South West Scotland

South West Scotland is one of the subdivisions of Scotland. Under the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), it was classified as a NUTS-2 statistical region. In the revised classification in 2016, the region was split into two statistical regions of West Central Scotland and Southern Scotland. Following Brexit, the regions were assigned under the new International Territorial Level codes in 2021. The region forms the south western part of the country, encompassing an area of 13,419 km² (5,181 sq mi). It incorporates 13 of the 32 defined council areas including the city of Glasgow.

South West Scotland
Region
South West Scotland in brown
Country	United Kingdom
Area [1]
• Total	5,181 sq mi (13,419 km2)
Population  (2019)[2]
• Total	2,489,184
• Density	330/sq mi (128/km2)
NUTS code	UKM3 (later UKM8 and UKM9)
ITL code	TLM8 and TLM9

Classification

Scotland is organized into 32 council areas for administrative purposes.^[3] The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) organized Scotland into four broader level subdivisions.^[1][4] These are classified as a NUTS-2 statistical regions, and incorporated various council areas within it.^[5] In 2016, the areas were re-classified, and South West Scotland was split into two NUTS-2 regions of West Central Scotland and Southern Scotland.^[6][7] Following Brexit, the regions were assigned under the new International Territorial Level codes in 2021.^[8][9]

Geography

The region forms the south western part of the country, encompassing an area of 13,419 km² (5,181 sq mi).^[1] It is situated in the north east of the main island of the United Kingdom, closer to Northern Ireland. It shares land borders with the Scottish highlands to the north, Eastern Scotland to the north-east and Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and Cumbria regions of England to the south. It has the Atlantic Ocean to the west and North Sea to the east.^[10]

Sub-divisions

South West Scotland incorporates 13 of the 32 defined council areas including the city of Glasgow.^[6]

Region	NUTS code[6]	ITL code[9]	Council areas	NUTS code[6]	ITL code[9]	Area[1]	Population (2022)[11]
West Central Scotland	UKM8	TLM8	East Dunbartonshire, and West Dunbartonshire	UKM81	TLM81	751 km2 (290 sq mi)	197,250
			Glasgow	UKM82	TLM82	176 km2 (68 sq mi)	622,820
			Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire	UKM83	TLM83	617 km2 (238 sq mi)	359,840
			North Lanarkshire	UKM84	TLM84	472 km2 (182 sq mi)	340,930
Southern Scotland	UKM9	TLM9	Dumfries and Galloway	UKM92	TLM92	6,673 km2 (2,576 sq mi)	145,770
			East and North Ayrshire mainland	UKM93	TLM93	1,720 km2 (660 sq mi)	253,880
			South Ayrshire	UKM94	TLM94	1,235 km2 (477 sq mi)	111,560
			South Lanarkshire	UKM95	TLM95	1,774 km2 (685 sq mi)	327,430