City in West Midlands, England
"B'ham" redirects here. For other uses, see
Bham .
City and metropolitan borough in England
Birmingham
† Location is 'zero mark' (km0 ) of the city
Nicknames: Motto: Forward
Location within England
Show map of England Location within the United Kingdom
Show map of the United Kingdom Location in Europe
Show map of Europe Coordinates: 52°28′48″N 1°54′9″W / 52.48000°N 1.90250°W / 52.48000; -1.90250 [ 1] OS grid reference SP 0668 8682 [ 1] Sovereign state United Kingdom Country England Region West Midlands City region and ceremonial county West Midlands Historic county Settled c. 600City status 14 January 1889 Metropolitan borough 1 April 1974 Administrative HQ The Council House , Victoria Square Areas and Suburbs of the city (Within 4 miles) • Type Metropolitan borough with leader and cabinet • Body Birmingham City Council • Control Labour • Leader John Cotton (L ) • Lord Mayor Ken Wood • Chief Executive Deborah Cadman • House of Commons • City and metropolitan borough 103 sq mi (268 km2 ) • Metro
348 sq mi (902 km2 ) • Rank 131st • City and metropolitan borough 1,157,603 • Rank 1st • Density 11,200/sq mi (4,323/km2 ) • Urban
2,590,363 • Metro
2,927,631 Demonym Brummie • City and metropolitan borough £35.367 billion (2022) • Per head £30,552 (2022) • Metro £85.192 billion (2022) Time zone UTC+0 (GMT ) • Summer (DST ) UTC+1 (BST )Postcode area Dialling code 0121 ISO 3166 code GB-BIR GSS code E08000025 ITL code TLG31 Website birmingham .gov .uk
Birmingham ([ 6] [ 7] [ 8] BUR -ming-əm ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England . It is the second-largest city in Britain[ a] [ 9] – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom [ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 13] [ 14] – with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper .[ 4] Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull , forms the West Midlands conurbation . The royal town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the northeast. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it the largest outside London. [ 15]
Located in the West Midlands region of England, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands . It is just west of the traditional centre point of England at Meriden ,[ 16] and is the most inland major city in the country,[ 17] and lying north of the Cotswolds and east of the Shropshire Hills . Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn , approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre . The city does however have numerous canals , collectively named the Birmingham Canal Navigations .[ 18]
Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midlands Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution , which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society .[ 19] By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world".[ 20] Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation; this provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. The Watt steam engine was invented in Birmingham.[ 21]
The resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of political radicalism which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain , was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy.[ 22] From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz . The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive urban regeneration in subsequent decades.
Birmingham's economy is now dominated by the service sector .[ 23] The city is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its metropolitan economy is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121.1bn (2014[update] ).[ 24] Its five universities,[ 25] including the University of Birmingham , make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London.[ 26] Birmingham's major cultural institutions – the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra , Birmingham Royal Ballet , Birmingham Repertory Theatre , Library of Birmingham and Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations,[ 27] and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art , music , literary and culinary scenes.[ 28] Birmingham was the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games .[ 29] [ 30] In 2021, Birmingham was the third most visited city in the UK by people from foreign nations.[ 31]
^ a b "Birmingham, West Midlands" . Ordnance Survey . Retrieved 1 March 2024 .
^ "How the council works" . Birmingham City Council . Retrieved 1 March 2024 .
^ "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022" . Office for National Statistics . 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024 .
^ a b "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022" . Office for National Statistics . 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024 .
^ "Regional gross domestic product: all ITL regions" . Office for National Statistics . 24 April 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024 .
^ "Definition of 'Birmingham' " . CollinsDictionary.com . Retrieved 6 September 2020 .
^ "Birmingham" . Oxford Learner's Dictionaries . Retrieved 4 September 2020 .
^ "Birmingham" . WordReference.com . Retrieved 11 October 2020 .
^ "UK cities by population 2022" . populationdata . June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022 .
^ Elkes, Neil (16 February 2015). "Cameron: Birmingham is England's second city" . BusinessLive. Retrieved 21 July 2022 .
^ Tomlinson, Lucy (24 May 2013). "England's second city: Birmingham" . Britain Magazine. Retrieved 21 July 2022 .
^ "The 15 most fun things to do in Birmingham" . Lonely Planet. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022 .
^ Walters, Jack (20 June 2022). "Boris hails Brexit Britain's 'regained' ability to boost relationship with Commonwealth" . The Express. Retrieved 21 July 2022 .
^ Cusack, Richard (26 April 2022). " 'Hatred' – Gary Lineker and Micah Richards agree about Aston Villa vs Birmingham City" . Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 July 2022 .
^ White, Richard (2021). "Metropolitan Area population" . World Population . Retrieved 31 January 2022 . Birmingham is the second largest city in the United Kingdom
^ "Solihull Countryside Walks: Meriden" (PDF) .
^ ExperiWise (16 June 2022). "Where Is Birmingham? (8 Interesting Facts)" . ExperiWise . Retrieved 19 September 2023 .
^ Cite error: The named reference can
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ Uglow 2011 , pp. iv, 860–861; Jones 2008 , pp. 14, 19, 71, 82–83, 231–232
^ Hopkins 1989 , p. 26
^ Berg 1991 , pp. 174, 184; Jacobs, Jane (1969). The economy of cities . New York: Random House. pp. 86 –89. OCLC 5585 .
^ Ward 2005 , jacket; Briggs, Asa (1990) [1965]. Victorian Cities . Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 185, 187–189. ISBN 0-14-013582-0 . ; Jenkins, Roy (2004). Twelve cities: a personal memoir . London: Pan Macmillan. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-330-49333-7 . Retrieved 2 October 2011 .
^ "Employee jobs (2012)" . Nomis – official labour market statistics . Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 29 March 2014 .
^ "Global city GDP 2014" . Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2014 .
^ "Universities in Birmingham – Birmingham City Council" . Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 25 March 2021 .
^ "Table 0 – All students by institution, mode of study, level of study and domicile 2008/09" . Higher education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 31 January 2011 . ; Aldred, Tom (2009). "University Challenge: Growing the Knowledge Economy in Birmingham" (PDF) . London: Centre for Cities. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013 .
^ Maddocks, Fiona (6 June 2010). "Andris Nelsons, magician of Birmingham" . The Observer . London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 31 January 2011 . ; Craine, Debra (23 February 2010). "Birmingham Royal Ballet comes of age" . The Times . Times Newspapers. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011 . ; "The Barber Institute of Fine Arts" . Johansens . Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011 .
^ Price, Matt (2008). "A Hitchhiker' s Guide to the Gallery – Where to see art in Birmingham and the West Midlands" (PDF) . London: Arts Co. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2013 . ; King, Alison (13 October 2012). "Forget Madchester, it's all about the B-Town scene" . The Independent . London: Independent News and Media. Retrieved 11 November 2013 . ; Segal, Francesca (3 August 2008). "Why Birmingham rules the literary roost" . The Observer . London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 11 November 2013 . ; Alexander, Lobrano (6 January 2012). "Birmingham, England – Could England's second city be first in food?" . The New York Times . Retrieved 31 December 2013 .
^ "Home of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games" . B2022 .
^ Gardner, Jamie (6 August 2022). "Birmingham could host Olympics having 'totally embraced' Commonwealth Games" . The Independent . Retrieved 12 August 2022 .
^ "Travel trends - Office for National Statistics" . www.ons.gov.uk . Retrieved 16 August 2022 .
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page ).