North Lanarkshire
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 Coat of arms | |
 North Lanarkshire shown withinScotland | |
| Coordinates:55°49′44″N3°55′19″W / 55.829°N 3.922°W /55.829; -3.922 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Lieutenancy area |
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| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | Motherwell Civic Centre |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council |
| • Body | North Lanarkshire Council |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | 4 MPs |
| • MSPs | |
| Area | |
• Total | 180 sq mi (470 km2) |
| • Rank | 19th |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
• Total | 340,930 |
| • Rank | 4th |
| • Density | 1,880/sq mi (725/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-NLK |
| GSS code | S12000050 |
| Website | northlanarkshire |
North Lanarkshire (Scots:North Lanrikshire;Scottish Gaelic:Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of the 32council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of theGlasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs,commuter towns, and villages. It also bordersEast Dunbartonshire,Falkirk,Stirling,South Lanarkshire, andWest Lothian. The council area covers parts of thehistoric counties ofDunbartonshire,Lanarkshire, andStirlingshire. The council is based inMotherwell.
The area was formed in 1996, covering the districts ofCumbernauld and Kilsyth,Motherwell, andMonklands, plus theChryston andAuchinloch areas fromStrathkelvin district, all of which had been in theStrathclyde region between 1975 and 1996. As a new single-tier authority, North Lanarkshire became responsible for all functions previously performed by both the regional council and the district councils, which were abolished.
The largest part of North Lanarkshire, being the approximately two-thirds of the council area lying generally south of theLuggie Water, was in thehistoric county ofLanarkshire. Lanarkshire had existed as a shire from around the time of KingDavid I, who ruled Scotland from 1124 to 1153.[3] The county took its name from the original county town atLanark, now inSouth Lanarkshire, which had been the site of the firstParliament of Scotland underKenneth II in 978.[4] The northern parts of what is now North Lanarkshire were in the counties ofDunbartonshire andStirlingshire prior to 1975, withCumbernauld and the area generally north of Luggie Water and south of theRiver Kelvin being in Dunbartonshire, andKilsyth and the area north of the Kelvin being in Stirlingshire.[5] Prior to the 1975 reforms there were fiveburghs in the area now covered by North Lanarkshire:[6]
The population of the area which would become North Lanarkshire grew quickly during theIndustrial Revolution. In the 18th century the area's towns, including Motherwell, were active in textile production. The discovery of coal and iron ore deposits in the 19th century, as well as the building of the Glasgow to Edinburgh railway, transformed the region. The towns of Motherwell, Coatbridge and Wishaw became centres of the iron and steel industry.[9]
These industries began to decline in the second half of the 20th century, while a growth occurred in the financial and technology sectors, as well as a growth in logistics services related to the heavy goods traffic in the area. Thenew town ofCumbernauld expanded rapidly afterWorld War II, and is now the largest town in North Lanarkshire. The growth of theGreater Glasgow metropolitan area into the south-western part of North Lanarkshire has also led to a large number of residential areas for commuters.[5]
The North Lanarkshire council area was established in 1996 as part ofa reorganisation of local government in the United Kingdom.[10] This was the latest in a series of reforms, notably including the creation of Lanarkshire County Council in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889, and the abolition of the county councils and creation ofStrathclyde Regional Council and lower-tier district councils in 1975 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973.[11] The 1996 reform abolished Strathclyde, and established North Lanarkshire as a merger of the districts ofCumbernauld and Kilsyth,Monklands,Motherwell and theChryston area fromStrathkelvin district (the rest of which went toEast Dunbartonshire).[12][13]
Forlieutenancy purposes, North Lanarkshire straddles the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire lieutenancies, with the area generally north of Luggie Water (including Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) coming under theDunbartonshire lieutenancy and the remainder coming under theLanarkshire lieutenancy.[14][15]
North Lanarkshire lies in theCentral Valley of Scotland, to the east ofGlasgow. It lies on the Scotland's north–southwatershed with theRiver Clyde flowing through the west of the county on its way to theIrish Sea, and theRiver Almond in the east emptying into theFirth of Forth near Edinburgh.[16] The northern areas consist of forests as well as higher areas such as theKilsyth Hills.[5]
The highest population density of North Lanarkshire is in the urbanised south-west, which is part of theGreater Glasgow metropolitan area. Northern and eastern areas are more rural in character, with agricultural activity such as dairy and meat farming.[5]
| Ethnic Group | 2001[17] | 2011[17][18] | 2022[19] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 317,026 | 98.74% | 330,679 | 97.91% | 327,207 | 95.96% |
| White:Scottish | 304,784 | 94.93% | 313,356 | 92.78% | 302,736 | 88.79% |
| White:Other British | 6,954 | 2.17% | 7,892 | 2.34% | 12,267 | 3.60% |
| White:Irish | 3,188 | 0.99% | 4,394 | 1.30% | 3,188 | 0.93% |
| White:Gypsy/Traveller[a] | – | – | 205 | 0.06% | 131 | – |
| White:Polish[a] | – | – | 3,009 | 0.89% | 5,357 | 1.57% |
| White:Other | 2,100 | 0.65% | 1,823 | 0.54% | 3,526 | 1.03% |
| Asian,Asian Scottish orAsian British: Total | 3,122 | 0.97% | 5,385 | 1.59% | 8,328 | 2.44% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Indian | 527 | 0.16% | 997 | 0.30% | 1,487 | 0.44% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Pakistani | 1,756 | 0.55% | 3,003 | 0.89% | 5,024 | 1.47% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Bangladeshi | 19 | – | 42 | – | 75 | – |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Chinese | 607 | 0.19% | 898 | 0.27% | 1,103 | 0.32% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Asian Other | 213 | 0.07% | 445 | 0.13% | 638 | 0.19% |
| Black,Black Scottish orBlack British[b] | 45 | – | – | – | – | – |
| African: Total | 92 | – | 532 | 0.16% | 1,853 | 0.54% |
| African:African,African Scottish orAfrican British | – | – | 523 | 0.15% | 227 | 0.07% |
| African:Other African | – | – | 9 | – | 1,626 | 0.48% |
| Caribbean orBlack: Total | – | – | 171 | 0.05% | 236 | 0.07% |
| Caribbean | 59 | – | 83 | – | 80 | – |
| Black | – | – | 77 | – | 15 | – |
| Caribbean or Black:Other | – | – | 11 | – | 138 | – |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: Total | 479 | 0.15% | 708 | 0.21% | 2,130 | 0.62% |
| Other: Total | 244 | 0.08% | 252 | 0.07% | 1,219 | 0.36% |
| Other:Arab[a] | – | – | 134 | – | 484 | 0.14% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | 118 | – | 735 | 0.22% |
| Total: | 321,067 | 100.00% | 337,727 | 100.00% | 340,973 | 100.00% |
Largest settlements by population:
| Settlement | Population (2020)[20] |
|---|---|
| Cumbernauld | 50,530 |
| Coatbridge | 43,950 |
| Airdrie | 36,390 |
| Motherwell | 32,840 |
| Wishaw | 30,050 |
| Bellshill | 19,700 |
| Viewpark | 15,830 |
| Kilsyth | 10,380 |
| Shotts | 8,630 |
| Stepps | 7,700[c] |
| Chapelhall | 7,140 |
| Moodiesburn | 6,830 |
| Newarthill | 6,720 |
| New Stevenston | 6,070 |
| Newmains | 5,430 |
| Holytown | 5,100 |
| Carfin | 3,870 |
| Bargeddie | 3,210 |
| Cleland | 3,150 |
| Chryston | 3,100 |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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