Dorset is a unitary authority area, existing since 1 April 2019, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It covers all of the ceremonial county except for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The council of the district is Dorset Council, which is in effect Dorset County Council re-constituted so as to be vested with the powers and duties of five district councils which were abolished, and shedding its partial responsibility for and powers in Christchurch.

Dorset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west. The largest settlement is Bournemouth, and the county town is Dorchester.