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Aberdeenshire (''Siorrachd Obar Dheathain'' in Gaelic ) is one of the 32 Unitary Council Areas in Scotland . Present day Aberdeenshire does not include Aberdeen City which is a Council Area in its own right. However, Aberdeenshire Council has its headquarters at Woodhill House, in Aberdeen ; the only Scottish council whose headquarters are based outwith its area's border. Aberdeenshire borders Angus and Perth And Kinross to the south, and Highland and Moray to the west. HISTORY The present council area is named after the historic County Of Aberdeen which had different boundaries and was abolished in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 . Between 1975 and 1996 the area was incorporated within the Region of Grampian , with local government functions being divided between the regional council and three district councils; Banff And Buchan , Gordon and Kincardine And Deeside . The region had also two other districts; Moray and the City Of Aberdeen . In 1996, under the Local Government Etc (Scotland) Act 1994 , the Banff and Buchan district, the Gordon district and the Kincardine and Deeside district were merged to form the Aberdeenshire council area, and the other two districts became autonomous council areas. ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL Aberdeenshire Council was established in April 1996, following the abolition of the Scottish Regions. The council has 68 Councillors . In 2007 the political composition was as follows:1 The Council's net expenditure is £399.1m a year (2003/04). Education takes the largest share of expenditure (55%), followed by Social Work and Housing (19%), Transportation and Infrastructure (11%), and Joint Services such as Fire and Police (10%). 22% of revenue is raised locally through the Council Tax. Average Band D Council Tax is the eighth lowest in mainland Scotland at £966 (2003/04). The council area has a population of 226,871, representing 4.5% of Scotland's total, and a 20% increase since 1981, 50% since 1971. Major towns are Peterhead (17,947), Fraserburgh (12,454), Inverurie (10,882), Stonehaven (9,577), Westhill (9,498), Ellon (8,754) and Portlethen (6,848). The population has a higher proportion of younger age groups than the rest of Scotland, reflecting employment-driven in-migration in recent decades. The council has devolved power to six Area Committee s: Boundary Map NOTABLE FEATURES The following significant structures or places are within Aberdeenshire:
HYDROLOGY There are numerous rivers and burns in Aberdeenshire, including Cowie Water , Carron Water , Burn Of Muchalls , River Dee , River Don , Ythan River , Feugh Water and Luther Water . NOTABLE RESIDENTS
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