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West Midlands (county)

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West Midlands
Metropolitan and Ceremonial county
Birmingham skyline, the Self Sacrifice (Lady Godiva) statue in Coventry, and Dudley Castle
West Midlands within England
West Midlands within England
Coordinates: 52°30′N 1°54′W / 52.5°N 1.9°W / 52.5; -1.9
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionWest Midlands
Established1 April 1974
Established byLocal Government Act 1972
Time zoneUTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Members of Parliament28 MPs
PoliceWest Midlands Police
Ceremonial county
Lord LieutenantDr Derrick Anderson, CBE
High SheriffWade Lyn, CBE[1] (2020–21)
MayorRichard Parker (L)
Area[convert: needs a number]
 • Ranked of 48
Population (2005 est.)2,591,300
 • Ranked2nd of 48
Density2,874/km2 (7,440/sq mi)
Ethnicity
  • 61.4% White
  • 22.9% Asian
  • 8.1% Black
  • 4.2% Mixed
  • 3.5% Other
[2]
Metropolitan county
GovernmentWest Midlands Combined Authority
Admin HQBirmingham
GSS code
  • E11000005 (county)
  • E47000007 (city region)
ITLTLG3
Websitewmca.org.uk
Districts

Districts of West Midlands
Metropolitan districts
Districts
  1. Wolverhampton
  2. Dudley
  3. Walsall
  4. Sandwell
  5. Birmingham
  6. Solihull
  7. Coventry

The County of West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of around 2,600,000 people. The county contains three major cities, these being Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. Other large settlements in the county include Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, and the Black Country towns of Dudley, Walsall and West Bromwich.

The name "West Midlands" is also used for the much larger West Midlands region, which sometimes causes confusion.

Geography

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The West Midlands borders the counties of Warwickshire to the east, Worcestershire to the south, and Staffordshire to the north.

The West Midlands is one of the most heavily urbanised counties in the UK. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Solihull together form the largest conurbation in the UK outside London, with a combined population of around 2.27 million.

The West Midlands is not entirely urban; Coventry is separated from the Birmingham urban area, by stretch of green belt land roughly 15 miles across known as the "Meriden Gap", which retains a strongly rural character.

A smaller piece of green belt between Birmingham, Walsall and West Bromwich includes Barr Beacon and the Sandwell Valley.

Towns and villages

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Places of interest

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Education

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The West Midlands contains 6 universities;

Though Warwick and Birmingham are considered the most prestigious of the universities in the area, all have a large intake of students from around the country.

Other websites

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  1. ↑ "No. 62943". The London Gazette. 13 March 2020. p. 5161.
  2. ↑ "West Midlands County Demographics | Age, Ethnicity, Religion, Wellbeing". Varbes. Retrieved 10 February 2023.[permanent dead link]
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