1. BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE
Birmingham was ranked as having the highest quality of life of any UK city outside of London in 2014. In 52nd place in the world rankings the city was ahead of Glasgow (55th), Aberdeen (57th) and Belfast (63rd). Source: Mercer Quality of Life Index
2. MORE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) THAN EVER BEFORE
81 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects were attracted to the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBSLEP) area in 2015/16 – the most ever recorded. These projects created 4,526 new jobs. Source: DIT
3. STRONGEST ECONOMY
With an economy worth £23.2bn Birmingham’s workplace based Gross Value Added is the highest of any city outside London. With 16.3% growth rate since 2009 it is also one of the fastest growing core city economies in the UK. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) GVA data
4. MOST ENTREPRENEURIAL UK CITY OUTSIDE LONDON
14,152 new businesses were registered in Birmingham during 2015 - more than any other city outside the capital. Source: StartUp Britain analysis of Companies House data
5. MOST POPULAR DESTINATION OUTSIDE THE SOUTH EAST FOR PEOPLE RELOCATING OUT OF LONDON
In 2015 6,030 people relocated from London to Birmingham, well ahead of its nearest rivals, suggesting that affordable housing, good quality of life and relative proximity to London are all making Birmingham a particularly attractive proposition. Source: ONS Internal Migration Statistics
6. MOST POPULAR CONFERENCE AND EVENT DESTINATION
In 2015 Birmingham was the most popular conference and event destination in the UK outside London. Source: British Meetings & Events Industry Survey 2015/16
7. FASTEST GROWING CITY
Between 2004 and 2014 Birmingham’s population increased by nearly 100,000 – well ahead of its nearest rival. Birmingham is also the youngest major city in Europe and has seen the fastest growth in numbers of under 25’s of any UK city outside London. Source: ONS mid year population estimates
8. LEADING EXPORT PERFORMANCE
At £29 billion in 2015, exports from the West Midlands have grown by 35% in the last five years, double the rate of any other UK region. The West Midlands is also the only region in the UK with a trade surplus with China. Source: HM Revenue & Customs Trade data, 2015
9. BEST EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND HIGHEST QUALITY SCHOOLS
In 2014/15 Birmingham had the highest proportion of pupils achieving at least 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C of all the English core cities. Birmingham also had the highest proportion of local authority run schools receiving an ‘outstanding’ OFSTED inspection rating. Source: Department for Education, OFSTED
10. STRONGEST GROWTH IN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM
The 1.1 million overseas visits to Birmingham in 2015 was 160,000 (17%) up on 2014 and the largest increase of any UK city outside London. Source: ONS International Passenger Survey