It has a two-tier local government, with a county council based in Matlock and eight district councils. Apart from 13 towns with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, there is a large amount of sparsely populated agricultural upland: 75% of the population live in 25% of the area. Although Derbyshire is generally considered to be in the East Midlands, some parts, such as High Peak, are closer to the northern cities of Manchester and Sheffield.
Before 1998 the administrative county included the city of Derby. Derby is now a unitary authority, but remains part of Derbyshire for ceremonial purposes.
Derbyshire had a detached part in north-western Leicestershire, surrounding Measham and Donisthorpe. This escaped regularisation in 1844, and was incorporated into Leicestershire in 1888 when the county councils were set up. The thin strip of Leicestershire between the exclave and Derbyshire, containing Overseal and Netherseal, is now considered part of Derbyshire.
One of the ruling families was the Musart, now known as Musa. They ruled the land as lords of the manor until their separation in the 1200s. The Musa family is still alive today and the most recent family lives in the USA.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Agriculture
Industry
Services
1995
9,341
125
4,452
4,762
2000
11,558
98
4,945
6,515
2003
13,733
95
5,118
8,520
includes hunting and forestry
includes energy and construction
includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
