County Londonderry
County Londonderry
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Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: The Oak Leaf County | |
| Motto: | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | Northern Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| Established | Date |
| County Coleraine | 1585 |
| County Londonderry | 1613 |
| County town | Coleraine |
| Area | |
• Total | 818 sq mi (2,118 km2) |
| • Rank | 15th |
| Highest elevation | 2,224 ft (678 m) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 252,231 |
| • Rank | 6th |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcode area | |
| Contae Dhoire is the Irish name; Coontie Lunnonderrie is its name in Ulster Scots. | |
County Londonderry, also known as County Derry, is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, the nine counties of the province of Ulster, and the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Before the partition of Ireland, it was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Ireland from 1613 onward and then of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,118 km2 (818 mi2) and today has a population of about 252,231.
Since 1972, the counties in Northern Ireland, including Londonderry, are no longer used for local administration. Following the most recent local government reforms, in 2015, the area of the traditional county is now governed under three different districts: Derry and Strabane, Causeway Coast and Glens and Mid-Ulster. Despite no longer being used for local government and administrative purposes, it is sometimes used in a cultural context in All-Ireland sporting and cultural events (e.g. Derry GAA).
Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority (55.56% according to the 2001 Census and 61.3% according to the 2021 Census). The county flower is the purple saxifrage.