Counties of England Map Quiz at a Glance
England has 48 ceremonial counties, the counties on most maps of England. The Counties of England Map Quiz is a free game from DodoThinks: a county is named and you click it on a blank map, from Cornwall to Northumberland. A second round names a town instead (Reading, Ipswich, Shrewsbury), and a Whole map round asks all 48. The full list with regions, population and area is below the map. No sign-up.
- Ceremonial counties
- 48
- Largest
- North Yorkshire (8,654 km²)
- Most people
- Greater London (9.1 million)
- Smallest
- City of London (2.9 km²)
- Rounds
- Counties, towns, whole map
- Cost
- Free, no sign-up
How to Play the Counties of England Map Quiz
- Before you start, tap any county to see its name, or press "Show names" to label them all.
- Pick a round: Counties names each county, Towns names a town in one (43 of them), and Whole map asks all 48 once.
- Click the right county. The City of London and Bristol are tiny, so they have a ring around them that counts as a click.
- After each answer the right county lights up, so a mistake still teaches you where it is.
How many counties are there in England?
Most maps of England show the 48 ceremonial counties, the areas with a Lord-Lieutenant, set in 1997. Six of them, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire, are metropolitan counties made in 1974 around big cities. Greater London dates from 1965, and Bristol and the City of London are counties of their own.
The number depends on what you count. England's 39 historic counties, like Middlesex and Westmorland, are older and still used by some people. For local government, many counties are now split into unitary authorities, so the councils do not match the map.
Counties by region
North East: County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.
North West: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside.
Yorkshire and the Humber: East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire.
East Midlands: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland.
West Midlands: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire.
East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk.
London: City of London, Greater London.
South East: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex.
South West: Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire.
The 48 counties of England
Population: ONS estimates for June 2024. Area: land area in km². A few counties straddle two regions (North Yorkshire also takes in Middlesbrough); they are listed in the one with most of their land.
| # | County | Region | Population | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bedfordshire | East of England | 750,000 | 1,235 |
| 2 | Berkshire | South East | 992,000 | 1,262 |
| 3 | Bristol | South West | 494,000 | 110 |
| 4 | Buckinghamshire | South East | 885,000 | 1,874 |
| 5 | Cambridgeshire | East of England | 934,000 | 3,390 |
| 6 | Cheshire | North West | 1.1 million | 2,346 |
| 7 | City of London | London | 15,111 | 2.9 |
| 8 | Cornwall | South West | 586,000 | 3,562 |
| 9 | County Durham | North East | 894,000 | 2,676 |
| 10 | Cumbria | North West | 511,000 | 6,768 |
| 11 | Derbyshire | East Midlands | 1.1 million | 2,625 |
| 12 | Devon | South West | 1.3 million | 6,707 |
| 13 | Dorset | South West | 799,000 | 2,653 |
| 14 | East Riding of Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | 631,000 | 2,475 |
| 15 | East Sussex | South East | 845,000 | 1,791 |
| 16 | Essex | East of England | 1.9 million | 3,664 |
| 17 | Gloucestershire | South West | 976,000 | 3,149 |
| 18 | Greater London | London | 9.1 million | 1,569 |
| 19 | Greater Manchester | North West | 3.0 million | 1,276 |
| 20 | Hampshire | South East | 1.9 million | 3,769 |
| 21 | Herefordshire | West Midlands | 191,000 | 2,180 |
| 22 | Hertfordshire | East of England | 1.2 million | 1,643 |
| 23 | Isle of Wight | South East | 142,000 | 380 |
| 24 | Kent | South East | 1.9 million | 3,738 |
| 25 | Lancashire | North West | 1.6 million | 3,066 |
| 26 | Leicestershire | East Midlands | 1.1 million | 2,156 |
| 27 | Lincolnshire | East Midlands | 1.1 million | 6,976 |
| 28 | Merseyside | North West | 1.5 million | 652 |
| 29 | Norfolk | East of England | 940,000 | 5,384 |
| 30 | North Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | 1.2 million | 8,654 |
| 31 | Northamptonshire | East Midlands | 814,000 | 2,364 |
| 32 | Northumberland | North East | 331,000 | 5,020 |
| 33 | Nottinghamshire | East Midlands | 1.2 million | 2,159 |
| 34 | Oxfordshire | South East | 763,000 | 2,605 |
| 35 | Rutland | East Midlands | 41,000 | 382 |
| 36 | Shropshire | West Midlands | 528,000 | 3,488 |
| 37 | Somerset | South West | 1.0 million | 4,170 |
| 38 | South Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | 1.4 million | 1,552 |
| 39 | Staffordshire | West Midlands | 1.2 million | 2,714 |
| 40 | Suffolk | East of England | 786,000 | 3,800 |
| 41 | Surrey | South East | 1.2 million | 1,663 |
| 42 | Tyne and Wear | North East | 1.2 million | 540 |
| 43 | Warwickshire | West Midlands | 632,000 | 1,975 |
| 44 | West Midlands | West Midlands | 3.0 million | 902 |
| 45 | West Sussex | South East | 915,000 | 1,991 |
| 46 | West Yorkshire | Yorkshire and the Humber | 2.4 million | 2,029 |
| 47 | Wiltshire | South West | 768,000 | 3,485 |
| 48 | Worcestershire | West Midlands | 621,000 | 1,741 |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many counties are there in England?
48 ceremonial counties, the ones on most maps. England also has 39 historic counties, which are older and no longer used for government.
What is the largest county in England?
North Yorkshire, about 8,650 km². By population, Greater London is the largest with about 9.1 million people.
What is the smallest county in England?
The City of London, under 3 km². Among the traditional shire counties, Rutland (382 km²) and the Isle of Wight (380 km²) are the smallest.
Is Yorkshire a county?
Not any more as one county. It is split into four ceremonial counties: North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Which county is Birmingham in?
The West Midlands, a metropolitan county with Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. Before 1974 Birmingham was part of Warwickshire.
Made by Kashif Sulehria in Lahore, Pakistan. Updated October 20, 2026.