About Birmingham

Birmingham ( (listen) BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom, with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom.Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately 100 miles (160 km) from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre. Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midlands Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution, which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society.