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The largest county in the United Kingdom is, by far, [[Yorkshire]], with an area of around 6,081 square miles, which is also the most populous, with around 5.2 million people. The second-largest county in the UK is [[Inverness-shire]], at 4,211 square miles in area, with the second-largest in England being [[Lincolnshire]], at 2,687 square miles.  

The largest county in the United Kingdom is, by far, [[Yorkshire]], with an area of around 6,081 square miles, which is also the most populous, with around 5.2 million people. The second-largest county in the UK is [[Inverness-shire]], at 4,211 square miles in area, with the second-largest in England being [[Lincolnshire]], at 2,687 square miles.  

The role of counties in local government saw a decline in the 19th and 20th century, but contrary to popular opinion, the British counties were neither abolished nor did they have their boundaries changed by acts of parliament such as the Local Government Act 1888 or the like-named act of 1974, as an official statement by Prime Minister [[Edward Heath]]'s government confirmed in 1974: "the new county boundaries are administrative areas, and will not alter the traditional boundaries of counties, nor is it intended that the loyalties of people living in them will change despite the different names adopted by the new administrative counties".<ref>[https://realcounties.wordpress.com/official-statements/ Official Statements - Campaign for Historic Counties]</ref>

The role of counties in local government saw a decline in the 19th and 20th century, but contrary to popular opinion, the British counties were neither abolished nor did they have their boundaries changed by acts of parliament such as the Local Government Act 1888 or the like-named act of 1974, as an official statement by Prime Minister [[Edward Heath]]'s government confirmed in 1974: "the new county boundaries are administrative areas, and will not alter the traditional boundaries of counties, nor is it intended that the loyalties of people living in them will change despite the different names adopted by the new administrative counties".<ref name="realcounties">[https://realcounties.wordpress.com/official-statements/ Official Statements - Campaign for Historic Counties]</ref> There are many organisations, such as the Association of British Counties (ABC) and the Campaign for Historic Counties, which seek to promote and raise public awareness of the counties.<ref>[https://abcounties.com/ Association of British Counties]</ref><ref name="realcounties" />

The various administrative subdivisions in the UK, being county council areas, unitary authority areas and London boroughs in England (which are all nearly functionally identical), are legally distinct from counties proper, and are not replacements for them, despite some, such Lancashire County Council and Staffordshire County Council, being identically-named (but having different boundaries to) counties. "Counties for the purposes of lieutenancy", which are often mistakenly (notably by Wikipedia) referred to as "ceremonial counties", do not replace the counties proper either. [[Wolverhampton]], for example, is part of [[Staffordshire]] despite it being administratively in City of Wolverhampton and in the "county for the purposes of lieutenancy" of West Midlands.

The various administrative subdivisions in the UK, being county council areas, unitary authority areas and London boroughs in England (which are all nearly functionally identical), are legally distinct from counties proper, and are not replacements for them, despite some, such Lancashire County Council and Staffordshire County Council, being identically-named (but having different boundaries to) counties. "Counties for the purposes of lieutenancy", which are often mistakenly (notably by Wikipedia) referred to as "ceremonial counties", do not replace the counties proper either. [[Wolverhampton]], for example, is part of [[Staffordshire]] despite it being administratively in City of Wolverhampton and in the "county for the purposes of lieutenancy" of West Midlands.