Birmingham
City and Metropolitan borough
Clockwise, from top: skyline of Birmingham City Centre from the south; Birmingham Town Hall; St Martin's church and Selfridges department store in the Bull Ring; the University of Birmingham; St Philip's Cathedral; the Library of Birmingham.
Flag Coat of arms
Etymology: Old English Beormingahām (home or settlement of the Beormingas)
Nickname(s): Brum Brummagem Second City City of a thousand trades Workshop of the World
Motto: Forward
Birmingham shown within the West Midlands county
Birmingham Location within the United Kingdom
Coordinates: 52°28′59″N 1°53′37″WCoordinates: 52°28′59″N 1°53′37″W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	West Midlands
Ceremonial county	West Midlands
Historic county	Warwickshire
Settlement	c. 600
Seigneurial borough	1166
Municipal borough	1838
City	1889
Metropolitan borough	1 April 1974
Administrative HQ	The Council House, Victoria Square
Government
• Type	Metropolitan borough
• Body	Birmingham City Council
• Lord Mayor	Shafique Shah (L)
• Council Leader	Sir Albert Bore, (L)
• Council Control	Labour
• MPs	Richard Burden (L) Liam Byrne (L) Jack Dromey (L) Roger Godsiff (L) Khalid Mahmood (L) Shabana Mahmood (L) Steve McCabe (L) Andrew Mitchell (C) Jess Phillips (L) Gisela Stuart (L)
Area
• City	103.39 sq mi (267.77 km2)
• Urban	231.2 sq mi (598.9 km2)
Elevation	460 ft (140 m)
Population (2015 mid year estimate.)
• City	1,123,000 [1]
• Rank	1st, English districts
• Density	10,620/sq mi (4,102/km2)
• Urban	2,440,986 (3rd)
• Metro	3,701,107 (2nd)
Demonym(s)	Brummie
Time zone	GMT (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
Postcode	B
Area code(s)	0121
ISO 3166 code	GB-BIR
Ethnicity (2011 Census) [2]	57.9% White (53.1% White British) 26.6% Asian 8.9% Black 4.4% Mixed Race 2.0% Other
Primary Airport	Birmingham Airport
GDP	US$ 121.1 billion [3]
GDP per capita	US$ 31,572[3]
Website	Birmingham City

Birmingham (ⁱ/ˈbɜrmɪŋəm/) is a city and metropolitan borough in theWest Midlands, England. It is the largest and most populous British cityoutside London with 1,123,330 residents (2014 est.),^[1] and its population increase of 88,400 residents between the 2001 and 2011 censuses was greater than that of any other British local authority.^[4] The city lies within the West Midlands Built-up Area, the third most populousbuilt-up area in the United Kingdom with 2,440,986 residents (2011 census),^[5] and its metropolitan area is the United Kingdom's second most populous with 3,701,107 residents (2012 est.) and is also the 9th largest metropolitan area in Europe.^[6]

A medium-sized market town during the medieval period, Birmingham grew to international prominence in the 18th century at the heart of theMidlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw the town at the forefront of worldwide advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society.^[7] By 1791 it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world".^[8] Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation and provided a diverse and resilient economic base for industrial prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century.^[9] Its resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of broad-based political radicalism, that under leaders from Thomas Attwood toJoseph Chamberlain was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London, and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy.^[10] From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the city's infrastructure led to extensive redevelopment in subsequent decades.

Today Birmingham's economy is dominated by the service sector.^[11]The city is a major international commercial centre, ranked as a beta− world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network;^[12]and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Itsmetropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with aGDP of $121.1bn (2014),^[3] and its six universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London.^[13]Birmingham's major cultural institutions – including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, theBirmingham Repertory Theatre, the Library of Birmingham and theBarber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations,^[14] and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art, music, literary and culinaryscenes.^[15] Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors.^[16]

People from Birmingham are called 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of 'Brum'. This originates from the city's dialect name,Brummagem,^[17] which may in turn have been derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'.^[18] There is a distinctive Brummieaccent and dialect.