East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire Siorrachd Àir an Ear (Scottish Gaelic) Aest Ayrshire (Scots)
Council area
Coat of arms
Motto:  Forward Together
East Ayrshire shown within Scotland
Coordinates: 55°30′N 4°18′W / 55.5°N 4.3°W / 55.5; -4.3
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Lieutenancy area	Ayrshire and Arran
Unitary authority	1 April 1996
Administrative HQ	Kilmarnock
Government [1]
• Type	Council
• Body	East Ayrshire Council
• Control	No overall control
• Provost	Claire Leitch
• Council leader	Douglas Reid
• MPs	2 MPs Lillian Jones (L) Elaine Stewart (L)
• MSPs	2 MSPs Willie Coffey (SNP) Elena Whitham (SNP)
Area [2]
• Total	487 sq mi (1,262 km2)
• Rank	14th
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	120,390
• Rank	16th
• Density	250/sq mi (95/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 code	GB-EAY
GSS code	S12000008
Website	east-ayrshire.gov.uk

East Ayrshire (Scots: Aest Ayrshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Road, Kilmarnock.^[3] With South Ayrshire and the mainland areas of North Ayrshire, it formed the former county of Ayrshire.

East Ayrshire had a population of 122,100 at the 2011 census, making it the 16th most populous local authority in Scotland.^[4] Spanning a geographical area of 1,262 km² (487 sq mi), East Ayrshire is the 14th-largest local authority in Scotland in terms of geographical area. The majority of the population of East Ayrshire live within and surrounding the main town, Kilmarnock. Other large population areas in East Ayrshire include Cumnock, the second-largest town, and smaller towns and villages such as Stewarton, Darvel and Hurlford.

The largest school in Scotland, the Robert Burns Academy, is located in East Ayrshire at Cumnock.^[5]