Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. In 2011 Leeds built-up subdivision had a population of 474,632. It is part of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough which has an estimated population of 757,700 (2011).

Historically in Yorkshire’s West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to a wooded area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has been applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small manorial borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations, to being the name attached to the present metropolitan borough. In the 17th and 18th centuries

Leeds became a major center for the production and trading of wool. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major mill town; wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing, and other industries were important.

Today, Leeds is ranked as a gamma world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network; and is considered the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Leeds is served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and has the country’s fourth largest urban economy.

Outside of London, Leeds has the third busiest railway station and sixteenth busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers in England.