The gross domestic product of Birmingham and the West Midlands metropolitan county grew by approximately 3.2 percent in 2022, after growing by 10.2 percent in 2021.

In 2022, the gross domestic product of the West Midlands Metropolitan County in the United Kingdom was approximately 77 billion British pounds, compared with 74.6 billion pounds in the previous year.

In 2022, London had a gross domestic product of over 508 billion British pounds, by far the most of any region of the United Kingdom. The region of South East England which surrounds London had the second-highest GDP in this year, at over 341 billion pounds. North West England, which includes the major cities of Manchester and Liverpool, had the third-largest GDP among UK regions, at approximately 223.5 billion pounds. Levelling Up the UK London’s economic dominance of the UK can clearly be seen when compared to the other regions of the country. In terms of GDP per capita, the gap between London and the rest of the country is striking, standing at 57,338 pounds per person in the UK capital, compared with just over 33,593 pounds in the rest of the country. To address the economic imbalance, successive UK governments have tried to implement "levelling-up policies", which aim to boost investment and productivity in neglected areas of the country. The success of these programs going forward may depend on their scale, as it will likely take high levels of investment to reverse economic neglect regions have faced in the recent past. Overall UK GDP The gross domestic product for the whole of the United Kingdom amounted to 2.56 trillion British pounds in 2024. During this year, GDP grew by 0.9 percent, following a growth rate of 0.4 percent in 2023. Due to the overall population of the UK growing faster than the economy, however, GDP per capita in the UK fell in both 2023 and 2024. Nevertheless, the UK remains one of the world’s biggest economies, with just five countries (the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India) having larger economies. It is it likely that several other countries will overtake the UK economy in the coming years, with Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico all expected to have larger economies than Britain by 2050.

Annual economic activity within England, Wales and the nine English regions (North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, Greater London, South East, South West).

In 2022, the gross domestic product of Birmingham and the West Midlands metropolitan county was approximately 27,278 British pounds, compared with 26,822 pounds in the previous year.

F: Construction, Annual growth rate, Chained volume measure, South East. Annual economic activity within England, Wales and the nine English regions (North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, Greater London, South East, South West).

Experimental model-based estimates of quarterly regional gross value output for the nine English regions (North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, and South West), Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

In 2022, the gross domestic product per capita in London was 57,338 British pounds, compared with 33,593 pounds per capita for the United Kingdom as a whole. Apart from London, the only other region of the UK that had a greater GDP per capita than the UK average was South East England, at 36,425 pounds per capita. By contrast, North East England had the lowest GDP per capita among UK regions, at 24,172 pounds. Regional imbalance in the UK economy? London's overall GDP in 2022 was over 508 billion British pounds, which accounted for almost a quarter of the overall GDP of the United Kingdom. South East England had the second-largest regional economy in the country, with a GDP of almost 341.7 billion British pounds. Furthermore, these two regions were the only ones that had higher levels of productivity (as measured by output per hour worked) than the UK average. While recent governments have recognized regional inequality as a major challenge facing the country, it may take several years for any initiatives to bear fruit. The creation of regional metro mayors across England is one of the earliest attempts at giving regions and cities in particular more power over spending in their regions than they currently have. UK economy growth slow in late 2024 After ending 2023 with two quarters of negative growth, the UK economy grew at the reasonable rate of 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent in the first and second quarters of the year. This was, however, followed by zero growth in the third quarter, and by just 0.1 percent in the last quarter of the year. Other economic indicators, such as the inflation rate, fell within the expected range in 2024, but have started to rise again, with a rate of three percent recorded in January 2025. While unemployment has witnessed a slight uptick since 2022, it is still at quite low levels compared with previous years.

United Kingdom UB: R&D Expenditure: England: West Midlands data was reported at 2,303.000 GBP mn in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,159.000 GBP mn for 2015. United Kingdom UB: R&D Expenditure: England: West Midlands data is updated yearly, averaging 784.000 GBP mn from Dec 1993 (Median) to 2016, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,303.000 GBP mn in 2016 and a record low of 576.000 GBP mn in 2000. United Kingdom UB: R&D Expenditure: England: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.S025: Business Enterprises: R&D Expenditure: By Region.

United Kingdom Fuel Consumption: Personal: West Midlands data was reported at 2,337.043 Tonne th in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2,343.899 Tonne th for 2015. United Kingdom Fuel Consumption: Personal: West Midlands data is updated yearly, averaging 2,450.399 Tonne th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2016, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,588.269 Tonne th in 2007 and a record low of 2,337.043 Tonne th in 2016. United Kingdom Fuel Consumption: Personal: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.RB019: Fuel Consumption: By Type of Vehicles and By Region.

United Kingdom Gas Sales: Number of Consumer: Domestic: West Midlands data was reported at 2,128.546 Unit th in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,111.230 Unit th for 2015. United Kingdom Gas Sales: Number of Consumer: Domestic: West Midlands data is updated yearly, averaging 2,050.500 Unit th from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2016, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,128.546 Unit th in 2016 and a record low of 1,906.000 Unit th in 2001. United Kingdom Gas Sales: Number of Consumer: Domestic: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.RB016: Gas Sales: Number of Consumer: By Region.

United Kingdom Bricks: All: Production: West Midlands data was reported at 127,868.000 Unit th in Mar 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 109,678.000 Unit th for Mar 2017. United Kingdom Bricks: All: Production: West Midlands data is updated quarterly, averaging 131,951.500 Unit th from Mar 2006 (Median) to Mar 2018, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 155,156.000 Unit th in Jun 2007 and a record low of 86,828.000 Unit th in Mar 2013. United Kingdom Bricks: All: Production: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.EA031: Construction Material: Bricks: Production, Deliveries and Stocks: By Region.

In this project we capitalised on the achievements of the West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute (WMREDI) collaboration and the policy-focused research efforts of our university affiliates throughout the West Midlands. Our focus in Phase 1 revolved around establishing, enhancing, and diversifying partnerships between research entities/teams and regional stakeholders, with the goal of pinpointing local needs and devising a strategy to address them in our Phase 2 WM LPIP agenda. We were committed to making strides in tackling 'wicked problems', which were notoriously difficult due to their intricate and interwoven nature, alongside more straightforward issues where the prospects for communities and locales could be swiftly elevated. This record contains data from 1) mapping sub-regional administrative data in the West Midlands and 2) sub-regional workshops in the West Midlands with key stakeholders and community members.

The key objective for the Phase 1 West Midlands LPIP (WM LPIP) bid is to develop a full-fledged Phase 2 LPIP proposal focused on the West Midlands ITL 1 region concerned with delivering a programme of activity that supports inclusive and sustainable local growth. In doing so we will build on the successes of the West Midlands Regional Economic Development Institute (WMREDI) partnership and the policy-engaged research activities of our university partners across the West Midlands.

Our emphasis in Phase 1 is on building, strengthening and diversifying partnerships between research organisations/ teams and local stakeholders in order to identify local priorities and formulate a plan for addressing them in our Phase 2 WM LPIP work programme.

Our ambition is to make inroads towards tackling 'wicked problems' that are challenging to address because of their complex and interconnected nature, as well as more straightforward challenges where the prospects for people and places can be improved more quickly.

United Kingdom EC: NM: Domestic Consumer: West Midlands data was reported at 2,273.692 Unit th in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 2,273.692 Unit th for 2015. United Kingdom EC: NM: Domestic Consumer: West Midlands data is updated yearly, averaging 2,343.500 Unit th from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2016, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,388.000 Unit th in 2013 and a record low of 2,131.000 Unit th in 2005. United Kingdom EC: NM: Domestic Consumer: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.RB026: Electricity Consumption: By Region.

United Kingdom Fuel Consumption: Petrol LGV: West Midlands data was reported at 20.644 Tonne th in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22.248 Tonne th for 2015. United Kingdom Fuel Consumption: Petrol LGV: West Midlands data is updated yearly, averaging 31.793 Tonne th from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2016, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 47.895 Tonne th in 2006 and a record low of 20.644 Tonne th in 2016. United Kingdom Fuel Consumption: Petrol LGV: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.RB019: Fuel Consumption: By Type of Vehicles and By Region.

Cambridge was the fastest growing city in the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2022, with its population increasing by 17.9 percent. Peterborough, Milton Keynes and Exeter also grew quite fast, with their populations increasing by 15.4 percent, 15 percent, and 14.4 percent, respectively. Largest UK urban areas When looking at cities defined by their urban agglomerations, as of 2023, London had approximately 9.65 million people living there, far larger than any other city in the United Kingdom. The urban agglomeration around the city of Birmingham had a population of approximately 2.67 million, while the urban areas around Manchester and Leeds had populations of 2.79 and 1.92 million respectively. London not only dominated other UK cities in terms of its population, but in its importance to the UK economy. In 2022, the gross domestic product of Greater London was approximately 508.3 billion British pounds, compared with 90.8 billion for Greater Manchester, and 77 billion in the West Midlands Metropolitan Area centered around Birmingham. UK population growth In 2022, the overall population of the United Kingdom was estimated to have reached approximately 67.6 million, compared with around 58.9 million in 2000. Since 1970, the year with the highest population growth rate was 2016 when the population grew by around 0.86 percent, and was at its lowest in 1982 when it shrank by 0.12 percent. Although the UK's birth rate has declined considerably in recent years, immigration to the UK has been high enough to drive population growth in the UK, which has had a positive net migration rate since 1994.

United Kingdom Gas Sales: Per Consumer: Domestic: West Midlands data was reported at 13,196.000 kWh in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 13,190.000 kWh for 2015. United Kingdom Gas Sales: Per Consumer: Domestic: West Midlands data is updated yearly, averaging 16,098.000 kWh from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2016, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20,163.000 kWh in 2003 and a record low of 13,190.000 kWh in 2015. United Kingdom Gas Sales: Per Consumer: Domestic: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.RB017: Gas Sales: Per Consumer: By Region.

United Kingdom Bricks: Engineering: Deliveries: West Midlands data was reported at 28,949.000 Unit th in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 23,016.000 Unit th for Mar 2018. United Kingdom Bricks: Engineering: Deliveries: West Midlands data is updated quarterly, averaging 22,537.000 Unit th from Jun 2006 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 47 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33,625.000 Unit th in Sep 2013 and a record low of 10,538.000 Unit th in Dec 2009. United Kingdom Bricks: Engineering: Deliveries: West Midlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.EA031: Construction Material: Bricks: Production, Deliveries and Stocks: By Region.

The unemployment rate in Birmingham in the UK was 6.7 percent as of the third quarter of 2024, compared with 5.5 percent for the wider West Midlands Metropolitan area, and 3.7 percent for the UK as a whole.

These are transcripts from qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted as part of the project "Beyond 'Left Behind Places': Understanding Demographic and Socio-economic Change in Peripheral Regions in France, Germany and the UK". The interviews were conducted in the two UK case study areas that were part of the project: Bishop Auckland and its surrounding villages in County Durham, and Walsall in the West Midlands. The aims of these interviews were: to understand the experiences and perceptions of local residents of these two areas, and to get a sense of the local policy and practice in the areas in terms of regeneration and service delivery (skills, housing, health, community services, etc.). Residents often reported a sense of place attachment and belonging, but many perceived that the two areas had both experienced a degree of decline over past decades, particularly in terms of a diminished retail and hospitality offer and the withdrawal of some services, particularly in more rural parts of the Bishop Auckland area. Trust in national politicians and policymakers was low, but views of local politicians were more mixed. In terms of policy responses, the two areas had differing strategies, with Bishop Auckland being more focused on a tourism- and heritage-led regeneration strategy (alongside retail developments and investment in infrastructure) whereas in Walsall there was an emphasis on brownfield redevelopment into both industrial/commercial property and housing, as well as investment in creative industries, (digital) skills, and community and voluntary sector organisations.

Social and spatial inequalities between and within core and peripheral regions have re-emerged as a major economic and political issue in developed economies. Such divisions have generated economic and social discontent and growing levels of political support for populist and nationalist parties in peripheral regions, particularly certain old industrial areas. This turmoil fuelled the Brexit vote in the UK and the election of Donald Trump in the US as well as support for the Rassemblement National (National Rally) and Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) in France and the Alternative für Deutschland in Germany. In response, researchers, commentators and politicians have voiced concerns about the places 'left behind' by globalisation, technological and economic change. While welcome in increasing the political visibility of social and spatial inequalities, the 'left behind' category risks hiding and over-simplifying the different experiences and development paths of people and places.

The aim of the project is to develop a new understanding of demographic and socio-economic change in peripheral regions, examining the circumstances and prospects of places and people currently categorised together as 'left behind'. It will advance understandings of peripheralisation as an on-going process driven by the geographical concentration of people and prosperity in large urban centres alongside the decline or stagnation of other regions. The research is concerned with inner peripheries defined by their disconnection from external territories and networks, particularly urban regions and intermediate areas close to cities experiencing demographic and socio-economic stagnation or decline.