The West Midlands

Located in the centre of England, and with Birmingham at its heart, the West Midlands region covers an area of 13,004 km2 and comprises the counties of

• Herefordshire,
• Worcestershire,
• Shropshire,
• Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent
• Warwickshire,
• Coventry

The seven Metropolitan boroughs of Birmingham,

• Dudley,
• Sandwell,
• Solihull,
• Walsall
• Wolverhampton,
• Telford
• Wrekin

Locations range from Birmingham, the UK 's largest city after London, to historic market towns and scenic countryside such as the Malvern Hills and the Marches. Nowhere in the conurbation is more than 12km from open countryside.The region is one of the most diverse in the UK with a rich cultural heritage and a diverse multicultural population. The population of the West Midlands is 5.25 million - 9% of the UK total. The region's capital city, Birmingham, has a population of almost 1 million people, and is the most ethnically diverse of all the UK's major cities (after London).