Tees Valley and County Durham are located in the North East of England. The service sector here accounts for over 80% of the jobs, though previously manufacturing was the main activity. The largest urban area (175,000 inhabitants) surrounds the town of Middlesbrough, which remains an important centre for iron and steel production, manufacturing, chemicals and engineering. On the other hand, Durham is home to hi-tech businesses in telecommunications, advanced electronics, pharmaceutics and bio-technology. For the period 2014 - 2020, Tees Valley was allocated £173 million and County Durham £138 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). Tees Valley is among the top UK regions to attract EU funding.