Birmingham

Population

Total 1,144,900
Student 295,947 (27.7%)
Working Age 754,800 (65.94%)
White 556,608 (48.6%)
Asian, Asian British 355,384 (31.0%)
Other Ethnic Groups 51,965 (4.5%)
Black, Black British, Black Welsh of African background 66,038 (5.8%)
Black, Black British, Black Welsh of Caribbean background 59,712 (5.2%)
Mixed, multiple ethnic groups 55,202 (4.8%)

Known as England’s ‘Second City’, Birmingham is the largest city in England after London.

Man walking in front of the Bullring shopping centre

Bullring & Grand Central, Birmingham

Cornwall Street, Birmingham

Heritage

Known as England’s ‘Second City’, Birmingham is the largest city in England after London. It’s also known as the ‘City of a Thousand Trades’ due to its status as the world’s first manufacturing town
Peaky Blinders is now a popular cultural brand known across the world.
Birmingham Bullring - one of the largest shopping centres in the UK but, historically, it was an outdoor public arena used for bull-baiting, a popular sport in the city at the time
Birmingham is famous for a large number of iconic music venues and its music culture. Birthplace of Ozzy Osborne and known for creating some of the biggest-selling artists in the world, including Duran Duran, UB40, Electric Light Orchestra, The Moody Blues, The Streets, Dexys Midnight Runners, and loads more. Home to a number of incredible music venues, from the huge Barclaycard and Resorts World arenas, to the smaller O2 Academy, O2 Institute, and Sunflower Lounge
World’s largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite art at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
The largest library in Europe - newly built Library of Birmingham opened in 2013. It is attached to the Birmingham Rep Theatre, is home to several sizable and highly significant collections, including the Shakespeare Memorial Room, which houses the most significant collection of Shakespeare's works in the United Kingdom
Birmingham is classified as having the largest area of open space in Europe relative to its size – it has 200 more parks than Paris!

Home to brands such as Cadbury, HP Sauce and Typhoo

Host of the Commonwealth Games 2022 and European Athletics 2026

Host of Eurovision and the G8 Summit, 1998

International

tram tracks in front of Birmingham's art gallery

Birmingham has a proud history of working across borders and has relationships with other 'second cities' across the world. Its links to European cities, via Eurocities, are particularly important.

Changchun, China
Chicago, United States
Frankfurt, Germany
Johannesburg, South Africa
Leipzig, Germany
Lyon, France
Milan, Italy
Nanjing, China
Mirpur, Pakistan

Economic

£85.19bn (2022)
Birmingham is 1.4% of the UK’s GVA (2022)
Birmingham GVA in 2022 was £35.4bn (up 3.9% on 2021) – 41% of the WMCA area
Hub of the UK road and rail networks – crossroads of the M5, M40, M42, M6 motorways
Terminus station for HS2 under construction – plus interchange station at airport
International airport with extensive European connections

£85.19bn

Birmingham economy was worth £85.19bn in 2022

£1.4%

Birmingham was 1.4% of the UK’s GVA in 2022

£35.4bn

Birmingham GVA in 2022 was £35.4bn

40%

40% of the jewellery made in the UK is still produced by the 300 independent manufacturers of the city's Jewellery Quarter

Current highlights

HS2 – Curzon Station construction well underway in city centre
“The Octagon” - described as the world’s first residential octagon tower in the heart of the city centre. Once finished in 2025, the 49-storey tower on the Paradise development will be taller than the BT Tower, which has been the city's tallest structure for decades
Paradise development in civic core nearing completion
BBC’s new home at Typhoo Wharf, Digbeth
Smithfield redevelopment of former wholesale markets site
Approvals for six more high rise apartment buildings this year