Buckinghamshire (/ˈbʌkɪŋəmʃər, -ʃɪər/), abbreviated as Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It borders Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes (256,385). The county has an area of 1,874 km2 (724 sq mi) and a population of 808,666. Besides Milton Keynes, which is in the north-east, the largest settlements are in the southern half of the county: Aylesbury (94,238), High Wycombe (75,814), Chesham (21,483), Amersham (14,384), Marlow (14,325), and Beaconsfield (12,081). The north-west is rural and its largest settlement is Buckingham (12,890). The county is divided into two districts, which are governed by the unitary Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council respectively. The historic county had slightly different borders, and included Slough. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)