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West Midlands county

West Midlands
County
West Midlands within England
West Midlands in England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country England
Region West Midlands
Established 1 April 1974
(Local Government Act 1972)
Ceremonial county
Area 902 km2 (348 sq mi)
 • Ranked 42nd of 48
Population (mid-2015 est.) 2,833,600
 • Ranked 2nd of 48
Density 3,142/km2 (8,140/sq mi)
Ethnicity 70.1% White (66.0% White British)
18.9% Asian
6.0% Black
3.4% Mixed
1.6% Other
Metropolitan county
Government West Midlands Combined Authority
Admin HQ Birmingham
Area 902 km2 (348 sq mi)
ONS code 2E
NUTS UKG3
Website www.westmidlandscombinedauthority.org.uk
West Midlands numbered districts.svg
Districts of West Midlands
Districts
  1. City of Wolverhampton
  2. Dudley
  3. Walsall
  4. Sandwell
  5. City of Birmingham
  6. Solihull
  7. City of Coventry
Members of Parliament 28 MPs
Police West Midlands Police
Time zone GMT (UTC)
 • Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2014 estimated population of 2,808,356, making it the second most populous county in England. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county itself is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of Birmingham, the City of Coventry, and the City of Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, and Walsall.

The metropolitan county exists in law and as a geographic frame of reference. and as a ceremonial county it has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. Between 1974 and 1986, the West Midlands County Council was the administrative body covering the county, this was abolished on 31 March 1986, and the constituent metropolitan boroughs effectively became unitary authorities. A new administrative body for the county; the West Midlands Combined Authority was created in June 2016. Since May 2017 the authority has been headed by a directly elected Mayor of the West Midlands, a position currently held by Andy Street of the Conservative Party. Other county-wide bodies include the West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Fire Service and Transport for West Midlands.


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