County Londonderry 3.9

County Londonderry, also known as County Derry, is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. Prior to 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 2,074 km² and today has a population of about 247,132.Since 1972, the counties in Northern Ireland; including Londonderry; have no longer been used by the state as part of the local administration. Following further reforms in 2015, the area 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 .Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority, with 57% of the Catholic population residing within Derry City Council. The county flower is the Purple Saxifrage.