The West Midlands is a region of contrasts. It includes the second largest urban area in the country, covering Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country, as well as some of the most remote countryside in areas like the Welsh Marches.
It contains areas of high deprivation, particularly in Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent, but also very prosperous areas like Solihull, South Warwickshire and the Vale of Evesham.
The region's many historic sites include the World Heritage Site at Ironbridge Gorge, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, and a rather different birthplace, that of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon.
The region sits at the heart of England and covers an area of 12,998 sq.km., over 80% of which is rural. It covers the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire as well as the metropolitan boroughs.
Herefordshire landscape
In 2006, the population of the region was estimated to be 5.367 million - around 10.6% of the English population. Of these, 43% lived in the main West Midlands conurbation, covering Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country.
West Bromwich centre
Historically, employment in the West Midlands was dominated by manufacturing, including such famous brands as Rover, Jaguar, Wedgewood, JCB and Cadburys.
Land Rover production line, Solihull
More recently, manufacturing has declined dramatically in importance and it now accounts for less than 15% of jobs, although this is still amongst the highest proportion in England. In its place, the number of people working in service industries has increased significantly and this sector is now the mainstay of the regional economy.
Across the region there are 38 local authorities which run many of the local services. There are also a range of regional organisations which fulfill many different roles within the region. Much of the work of these organisations is guided by the key regional strategies.