The North of England comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, part of North Yorkshire and Tees Valley. The largest single city is Sunderland but the conurbation of Tyneside, which includes Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Hebburn, Jarrow and North and South Shields havea larger total population which makes up 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear.
Demographically, among the more interesting statistics for the North East include: it has the highest heart attack and lung cancer rates for men in the UK, the lowest rate for HIV infection, the the highest birth rate for women under 20 in England. It also has the highest rate of trade union membership and the largest number of practising Christians in the UK.
The North East has the lowest GDP per capita in the UK and has yet to fully recover economically from the collapse of the shipbuilding and coal mining industries in the latter half of the 20th century.
As of the 2001 census there were 295,106 people aged over 70 living in the North East, approximately 11.7% of the total population. Within the region there are 1024 residential care and nursing care homes providing services for older people and people with learning disabilities.
Below is a full list of care homes, sheltered care homes, respite care homes and nursing homes in the North of England: