It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland.

[1] In prehistoric times, Lääne-Virumaa was settled by Estonians of the Vironian tribe.

The County Government (Estonian: maavalitsus) is led by a governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia.

Since 2014, the governor position has been held by Marko Torm.

There is one urban municipality (Estonian: linnad – towns) and seven rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Lääne-Viru County.