Flintshire

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Flintshire Sir y Fflint (Welsh)
County
Left to right: Clwydian Range from Waen y Llyn in Llanfynydd St Winefride's Well in Holywell River Dee, Deeside, with the Flintshire Bridge
Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Welsh: Gorou Tarian, Cyfiawnder, lit. 'the best shield is justice'
Flintshire shown within Wales
Coordinates: 43°00′43″N 83°41′46″W / 43.012°N 83.696°W / 43.012; -83.696
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Wales
Preserved county	Clwyd
Incorporated	1 April 1996
Administrative HQ	Mold
Government [1]
• Type	Principal council
• Body	Flintshire County Council
• Control	No overall control
• MPs	2 MPs Becky Gittins (L) Mark Tami (L)
• MSs	2 MSs Hannah Blythyn (L) Jack Sargeant (L) +4 regional members
Area [2]
• Total	170 sq mi (440 km2)
• Rank	12th
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	155,319
• Rank	7th
• Density	910/sq mi (353/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	CH LL
Dialling codes	01352 01745 01244
ISO 3166 code	GB-FLN
GSS code	W06000005
Website	flintshire.gov.uk

Flintshire (Welsh: Sir y Fflint) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the English ceremonial counties of Merseyside and Cheshire, across the Dee Estuary to the north and by land to the east respectively, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. Connah's Quay is the largest town, while Flintshire County Council is based in Mold.

The county covers 169 square miles (440 km²), with a population of 155,000 in 2021. After Connah's Quay-Shotton (23,000) the largest settlements are Flint (13,736), Buckley (16,127) and Mold (10,123). The east of the county is industrialised and contains the Deeside conurbation, which extends into Cheshire and has a population of 53,568. The adjacent coast is also home to industry, but further west has been developed for tourism, particularly at Talacre. Inland, the west of the county is sparsely populated and characterised by gentle hills, including part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB.

The county is named after the historic county of the same name, which was established by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 and has notably different borders. The county is considered part of the Welsh Marches and formed part of the historic Earldom of Chester and Flint.