Historic county of Scotland
Lanarkshire
Siorrachd Lanraig
Follow the Clyde from the Lowther Hills towards the great urban west.
Lanarkshire has an exceptional geographical spine. The Clyde begins among the Southern Uplands and runs through Upper Clydesdale before entering progressively broader, more settled and eventually intensely urban country.
Few counties can be understood so effectively by following one river. Southern hill country gives way to agricultural valley, then to the towns and industrial landscapes which transformed the lower Clyde on an extraordinary scale. The landscapes change repeatedly, but the river links them all.
- Strathclyde kingdom
- Shire by the 12th century
- Lanark, Hamilton, Glasgow
- Medieval: 'Lanarkschire'
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
Scotland Census 2022. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 1,181.4 people per sq mi (456.14 people per km²)
Upper Clydesdale
The southern county is a landscape of upland, broadening valley and tributary burns.
Here the Clyde belongs to a comparatively open and rural world, enclosed by hill country and far removed in character from the dense urban landscape further downstream.
The widening Clyde
North-westwards the valley broadens and settlement becomes progressively more substantial.
This physical transition created the setting in which manufacturing, mining and heavy industry developed on an exceptional scale.
More than an industrial county
Lanarkshire’s industrial identity is important but incomplete.
Upper Clydesdale, Southern Upland country and extensive agricultural landscapes belong to the same county as the great urban and industrial belt. The contrast between them is one of Lanarkshire’s defining features.
County questions
Questions about Lanarkshire
Are Lanarkshire and County of Lanark different counties?
No. They are different expressions of the same county name.
Does a council area define Lanarkshire?
No. Council areas are separate administrative geographies and do not create or define the geographic county.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Lanark
- Local name
- Siorrachd Lanraig
- Foundation
- Shire by the 12th century
Lanarkshire and County of Lanark are forms of the same county name. The Clyde remains the great geographical thread connecting its upland, rural, industrial and urban landscapes.