Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second-largest in the United States. Los Angeles is one of the world's most prominent centers of culture, technology, media, business, and international trade. It is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and it is one of the most important economic engines of the United States, with the city and surrounding region having a GDP that is among the twentieth largest in the world. Los Angeles also leads the world in producing popular entertainment — such as motion picture, television, video games and recorded music — which forms the base of its international fame and global status.

The city is divided into many neighborhoods, many of which were towns that were annexed by the growing city. There are also several independent cities in and around Los Angeles, but they are popularly grouped with the city of Los Angeles, either due to being completely engulfed as enclaves by Los Angeles, or lying within its immediate vicinity. Generally, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown Los Angeles, Northeast - including Highland Park and Eagle Rock areas, the Eastside, South Los Angeles (still often colloquially referred to as South Central by locals), the Harbor Area, Hollywood, Wilshire, the Westside, and the San Fernando and Crescenta Valleys.

Los Angeles has become a multiethnic/racially diverse city, with major new groups of Latino and Asian immigrants in recent decades.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Los Angeles".