North Lanarkshire

§ This page gives an overview of the North Lanarkshire local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.

Overview ⁞ North Lanarkshire is in the central belt, east of Glasgow, and includes towns such as Motherwell, Airdrie, and Cumbernauld. Historically industrial, especially in steelmaking, it now focuses on logistics, manufacturing, and commuter communities.

The administrative boundary of North Lanarkshire can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of North Lanarkshire.

Map of North Lanarkshire
Administrative Boundary of North Lanarkshire (Local Authority District)

Key Facts about North Lanarkshire

What region is North Lanarkshire in? North Lanarkshire is in Scotland, a statistical region and also a country in United Kingdom.

Is North Lanarkshire a city? No, North Lanarkshire is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)

Who governs North Lanarkshire? The local government for this district is: North Lanarkshire Council (Scotland Council Area).

▶ Official website of North Lanarkshire Council 🔗 northlanarkshire.gov.uk

Website of North Lanarkshire Council
Website of North Lanarkshire Council (captured on 2025-09-20)

Which police force covers North Lanarkshire? Policing in North Lanarkshire is provided by Police Scotland 🔗 scotland.police.uk, which covers the whole of Scotland.

North Lanarkshire in International Geographies

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, North Lanarkshire is an ITLs Level 3 area:

  1. (ITL 1) Scotland
  2. (ITL 2) ⇒ West Central Scotland
  3. (ITL 3) ⇒⇒ North Lanarkshire

The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.

This district page, North Lanarkshire, is a sub-page of this region page: Scotland. It zooms in to local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, and provides a list of wards in this district. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK local authority districts: List of Local Authority Districts.

Constituencies in North Lanarkshire

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, 57 of them are in Scotland. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.

Wards in North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire is divided into 21 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Airdrie Central
  • Airdrie North
  • Airdrie South
  • Bellshill
  • Coatbridge North
  • Coatbridge South
  • Coatbridge West
  • Cumbernauld East
  • Cumbernauld North
  • Cumbernauld South
  • Fortissat
  • Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn
  • Kilsyth
  • Mossend and Holytown
  • Motherwell North
  • Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig
  • Motherwell West
  • Murdostoun
  • Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead
  • Thorniewood
  • Wishaw

In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.

Built-up Areas in North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire covers 41 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Airdrie
  • Allanton
  • Auchinloch
  • Bargeddie *
  • Bellshill
  • Bishopbriggs *
  • Blackridge *
  • Calderbank
  • Caldercruix
  • Chapelhall
  • Chryston
  • Cleland
  • Coatbridge
  • Crindledyke
  • Croy (North Lanarkshire)
  • Cumbernauld *
  • Dullatur
  • Eastfield
  • Gartcosh
  • Glasgow *
  • Glenboig
  • Glenmavis
  • Harthill (West Lothian) *
  • Holytown
  • Kilsyth
  • Kirkintilloch *
  • Moffat Mills
  • Moodiesburn
  • Morningside
  • Motherwell
  • Newarthill
  • Newmains
  • Overtown
  • Plains
  • Queenzieburn
  • Salsburgh
  • Shotts
  • Stepps *
  • Uddingston *
  • Wattston
  • Wishaw

In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of North Lanarkshire.)