The Changing Population Demographics chapter of the State of the Region Update Report 2007 has three key elements.
Firstly, the report presents the evidence about the existing population of the West Midlands Region including future projections and migration figures.
Secondly, the report looks at the implications of this on key policy themes.
Finally we consider what this means for regional policy makers.
The evidence
We present evidence to help understand the current composition of the Region's population. This includes:
- Where people live
- The age profile
- Differences between urban and rural areas
- Ethnicity
- Life expectancy
Additionally, we use population projections to look at how the Region's population is likely to change over the next 20 years. We also consider three aspects to migration:
- Intra-regional (within the West Midlands)
- Inter-regional (to and from elsewhere in the UK)
- International migration
The implications
The report considers potential implications for the West Midlands under thirteen different themes including housing, transport, and employment and skills.
For example, we consider the potential impact of an ageing population on rural areas, what impact a declining working age population may have and what the changes mean for urban and rural renaissance.
Public policy
Finally, we consider how policy makers may face the challenge presented by the changing population. Rather than consider this strategy by strategy, we look at three cross-cutting areas:
- Social
- Economic
- Environmental
Key questions
The chapter highlights key issues rising from changing population and highlights areas that need to be considered when future policies are made. Some of the issues considered are only just emerging and data and evidence to monitor these issues are not as comprehensive as we would like.
Information gaps have been raised and we will continue to work with partners in the region to try to fill these gaps in our understanding.