Oxfordshire

South East England's government statistical area includes Oxfordshire, which is a landlocked county in the extreme west of that region. Northamptonshire borders the ceremonial county to the north-west, Northamptonshire to the north-east, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, Wiltshire to the south-west, and Gloucestershire to the west. Warwickshire and Northamptonshire are the ceremonial counties that border each other.

The county has a thriving education and tourism industry, and it is known for having large concentrations of high-performance racing, automobile manufacturing, and technological businesses in its vicinity. Among a concentration of print and publishing businesses, Oxford University Press is the biggest, and the University of Oxford is also associated with a concentration of biotechnology companies in the area.

Aside from Oxford itself, other major population centres include Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, and Chipping Norton to the north of the city; Carterton and Witney to the west of the city; Thame and Chinnor to the east; and Abingdon-on-Thames, Wantage, Didcot, Wallingford, and Henley-on-Thames to the south. All south of the Thames, including the Vale of White Horse and portions of South Oxfordshire, was formerly part of the ancient county of Berkshire, which had the highest point in the county at 261 metres (856 feet) above sea level, White Horse Hill.