56.5, -4
The Stirling council area (Scots: Stirlin; Scottish Gaelic: Sruighlea) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 93,470 (2021 estimate). It was created in 1975 as a lower-tier district within the Central region. The district covered parts of the historic counties of Stirlingshire and Perthshire, which were abolished for local government purposes. In 1996 the Central region was abolished and Stirling Council took over all local government functions within the area.
The administrative centre of the area is the city of Stirling, with the headquarters at Old Viewforth.
The area borders the council areas of Clackmannanshire (to the east), North Lanarkshire (to the south), Falkirk (to the south east), Perth and Kinross (to the north and north east), Argyll and Bute (to the north and north west), and both East and West Dunbartonshire to Stirling's southwest.
The majority of the population of the area is located in its southeast corner, in the city of Stirling and in the surrounding lowland communities: Bridge of Allan and Dunblane to the north, Bannockburn to the immediate south, and the three former coal mining communities of Cowie, Fallin, and Plean, known collectively as the "Eastern Villages".
The rest of the council area's population is sparsely distributed across the rural, mainly highland, expanse in the north and west of the area. The southern half of this rural area comprises the flat western floodplain of the River Forth, bounded on the south by the Touch Hills and the Campsie Fells. North of the glen lie the Trossachs mountains, and the northern half of the council area is generally mountainous in character.