Rugged coastlines, sweeping rural acres and industrial splendour combine to make Yorkshire and the Humber one of the most diverse of the English regions as well as one of the largest. It covers an area of 5,958 square miles (15,420 square kilometres) and has a population of around five million.

Three airports, a first class motorway network and a rail journey of just over two hours from Kings Cross to Leeds gives easy accessibility to and from the region.

The region comprises West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire, Hull and the East Riding, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.

Industry Major industries include engineering, textiles, metals, and printing, while expanding industrial sectors include financial services, electronics, chemicals, components and distribution. The region now boasts the highest concentration of public limited companies outside the South East.

Yorkshire remains well-known for its traditional industries - mining and steel in South Yorkshire, textiles in West Yorkshire and fishing on the east coast - yet the picture now is one of contradictions. For example, the steel industry, based around Sheffield, employs a fraction of the people it did in its heyday, but now produces more steel, while you are more likely to find loft apartments and retail units than wool combing or spinning in the textile mills of West Yorkshire. Leeds is the United Kingdom's largest financial and legal centre outside London.

Jobs The region has a workforce of more than two million. Over the past year, employment in the region rose by 42,000 and unemployment fell by 16,000 from 7.1 percent to 6.4 percent.

Education, research and development There are nine universities and almost 40 colleges in the region, producing more than ten percent of the nation's graduates. Interestingly, more than 40 percent of them qualify in science or technology-related subjects.

Six science parks are also based in the region.

Culture and Recreation The region has within its boundaries some of the most spectacular scenery in the country, notably in the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors national parks.

It also possesses some of the finest museums and galleries outside London. These include the National Railway Museum and the Yorvik Viking Heritage Centre in York, the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford and the Royal Armouries in Leeds, while the 1853 Gallery in the unique industrial village of Saltaire, near Bradford, contains a huge collection of original work by local-born artist David Hockney.

The work of internationally known playwrights Alan Ayckbourn and John Godber is often premiered in their respective home towns of Scarborough and Hull while Bronte country is on Bradford's doorstep. Bradford is also home to Europe's largest South Asian festival or Mela.