Dorset (district)

Dorset
Unitary authority area
The Dorset unitary authority area within the eponymous ceremonial county. To the east is the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area.
Coordinates: 50°48′N 2°18′W / 50.800°N 2.300°W / 50.800; -2.300
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South West England
Ceremonial county	Dorset
Historic county	Dorset
Admin HQ	County Hall, Dorchester
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Governing body	Dorset Council
• Chair	Cllr Val Pothecary
• Leader	Cllr Spencer Flower
Area
• Total	962 sq mi (2,491 km2)
• Rank	9th (of 296)
Population  (2022)
• Total	383,274
• Rank	20th (of 296)
• Density	400/sq mi (154/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 97.1% White 1.2% Mixed 1.1% Asian 0.4% other 0.3% Black
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 51.6% Christianity 40.1% no religion 7.9% other 0.4% Islam
Time zone	UTC+00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Postcodes	BH, DT, SP
ISO 3166-2	GB-DOR
ONS code	E06000059
NUTS	UKK22 (partially)
Website	www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Dorset is a unitary authority area, existing since 1 April 2019, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It covers all of the ceremonial county except for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The council of the district is Dorset Council, which is in effect Dorset County Council re-constituted so as to be vested with the powers and duties of five district councils which were abolished, and shedding its partial responsibility for and powers in Christchurch.