There were 5.41 million people living in the West Midlands in 2008 (ONS mid-year estimates).*
Within the West Midlands in 2008, 3.29 million were of working age, 1.05 million were children and 1.06 million were of pension age (ONS mid-year estimates). The West Midlands has a higher proportion of children in its population than any other region.
There were 2.75 million women living in the West Midlands in 2008 (ONS mid-year estimates). There are more females than males in the West Midlands, in line with other English regions.
There were 907,200 people from minority ethnic groups in 2007 in the West Midlands, accounting for 16.9% of the total population. The West Midlands has the highest proportion of residents from minority ethnic groups in England, outside of London (ONS experimental mid-year estimates).
There were 1.1 million disabled people living the West Midlands between October and December 2008 (ONS Labour Force Survey).**
There were 67 thousand people claiming incapacity benefit between January and March 2009 (Department for Work and Pensions).
There were 178 thousand people claiming incapacity benefit in July 2009 (Department for Work and Pensions claimant count).
*Mid-year estimates estimate the resident population by deducting deaths from 2001 Census data and adding births.
**Please note that this definition of disability includes those defined as disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), those with work limiting illnesses and those that are both DDA disabled with a work limiting illness.