What is "aberdeenshire"

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.

It takes its name from the old County of Aberdeen which had substantially different boundaries. Modern Aberdeenshire includes all of what was once Kincardineshire, as well as part of Banffshire. The old boundaries are still officially used for a few purposes, namely land registration and lieutenancy.

Aberdeenshire Council is headquartered at Woodhill House, in Aberdeen, making it the only Scottish council whose headquarters are located outside its jurisdiction. Aberdeen itself forms a different council area (Aberdeen City). Aberdeenshire borders onto Angus and Perth and Kinross to the south, Highland and Moray to the west and Aberdeen City to the east.

Traditionally, it has been economically dependent upon the primary sector (agriculture, fishing, and forestry) and related processing industries. Over the last 40 years, the development of the oil and gas industry and associated service sector has broadened Aberdeenshire's economic base, and contributed to a rapid population growth of some 50% since 1975. Its land represents 8% of Scotland's overall territory. It covers an area of .

Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen (, ) is a registration county of Scotland. This area (excluding Aberdeen itself) is also a lieutenancy area.

Until 1975 Aberdeenshire was one of the counties of Scotland, governed by a county council from 1890. The boundaries of the county were adjusted by the boundary commissioners appointed under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 that established the county council. In 1900, the county town of Aberdeen became a county of a city and was thus removed from the administrative county. The county bordered Kincardineshire, Angus and Perthshire to the south, Inverness-shire and Banffshire to the west, and the North Sea to the north and east. It had a coast-line of .

The coat of arms of Aberdeenshire County Council was granted in 1890. The four quarters represented the Buchan, Mar, Garioch and Strathbogie areas.

In 1975 the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 reorganised local administration in Scotland into a two-tier system of regions and districts. Aberdeenshire, along with the City of Aberdeen, Banffshire, Kincardineshire and most of Morayshire were merged to form Grampian Region, with the former county being divided between the districts of City of Aberdeen, Banff and Buchan, Gordon and Kincardine and Deeside.

In 1996 Scottish local government system was reorganised a second time to form a single tier of unitary council areas. The name was revived for the council area of Aberdeenshire, which has different boundaries.

The area is generally hilly, and from the south-west, near the centre of Scotland, the Grampians send out various branches, mostly to the north-east.

Aberdeenshire was a Scottish county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP).

In 1868 it was divided to create Eastern Aberdeenshire and Western Aberdeenshire.

Aberdeenshire is one of the unitary council areas of Scotland.

Aberdeenshire may also refer to:

• Aberdeenshire (historic) a registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, also the historic county that was subsumed into Grampian Region in 1975
• Aberdeenshire (UK Parliament constituency), a constituency in the Parliaments of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1801 and 1868

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Aberdeen elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates.

From 1708 Aberdeenshire was represented by one Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Great Britain.