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Leeds

This article is about the city. For the district, see City of Leeds. For other uses, see Leeds (disambiguation).

Leeds
City
Coat of arms
Leeds is located in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds
Location within City of Leeds
Leeds is located in West Yorkshire
Leeds
Leeds
Location within West Yorkshire
Area111.6 km2 (43.1 sq mi)
Population536,280 (2021 estimate; ONS)[1]
• Density4,805/km2 (12,440/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSE299339
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Areas of the city
List
Post townLEEDS
Postcode districtLS1-20, LS25-27
Dialling code0113
PoliceWest Yorkshire
FireWest Yorkshire
AmbulanceYorkshire
UK Parliament
Websiteleeds.gov.uk
List of places
UK
England
Yorkshire
53°47′51″N 01°32′37″W / 53.79750°N 1.54361°W / 53.79750; -1.54361

Leeds is a city[a] in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. The city was a small manorial borough in the 13th century and a market town in the 16th century. It expanded by becoming a major production and trading centre (mainly with wool) in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Leeds developed as a mill town during the Industrial Revolution alongside other surrounding villages and towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was also known for its flax industry, iron foundries, engineering and printing, as well as shopping, with several surviving Victorian era arcades, such as Kirkgate Market.[2][3] City status was awarded in 1893, and a populous urban centre formed in the following century which absorbed surrounding villages and overtook the population of nearby York.[2][4]

Leeds' economy is the most diverse of all the UK's main employment centres, and has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city and has the highest ratio of private to public sector jobs.[5] Leeds is home to over 109,000 companies, generating 5% of England's total economic output of £60.5 billion,[6][7] and is also ranked as a high sufficiency city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.[8] Leeds is considered the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area.[9][10]

Leeds is also served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and the country's fourth largest urban economy.[11] The student population has stimulated growth of the nightlife in the city and there are ample facilities for sporting and cultural activities, including classical and popular music festivals, and a varied collection of museums.[12]

Leeds has multiple motorway links such as the M1, M62 and A1(M). The city's railway station is, alongside Manchester Piccadilly, the busiest of its kind in Northern England.[13] Public transport, rail and road networks in the city and wider region are widespread.[14][15] It is the county's largest settlement with a population of 536,280,[1] while the larger City of Leeds district has a population of 812,000 (2021 census).[16][17] The city is part of the fourth-largest built-up area by population in the United Kingdom, West Yorkshire Built-up Area, with a 2011 census population of 1.7 million.[18]

  1. ^ a b "Figure 1: Explore population characteristics of individual BUAs". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Leeds and West Yorkshire". England's North East. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ Burt & Grady 1994, p. 92
  4. ^ "A History of Leeds". Local Histories. 14 March 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Investment and development in Leeds". www.leeds.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Why West Yorkshire". West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
  7. ^ "Strength Through Diversity: Leeds". leedscityregion.gov.uk. 2011. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  8. ^ "GaWC - The World According to GaWC 2020". GaWC, Loughborough University. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Leeds Tourism". Planet Ware Travel Guide. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  10. ^ "Leeds stakes it claim to financial hub". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  11. ^ "Leeds City Region and the Northern Powerhouse". West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
  12. ^ "Arts and Culture in Leeds". Visit Leeds. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Which are the busiest and least used railway stations in the UK?". Rail UK. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Leeds". Empire Property Holdings. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Improving Transport". West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
  16. ^ "Leeds". United Kingdom: Yorkshire and the Humber.
  17. ^ "How the population changed in Leeds: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  18. ^ "2011 Census – Built-up areas". ONS. Retrieved 5 July 2013.


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