West Midlands Statistics Fact File
1) Foreign Investment: 1,900 foreign companies based in WM
2) Historic: Home of the Industrial Revolution
3) Major companies based here include: British Telecom, Cadbury Trebor Bassett, GKN Plc, Jaguar Cars,
4) Leading foreign investor countries: USA, Germany, France, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden.
5) Population: Over 7 million within one hours drive from Birmingham.
6) Birmingham International Airport - 2nd largest and fastest growing airport in the UK.
7) Largest shopping area second only to London.
8) 60% of all new housing utilises old industrial land.
9) Important Industry and Service Sectors: Automotive, electronics, food and drink, service industry, software and ICT.
10) London 2 hours by rail or by car.
11) The West Midlands is a major distribution centre.
12) Famous People Albert Austin,
Sir Michael Balcon,
John Baskerville,
Black Sabbath,
Matthew Boulton,
James Brindley,
Jane Bunford,
Edward Burne-Jones,
George Cadbury,
Duran Duran,
Electric Light Orchestra,
Nigel Mansell,
Neville Chamberlain,
Joseph Chamberlain,
Sid Field,
Tony Hancock,
Washington Irving,
Alexander Issigonis,
Joseph Priestley,
Ocean Colour Scene,
Spice Girls,
Thomas Telford,
J R Tolkein,
James Watt,
UB40.
13) Partner towns and cities Chicago | Frankfurt | Johhanesburg | Milan | Leipzig | Lyon |
14) Major Accountancy firms: Price Waterhouse Coopers, Arthur Anderson, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte & Touche.
15) Major Solicitors: Eversheds, Gateley Wareing, Martineau Johnson, Pinsent Curtis, Wragge & Co.
16) Road Network: M5, M6, M42 and M40.
17) West Midland is home to the National Exhibition Centre which attracts 42% of the UK's conference business.
18) Population: 1,020,000
19) Workforce: 630,000
20) Largest employment sector: Manufacturing
21) Major Employers: British Telecom, Birmingham Cable, Cadbury's, Direct Line Insurance, Jaguar cars, LDV Vanmakers, Lucas, Nat West, Rover.
22) Ethnic Origin: White 754,274 (78.5%), Pakistani 66,085 (6.9%), Indian 51,075 (5.3%), Black Caribbean 44,770 (4.7%), Bangladeshi 12,739 (1.3%), Black 11,606 (1.2%), Other non whites 20,492 (2.1%).
23) Tallest Buildings: BT Telecom Tower 500m, Alpha Tower 328m, Cleveland Tower 295m, Clydesdale 295m and the Rotunda at 265m.
24) Birmingham alone attracts 22 million visitors a year who spend £760 million.
25 Star City near junction 6 of the M6 is the largest cinema complex in Europe.
26 More parks than any other UK city.
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