I.

Introduction

Greater Manchester, non-administrative metropolitan county, north-western England, bounded by the county of Lancashire and West Yorkshire metropolitan county to the north, the county of Derbyshire to the east, the county of Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside metropolitan county to the west. Greater Manchester is highly urbanized, having the densest population of any county outside Greater London, but there are some areas of attractive countryside surrounding the towns. It was created in the local government reorganization of 1974, taking most of its territory from Lancashire; some towns in the south came from Cheshire. After further reorganization in 1986, Greater Manchester devolved many administrative functions to its ten metropolitan boroughs. The area of Greater Manchester is 1,287 sq km (497 sq mi).