West Midlands (region)

West Midlands
West Midlands region in England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Status	Region
Government
• Leaders' board	West Midlands Councils
• EP constituency	West Midlands
Area
• Total	5,000 sq mi (13,000 km2)
Area rank	7th
Population (2011)
• Total	5,602,000
• Rank	5th
• Density	1,100/sq mi (430/km2)
GVA
• Total	£110 billion
• Per capita	£17,161 (7th)
NUTS code	UKG
Website	www.wmcouncils.gov.uk

The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley, Solihull, Walsall and West Bromwich. The city of Coventry is also located within the West Midlands county, but is separated from the conurbation to the west by several miles of green belt.

The region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire which border Wales. The longest river in the UK, the River Severn, traverses the region southeastwards, flowing through the county towns of Shrewsbury and Worcester, and the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Staffordshire is home to the industrialised Potteries conurbation, including the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the Staffordshire Moorlands area, which borders the southeastern Peak District National Park near Leek. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Wye Valley, Shropshire hills, Cannock Chase, Malvern Hills, and parts of the Cotswolds. Warwickshire is home to the town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of the writer William Shakespeare.