Central Belt

of the Central Belt depicting the populations of its constituent local authorities, contrasting with its area which is far smaller than the sparsely-populated areas to its north and south to the west and Edinburgh to the east The area is often considered as the triangle defined by the M8, M80 and M9 motorways stretching from Greenock and Glasgow in the west to Edinburgh in the east, and has been referred to as the Lowland Triangle. encompassing towns such as Paisley, Cambuslang, Hamilton, Stirling, Falkirk, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Bathgate. The population of the local authority areas which are wholly within this territory and have no extensive unpopulated areas was approximately 2.39 million in 2018. ==Larger Central Belt==

in the south-west and Tayside to the north-east The larger Central Belt is a trapezoid, not precisely defined, but essentially encompassing the generally low-lying areas from Helensburgh to Montrose (the Highland Boundary Fault) and from Girvan to Dunbar (the Southern Uplands Fault). This also takes in fairly densely populated regions such as Ayrshire and East Lothian, and encompasses all the major cities of Scotland, except for Aberdeen and Inverness which are located in the north of the country, as well as the bulk of Scotland's industrial works. Including rural parts of the council areas involved, the total population was around 4.28 million in 2018. ==Similar terms==

There are several terms in common usage in a Scottish context with a similar meaning to "Central Belt". • The Central Lowlands is geologically defined and covers an area that stretches further to the north east than the Central Belt. • The "Midland Valley" is a less commonly used expression synonymous with "Central Lowlands". • The Scottish Lowlands are topographically and culturally defined and include all of Scotland outside of the Highlands and Islands, including the Southern Uplands. • Central Scotland is a less well-defined term used to mean various things, including "Central Lowlands" and "Central Belt". ==See also==