Star Wars: Thousands of Jedis living in Leeds

The Force is strongest in Yorkshire. That’s because Leeds is home to more Star Wars-inspired Jediism than anywhere else in the UK.

Nearly 3,000 people in Leeds revealed their religion as Jedi in the latest government Census, more than any other local authority area in the country.

It means that, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens about to go on general cinema release, Leeds is officially the Jedi capital of the country.

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The box office film, directed by J.J. Abrams, picks up where George Lucas left off with Episode VI - Return of the Jedi in 1983 and continues the prolific saga.

A new interactive map, created by Esri UK, shows the number of people who said they were Jedis across the country and the region they’re from.

A total of 2,812 people in Leeds put down Jedi as their as their religion in the last Census.

The city was followed by the Brighton and Hove local authority, which recorded 2,636.

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A massive total of 176,632 people across England and Wales said they were Jedis in the latest Census.

It was the top Other Religion in the Census, beating Pagan (56,620), Spiritualist (39,061), Agnostic (32,382) and Atheist (29,267).

The latest film is the seventh movie in the series and Chewbacca, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker will return to cinema screens across the city on Thursday.

The top 10 local authority areas with the strongest Jedi following in the latest Census

1. Leeds - 2,812

2. Brighton and Hove - 2,636

3. Bristol - 2,310

4. Birmingham - 2,238

5. Cornwall - 2,169

6. Manchester - 1,946

7. Sheffield - 1,912

8. Wiltshire - 1,795

9. Liverpool - 1,398

10. Southampton - 1,388