[6] The geography of Rutland is characterised by low, rolling hills, the highest of which is a 197 m (646 ft) point in Cold Overton Park.

There is little evidence of Prehistoric settlement in Rutland; however, a Roman mosaic and probable farming complex is located west of Ketton.

The older buildings in the county are built from local limestone or ironstone, with many having roofs of Collyweston stone slate or thatch.

Rutland covered parts of three poor law unions and rural sanitary districts (RSDs): those of Oakham, Uppingham and Stamford.

[11] Rutland was included in the "East Midlands General Review Area" of the 1958–67 Local Government Commission for England.

Draft recommendations would have seen Rutland split, with Ketton Rural District going along with Stamford to a new administrative county of Cambridgeshire, and the western part added to Leicestershire.

[12] There was fierce local opposition to the plans, with even the local Conservative Party branch campaigning against it; the campaign included successful publicity stunts such as mounting a pretend battleship called HMS Rutland on a lorry and shooting fireworks at the offices of Leicestershire County Council, where the commissioners were based.

[13] On 1 August 1963, the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Sir Keith Joseph, announced that the proposed merger with Leicestershire would not be implemented citing Rutland's case as "unique", while the opposition alleged that cancelling the merger was a purely political consideration seeking to appease Tory voters in Rutland who did not want to see their county lose its status.

[14] Historian Alexander Hutton suggests that the 1962 by-elections in Orpington (where the Liberals successfully campaigned as a protest vote against local government reorganisation) and Leicester North East (where Conservative activists from Rutland and Leicestershire refused to campaign, instead endorsing the Liberals) caused the Conservative government to reverse their decision regarding Rutland.

[17] The particular geology of the area has given its name to the Rutland Formation, which was formed from muds and sand carried down by rivers and occurring as bands of different colours, each with many fossil shells at the bottom.

The formation has also preserved a well-preserved specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Cetiosaurus oxienensis[18] at Great Casterton, currently on display at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.

The lowest point is close to the east border, in secluded farmland at North Lodge Farm, northeast of Belmesthorpe, at just 17 m (56 feet) above sea level (OS Grid reference: TF056611122); this corner of the county is on the edge of The Fens and is drained by the West Glen.

The former Ashwell prison closed at the end of March 2011 after a riot and government review but, having been purchased by Rutland County Council, has now been turned into Oakham Enterprise Park.

The county used to supply iron ore to Corby steel works but these quarries closed in the 1960s and early 1970s resulting in the famous walk of "Sundew" (the Exton quarries' large walking dragline) from Exton to Corby, which even featured on the children's TV series Blue Peter.

Rutland bitter is one of only three UK beers to have achieved Protected Geographical Indication status; this followed an application by Ruddles.

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire and Rutland at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Following the 2023 council elections, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the largest group and subsequently formed a cabinet led by Gale Waller.

[27] As of the 2024 general election, Alicia Kearns of the Conservative Party is the member of parliament for Rutland and Stamford, having received 43.7% of the vote.

East Midlands Trains started running a single service from Oakham railway station to London St Pancras via Corby on 27 April 2009.

The county is the supposed home of the parody rock band The Rutles, who first appeared on Rutland Weekend Television.

The events in several Peter F. Hamilton books (including Misspent Youth and Mindstar Rising) are situated in Rutland, where the author lives.