South Yorkshire

Ceremonial County in England

Region: Yorkshire and the Humber

§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.

Overview ⁞ South Yorkshire is a landlocked metropolitan county formed in 1974 from the industrial areas of the historic West Riding. It was a major centre of coal mining and steel production, particularly in Sheffield and Rotherham. Today, it blends urban development with countryside, with major towns including Doncaster and Barnsley. The economy has diversified, but the area retains strong industrial roots. South Yorkshire comprises four metropolitan boroughs—Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Barnsley—each with its own council, coordinated by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

Is South Yorkshire a historic county? No—South Yorkshire is not a historic county; it was created in 1974 from parts of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. Administratively, the ceremonial county consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield.

South Yorkshire has 4 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.

Number of local authority districts in South Yorkshire and other counties — Number of local authority districts in South Yorkshire, compared with other counties

This county page, South Yorkshire, is a sub-page this region page: Yorkshire and the Humber. It zooms in to local authorities, administrative districts, and parliamentary constituencies in this county. We have this list page for easy browsing of all historic counties, ceremonial counties, and administrative counties: List of all counties in the UK.

Local Authorities in South Yorkshire

Barnsley Borough Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 barnsley.gov.uk
City of Doncaster Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 doncaster.gov.uk
Rotherham Borough Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 rotherham.gov.uk
Sheffield City Council (Metropolitan District) 🔗 sheffield.gov.uk

South Yorkshire, in England’s Yorkshire and the Humber region, is a metropolitan county made up of four metropolitan boroughs, each governed by its own council acting as a unitary authority responsible for all local services including education, housing, planning, transport, and social care. These are Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Doncaster City Council, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, and Sheffield City Council. Created in 1974, the county has no county council, but the boroughs cooperate through the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, which oversees region-wide matters such as transport, regeneration, and economic development under a directly elected mayor. Together, these councils govern a county that blends the industrial heritage of Sheffield, Rotherham, and Doncaster with market towns, rural landscapes, and parts of the Peak District, balancing strong local governance with strategic regional planning.

Districts in South Yorkshire

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, South Yorkshire is one of ITLs Level 2 area that contains the following 4 ITLs Level 3 areas:

(ITL 1) Yorkshire and the Humber
(ITL 2) ⇒ South Yorkshire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Sheffield ⁞ Barnsley ⁞ Rotherham ⁞ Doncaster

Constituencies in South Yorkshire

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 54 of them are in Yorkshire and the Humber region, 14 of them are in South Yorkshire.

Local Authorities in South Yorkshire

Districts in South Yorkshire

Constituencies in South Yorkshire

Counties in Yorkshire and the Humber