- is one of the smaller English regions in terms of the number of residents - is projected to have higher population growth over the next 25 years than any other English region with particularly high increases in the older age groups - is expected to have large increases in the stock of dwellings because of projected population increases and additional migration - had the highest percentage of industrial output and employee jobs in manufacturing and the lowest percentage of output and employee jobs in the financial sector of any region or country in the UK in 2007 - has a relatively low level of deprivation overall but with persistent sub-regional areas of higher deprivation - has a workforce with a relatively low level of skills compared with the UK as a whole - has a smaller proportion of residents employed in higher skilled occupations when compared with the national average - has maintained relatively high levels of employment compared with the UK and English averages even during economic downturns