West Lothian

West Lothian Lodainn an Iar (Scottish Gaelic) Wast Lowden (Scots)
Lieutenancy and council area
Coat of arms
West Lothian shown within Scotland
Coordinates: 55°55′N 3°30′W / 55.917°N 3.500°W / 55.917; -3.500
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Unitary authority	1 April 1996
Administrative HQ	West Lothian Civic Centre
Government [1]
• Type	Council
• Body	West Lothian Council
• Control	No overall control
• MPs	2 MPs Kirsteen Sullivan (L) Gregor Poynton (L)
• MSPs	2 MSPs Angela Constance (SNP) Fiona Hyslop (SNP)
Area [2]
• Total	165 sq mi (428 km2)
• Rank	20th
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	181,720
• Rank	10th
• Density	1,100/sq mi (425/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 code	GB-WLN
GSS code	S12000040
Website	westlothian.gov.uk

West Lothian (Scots: Wast Lowden; Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk. The modern council area was formed in 1975 when the historic county of West Lothian, also known as Linlithgowshire, was reshaped substantially as part of local government reforms; some areas that had formerly been part of Midlothian were added to a new West Lothian District within the Region of Lothian, whilst some areas in the north-west were transferred to the Falkirk District and areas in the north-east were transferred to the City of Edinburgh District. In 1996 West Lothian became a unitary authority area, using the same name and territory as in 1975.

West Lothian lies on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and is predominantly rural, though there were extensive coal, iron, and shale oil mining operations in the 19th and 20th centuries which created distinctive red-spoil heaps (locally known as "bings") throughout the council area. The old county town was the royal burgh of Linlithgow, but the largest town (and the second-largest town in the Lothian region after Edinburgh) is now Livingston, where West Lothian Council has been based since 2009 having previously used facilities across three sites. Other large towns in the county include Bathgate (a town with medieval origins that developed extensively during the industrial revolution) and the historic mining settlements of Armadale, Fauldhouse, Whitburn, West Calder, Uphall, and Broxburn.