Geography and demography
The West Midlands region is situated at the heart of England, bordering on the west by Wales. The region covers an area of 13,000 square kilometres, with a population of 5.3 million inhabitants and a density of 410 people per km² (slightly higher than national average) equating to around 10% of the UK’ s population. The area is comprised of four Shire Counties (Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire), seven Metropolitan Districts (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton) and three Unitary Authorities (Herefordshire, Telford and The Wrekin and Stoke-on- Trent).

Economy
West Midlands contributes 8.2% of the UK’s total GDP and, in per head terms, it is positioned seventh out of the UK’s twelve regions. The economic structure of the West Midlands is diverse base being both the manufacturing heartland of the UK and also having a strong and fast growing services sector. It has a stock of more than 180,000 businesses and has attracted foreign direct investment from over 2000 foreign owned international companies. There are around 46,000 people employed in the agricultural sector (1.9%), 530,000 in the industrial sector (21.,6%), and 1,700,000 in the service one (72.7%). The manufacturing industry is the most prolific employment sector (23% work in this sector). The city of Birmingham is an important centre not only for the region but also for all the country, with its banking, finance and business service. Tourism is a growing resource in many part of the region, in particular in the Stratford area. The region has 11 key business clusters. These are successfully developing the competitive advantage and reputation of the region within key markets and sectors through the collaboration of businesses within each cluster to exploit strategic opportunities both in the UK and globally. The 11 clusters are Transport Technologies, Building Technologies, Food and Drink, Tourism an Leisure, High Value Added Consumer products, Manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology, Specialist and Professional Business services, Environmental Technologies, Media and Medical Technologies.

Labour market
The number of employees is about 2,5 million, which corresponds to an employement rate of 74.9% (female 67.8% and male 77.9%). On the other side the current uneployement rate is around 5% (3,7% Claiming Benefits).

Research and development
On these issues the region spends 1.5% of its GDP, divided into public sector (0,7%), government (0,184%), university (0,183%) and private sector (0,549%). The West Midlands is home to the highest pedigree of research organisations including QinetiQ (electronics), MIRA (automotive industry), RAPRA (rubber and plastics) and CERAM (ceramics). Over 500,000 students are in full or part time education in the region, attending some of the UK’s most prestigious universities and research centres. Ten universities in the region all have close links to industry, providing a valuable resource for innovative collaboration, R&D expertise and knowledge transfer. Most of the Universities also have Science Parks and Business Incubators to facilitate this transfer of Knowledge from academia to industry. Three ‘Technology Corridors’ provide assistance to SME’s in a broad range of sectors, motorsport, medical, materials, ICT, nanotechnology etc. The region also has four world class research centres in electronics, automotive, rubber and plastic industry sectors.