Map - North Yorkshire (North Yorkshire)

North Yorkshire is a ceremonial county in the North of England. It is mostly located in the Yorkshire and Humber region, but the area around the Tees Valley is in the North East. The largest county of England by land area, it measures 2,483 mi2 and has a population of 1,158,816 (2021). The largest county of England by land area, The county town is Northallerton.

It consists of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, which is made up of eleven districts, and four unitary authorities: the City of York, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, which are entirely within the county, as well as a portion of Stockon-on-Tees, which is split with County Durham. Until 2023, the non-metropolitan county area is administered by North Yorkshire County Council in a two-tier structure. The non-metropolitan county covers most of the ceremonial county's area at 8037 km2 and population at 604,900 (mid-2016 estimate).

It borders three other counties to the south which include the name Yorkshire: West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It also borders Lancashire, Cumbria and County Durham to the north and west. Its eastern border is with the North Sea. The two most populated settlements are Middlesbrough, with a population of 174,700, and York, with a population of 152,841. The most populous settlement in the non-metropolitan county, and third most populated overall, is Harrogate at 73,576. The county has two national parks: the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales.

The present county of North Yorkshire is located entirely within the boundaries of historic Yorkshire, its territory split between each of the three ridings of Yorkshire, also including the city of York, which as the county town was not in any of the ridings. North Yorkshire was created in 1974 as part of local government reorganisation and its present boundaries were established upon the abolition of Cleveland in 1996.

North Yorkshire was formed on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered most of the lands of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire, as well as northern parts of the West Riding of Yorkshire, northern and eastern East Riding of Yorkshire and the former county borough of York. The new county was governed by North Yorkshire County Council and was wholly within the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

On 1 April 1996, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton borough south of the River Tees became part of the ceremonial county, but not part of the non-metropolitan county governed by North Yorkshire County Council. These areas were and remain within the North East England region. They had been part of the North Riding until 1974, but for twenty-two years from 1974 to 1996 were part of the county of Cleveland.

Also on 1 April 1996, York, rural areas around York, and the town of Haxby were transferred from the non-metropolitan county to become a unitary authority independent of county council authority. The enlarged City of York remained within the ceremonial county.