County Cork is the largest and southernmost county in Ireland. It lies in the province of Munster and is named after the city of Cork. Cork County Council is the local authority for the county. Its largest settlements are Cork City, Ballincollig and Carrigaline. In 2016, the county's population was 542,196, making it the second most populous county in Ireland.Local government and political subdivisionsThere are two local authorities whose remit collectively encompasses the geographic area of the county and city of Cork. The county, excluding Cork city, is administered by Cork County Council, while the city is administered separately by Cork City Council. Both city and county are part of the South-West Region. For standardized European statistical purposes both Cork County Council and Cork City Council rank equally as first-level local administrative units of the NUTS 3 South-West Region. There are 34 such LAU 1 entities in the Republic of Ireland.