Population 5.4 million
Potential population decline Down 81%
Famous natives Heavy metal outfit Black Sabbath and comedian Lenny Henry, plus author JRR Tolkien
Did you know? Birmingham has more parks than any other European city
Entreprenation fact: According to the Orange Entreprenation report, individuals in the Midlands want to find that work/life balance with 53% citing “I want a more flexible lifestyle” as their motivation for wanting to set up their own business
West Midlands
If you like things neat and tidy then Birmingham is the place to be. Council street cleaners regularly sweep 1,300 miles of road and empty 4,000 litter bins - helping to make Birmingham officially the UK's cleanest large city. It is also the home of state education, which was pioneered in the 1850’s. In its manufacturing heyday, Birmingham was known as ‘the city of 1000 trades’, and the foundations of the city’s prosperous manufacturing centred around guns, jewellery and pens.
Like their neighbours to the East, it seems the natives could have itchy feet. 81% of the region’s respondents to our Connected Britain research, said they would leave if universal connectivity gave them the ability to choose where to live – representing a possible population decrease of 1.9 million and a bit more leg-room for those opting to stay.
The West Midlands is still one of the UK’s main manufacturing centres (sharing its returns with its East Midlands neighbour). The manufacturing industry represents 18.5% of the region’s gross value added (GVA) with over 19,000 sites employing more than 360,000 people - over 13.5% of the regional workforce. It is a region of two halves. As well as containing one of the largest conurbations in England due to the merging of several separate urban centres, it also has some of the country’s most rural and sparsely populated counties. It also boasts the most ethnically diverse regional population outside of London.
