North East England, often referred to as simply the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of North Yorkshire. With 2.6 million residents in 2022, it is the least populous region of England. Its largest settlements include Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Gateshead, Darlington and Hartlepool. The North East is covered by two mayoral combined authorities: North East Combined Authority and Tees Valley Combined Authority. It is one of three regions, the other two being North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber, that make up Northern England.