councils) | 24 | The “real” shires that still run local services. | | Linguistic (end in “-shire”) | 26 | Strictly by name only. | In the most commonly referenced sense, there are
There are 29 shire counties in England for ceremonial and traditional purposes.
Note that many traditional shires like have abolished their county councils and now function as unitaries. So they are ceremonial shires but not administrative ones.
in England have names that end with the suffix "-shire". However, the 1990s brought a wave of "county
The 34 historic shires included:
There were 34 historic shire counties (excluding the ancient, non-shire counties).
If one counts every ceremonial county in England that is not a metropolitan county or a city-state (like London or Bristol), the number is higher. There are ceremonial counties in England. While many are referred to colloquially as "the shires," this number includes metropolitan counties and unitary authorities that do not function as "shire counties" in an administrative sense.