The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton-le-Spring, Washington, Tyne and Wear, and a range of suburban villages
The district was formed in 1974 as the Metropolitan Borough of Sunderland as part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 and is an Amalgamation (politics) of four former local government districts of County Durham. It was granted city status in 1992, the 40th anniversary of the Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom accession. The city had a population of 280,807 at the time of the 2001 census, with the majority of the population (177,739) residing in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.
