Northamptonshire (/nɔːrˈθæmptənʃɪər, -ʃər/; abbreviated Northants.) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire, Rutland, and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire to the south, and Warwickshire to the west. The county town is Northampton. The county has an area of 2,364 km2 (913 sq mi) and a population of 747,622. The latter is concentrated in the centre of the county, which contains the county's largest towns: Northampton (243,511), Corby (68,164), Kettering (63,144), and Wellingborough (54,412). The northeast and southwest are rural. The county is administered by two unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council. The historic county included Market Harborough and the Soke of Peterborough. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)