Birmingham

Birmingham, second largest city of the United Kingdom and a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands metropolitan county. It lies near the geographic centre of England, at the crossing points of the national railway and motorway systems. Birmingham is the largest city of the West Midlands conurbation—one of England’s principal industrial and commercial areas—for which it acts as an administrative, recreational, and cultural centre. The city lies approximately 110 miles (177 km) northwest of London.

The historic core of Birmingham, along with Edgbaston and northern neighbourhoods such as Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, and Sheldon, lies in the historic county of Warwickshire. Northwestern neighbourhoods, such as Handsworth and Kingstanding, and Harborne in the southwest lie in the historic county of Staffordshire. Southern and eastern neighbourhoods—such as Bartley Green, Northfield, Moseley, and Yardley—belong to the historic county of Worcestershire. Area city and metropolitan borough, 103 square miles (268 square km). Pop. (2001) city and metropolitan borough, 977,087; urban agglom., 2,284,093; (2011) city and metropolitan borough, 1,073,045; urban agglom. (West Midlands built-up area), 2,440,986.