Down

County Down (named after its county town, Downpatrick) is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the south-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,448 km², with a population of approximately 516,000.February 2007^{[citation needed]} It is also one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, lying within the historical province of Ulster.

Although Downpatrick is the county town, the largest town is Bangor. Newry lies on the boundary between counties Down and Armagh, while Lisburn andBelfast lie on the boundary between counties Down and Antrim. Down contains both the southernmost point in Northern Ireland (Cranfield Point) and the easternmost point in Ireland (Burr Point).

The county borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east and County Armagh to the west. It is one of only two counties of Ireland to presently have a majority of the population from a Protestant community background, according to the 2001 census. The other is County Antrim.