Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It is one of the three regions covering Northern England, alongside the North West England and North East England regions, and covers the historic and cultural Yorkshire area.
Yorkshire and the Humber is made up of the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire (excluding areas in the Tees Valley which are instead part of North East England), South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and the districts of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire from the county of Lincolnshire (with the rest of the county being within the East Midlands). The population of Yorkshire and the Humber in 2021 was 5,480,774 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
Geographical context
Geology In the Yorkshire and the Humber region, there is a very close relationship between the major topographical areas and the underlying geology. The Pennine chain of hills in the west is of Carboniferous origin. The central vale is Permo-Triassic. The North York Moors in the north-east of the region are Jurassic in age, while the Yorkshire Wolds and Lincolnshire Wolds to the south east are Cretaceous chalk uplands.
Climate This region of England generally has cool summers and relatively mild winters, with the upland areas of the North York Moors and the Pennines experiencing the coolest weather and the Vale of York the warmest. Weather conditions vary from day to day as well as from season to season. The latitude of the area means that it is influenced by predominantly westerly winds with depressions and their associated fronts, bringing with them unsettled and windy weather, particularly in winter. Between depressions, there are often small mobile anticyclones that bring periods of fair weather. In winter anticyclones bring cold dry weather. In summer the anticyclones tend to bring dry, settled conditions which can lead to drought. For its latitude, this area is mild in winter and cooler in summer due to the influence of the Gulf Stream in the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Air temperature varies on a daily and seasonal basis. Cities such as Sheffield, Leeds, and Bradford are generally cooler due to their inland and upland location, while York, Hull, and Wakefield are warmer due to their lowland location. The temperature is usually lower at night; January is the coldest time of the year and July is usually the warmest month.
Snow is not uncommon in the winter, Yorkshire is mostly hilly/mountainous, and the Yorkshire Dales and the Pennines can have extreme snowstorms with high snowdrifts. Inland/upland settlements, such as Skipton or Ilkley, have more snow than coastal towns. Hull and Scarborough have less snow as their weather is moderated by the ocean.
Climate data for settlements in the region:
Local government
The official region consists of the following subdivisions: +Key(UA) unitary authority (MC) metropolitan county (CA) combined authority Ceremonial county Council area Cities/towns East Riding of Yorkshire East Riding of Yorkshire (UA)Towns of Beverley, Bridlington, Driffield, Goole, Hedon, Hessle, Hornsea, Howden, Market Weighton, Pocklington, Snaith and WithernseaKingston upon Hull (UA)City of Hull North Yorkshire(part only)North Yorkshire (UA)City of Ripon as well as the towns of Harrogate, Scarborough, Northallerton, Knaresborough, Selby, Skipton, Whitby and FileyYork (UA)City of York as well as the town of Haxby. Lincolnshire(part only)North Lincolnshire (UA)Towns of Scunthorpe, Barton-upon-Humber and BriggNorth East Lincolnshire (UA)Towns of Grimsby and Cleethorpes South Yorkshire(also MC and CA) SheffieldCity of Sheffield as well as the town of StocksbridgeRotherhamTowns of Rotherham, Wath, Maltby and SwintonBarnsleyTowns of Barnsley, Hoyland, Penistone and WombwellDoncasterCity of Doncaster as well as the town of Thorne West Yorkshire(also MC and CA) Wakefield City of Wakefield as well as the towns of Castleford, Featherstone, Knottingley, Normanton and PontefractKirkleesTowns of Huddersfield, Dewsbury and BatleyCalderdaleTowns of Halifax, Brighouse, Todmorden, Sowerby Bridge, Elland and Hebden RoydBradfordCity of Bradford as well as the towns of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley and IlkleyLeedsCity of Leeds as well as the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell, Wetherby and Yeadon North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and Kingston upon Hull unitary authorities used to be part of Humberside which meant the region was called Yorkshire & Humberside.
Regional assembly The Yorkshire and Humber Assembly was a partnership of all local authorities in the region and representatives of various economic, social and environmental sectors. The full Assembly normally met three times a year, normally in February, June and October. The full Assembly is responsible for providing regional leadership, agreeing regional strategic priorities, directing the development of the Integrated Regional Framework and endorsing key regional strategies. Membership comprises all 22 local authorities in this region, plus 15 Social, Economic and Environmental partners, and the National Parks for planning purposes.
On 31 March 2009, the Assembly was abolished and replaced by Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, until its subsequent closure in 2015.
Yorkshire is one of the two regions (along with the North West) that were expected to have a referendum about the establishment of an elected regional assembly. When the North East region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, the then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced that he would not move orders for other referendums before the relevant provisions expired in June 2005.
The committees for the region ceased to exist after 12 April 2010; regional ministers were not reappointed by the incoming Cameron–Clegg coalition government, with the associated government offices abolished in 2011.
European Parliament Before the UK exit from the European Union on 31 January 2020, the European constituency of Yorkshire and the Humber was coterminous with the English region.
Demographics
Population, density and settlements County Population Population density Largest town/city Largest urban area Yorkshire and the Humber 5,177,200 328/km2 Leeds (761,100) West Yorkshire Urban Area (1,499,465) West Yorkshire 2,118,600 1,004/km2 Leeds (761,100) West Yorkshire Urban Area (1,499,465) South Yorkshire 1,292,900 833/km2 Sheffield (551,800) Sheffield Urban Area (640,720) East Riding of Yorkshire 587,100 137/km2 Kingston upon Hull (257,000) Kingston upon Hull Urban Area (301,416) North Yorkshire (part) 1,061,300 123/km2 York (193,300) York Urban Area (137,505) Lincolnshire (part) 217,900 508/km2 Grimsby (87,574) Grimsby/Cleethorpes (138,842) List of districts by population + Key City Borough District + Rank District County Population1LeedsWest Yorkshire789,1942North YorkshireNorth Yorkshire614,5053SheffieldSouth Yorkshire582,5064BradfordWest Yorkshire537,1735KirkleesWest Yorkshire438,7276WakefieldWest Yorkshire345,0387East Riding of YorkshireEast Riding of Yorkshire339,6148DoncasterSouth Yorkshire310,5429RotherhamSouth Yorkshire264,67110Kingston upon HullEast Riding of Yorkshire260,64511BarnsleySouth Yorkshire245,19912YorkNorth Yorkshire209,89313CalderdaleWest Yorkshire203,82614North LincolnshireLincolnshire172,00515North East LincolnshireLincolnshire159,821
The region has fewer degree-educated adults than the England average and the UK's highest rate of cancer.
Ethnicity Ethnic groupYear1971 estimations1981 estimations1991Data is taken from United Kingdom Casweb Data services of the United Kingdom 1991 Census on Ethnic Data for England (Table 6)200120112021Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%White: Total–98.1%4,600,34196.8%4,622,50395.6%4,641,26393.48%4,691,95688.8%4,679,96585.5%White: British––––––4,551,39491.67%4,531,13785.75%4,431,26580.9%White: Irish––––––32,7350.65%26,4100.49%25,2150.5%White: Irish Traveller/Gypsy–––––– – –4,378 –5,8910.1%White: Roma––––––––––9,4640.2%White: Other––––––57,1341.15%130,0312.46%208,1303.8%Asian or Asian British: Total––––159,3553.3%234,8264.72%385,9647.3%487,0558.8%Asian or Asian British: Indian––––40,75251,49369,25281,3221.5%Asian or Asian British: Pakistani––––94,820146,330225,892296,4375.4%Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi––––8,34712,33022,42429,0180.5%Asian or Asian British: Chinese––––8,17712,34028,43529,5890.5%Asian or Asian British: Asian Other––––7,25912,33339,96150,6890.9%Black or Black British: Total––––36,6340.8%34,2620.69%80,3451.52%117,6432.2%Black or Black British: African––––4,8859,62546,03380,9071.5%Black or Black British: Caribbean––––21,51321,30823,42022,7360.4%Black or Black British: Other––––10,2363,32910,89214,0000.3%Mixed: Total––––––44,9950.9%84,5581.6%117,0172.2%Mixed: White and Caribbean––––––18,18733,24139,2960.7%Mixed: White and African––––––4,0949,32115,6440.3%Mixed: White and Asian––––––14,21826,00836,8880.7%Mixed: Other Mixed––––––8,49615,98825,1890.5%Other: Total––––18,0320.4%9,4870.19%40,9100.77%79,0941.5%Other: Arab–––––– – –21,34025,4740.5%Other: Any other ethnic group––––18,0320.4%9,4870.19%19,57053,6201.0%Non-White: Total–1.9%154,3443.2%214,0214.4%323,5706.5%591,77711.2%800,80914.5%Total–100%4,754,685100%4,836,524100%4,964,833100%5,283,733100%5,480,774100%
Religion + Religion in Yorkshire and the HumberReligion202120112001NumberNumberNumberChristianity 2,461,519 44.9% 3,373,450 60.2% 3,627,774 73.1%Islam 442,533 8.1% 376,152 6.7% 189,089 3.8%Hinduism 29,243 0.5% 24,074 0.5% 15,797 0.3%Sikhism 24,034 0.4% 22,179 0.4% 18,711 0.4%Buddhism 15,803 0.3% 14,319 0.3% 7,188 0.1%Judaism 9,355 0.2% 9,929 0.2% 11,554 0.2%Other religion 23,618 0.4% 16,517 0.3% 9,624 0.2%No religion 2,161,185 39.4% 1,366,219 25.9% 699,327 14.1%Religion not stated 313,484 5.7% 360,627 6.8% 385,769 7.8%Total population 5,480,774 100% 5,283,733 100% 4,964,833 100%
Teenage pregnancy For top-tier authorities, Kingston upon Hull has the highest teenage pregnancy rate, closely followed by North East Lincolnshire. For top-tier authorities, North Yorkshire has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate.
Rotherham had the UK's youngest grandmother, who was 26 years old as her 12-year-old daughter gave birth on 26 August 1999.
Social deprivation
For multiple deprivation in England, measured by the Indices of deprivation 2007, the most deprived council districts in the region are, in descending order – Kingston upon Hull (11th in England), Bradford (32nd), Doncaster (41st), Barnsley (43rd), North East Lincolnshire (49th), Sheffield (63rd), Wakefield (66th), Rotherham (68th), Kirklees (82nd), Leeds (85th), and Scarborough (97th). These areas are mostly represented by Labour MPs, with a few Conservative MPs representing parts of Leeds (with a Lib Dem MP) and North East Lincolnshire, and all of Scarborough. Apart from Scarborough, they are unitary authorities.
The least deprived districts are, in descending order – Harrogate, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Craven, and Selby – all in North Yorkshire. Like all of North Yorkshire, they are represented by Conservative MPs, aside from Selby which elected a Labour MP at the 2023 Selby and Ainsty by-election. At county level, the least deprived areas are, in descending order – North Yorkshire, York and the East Riding of Yorkshire which all have roughly the same level of deprivation, and lower than the majority of England, including Cheshire and Northamptonshire.
The region as a whole is one of the more deprived in England, measured by having far more Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in the 20% most deprived districts than the 20% least deprived districts.