Population Change and Deindustrialisation

Reading Birmingham’s population through the Census

Birmingham is a major UK city in the West Midlands. Its population has grown, while the types and locations of work available have changed. These trends are connected, but population growth does not necessarily mean that manufacturing employment is growing too.

The Census records the population and its characteristics, normally every ten years. Comparing censuses helps geographers identify changes in population size, age structure and other characteristics. The figures below refer to Birmingham local authority, rather than the wider urban region.

Birmingham gained around 71,900 residents, an increase of 6.7% between 2011 and 2021. Its percentage growth was slightly higher than the West Midlands’ 6.2%, but similar to England’s 6.6%.

Birmingham remained a relatively youthful city in 2021: its median age was 34, compared with 40 across England, and was the lowest in the West Midlands. However, youthful does not mean that the population cannot age. Birmingham’s median age rose by two years, the share aged 50–64 increased, and the share aged four and under fell.

Country-of-birth data also show Birmingham’s diverse population. In 2021, 72.0% of residents were born in England, 5.9% in Pakistan and 2.4% in India. These are country-of-birth categories, not ethnic groups. Care is also needed when interpreting percentages: the number of India-born residents rose from around 27,200 to 27,700, even though their population share fell from 2.5% to 2.4%, because Birmingham’s total population grew faster.

Why Birmingham’s population grows

Population change has two main components: the balance between births and deaths, and the balance between people moving in and out.

Natural increase occurs when births exceed deaths. This has contributed to Birmingham’s growth. A youthful population includes people who may have children, helping to sustain births. Increased life expectancy also contributes to growth as people survive to older ages.

In-migration adds residents. Birmingham’s employment opportunities attract people from elsewhere in the UK and overseas. Some people also move out, including residents retiring to coastal areas. Migration contributes to overall growth when arrivals exceed departures: this is positive net migration.

The Census comparison establishes that Birmingham grew overall; it does not, by itself, show exactly how much growth came from each cause. It is also important to distinguish scales. Birmingham’s total population can grow while particular inner-city neighbourhoods lose residents through redevelopment, outward movement or job losses.

What deindustrialisation means for Birmingham

Manufacturing is the production of goods, such as cars or jewellery. It helped Birmingham develop as an industrial city, with factories and workers’ housing concentrated in inner-city areas.

Deindustrialisation is a decline in manufacturing activity and employment. It does not mean that every factory closes, or that all economic activity disappears. Production may move elsewhere, factories may shut, or machines may allow the remaining factories to operate with fewer workers.

Birmingham experienced substantial industrial job losses during the 1960s and 1970s. Around 50,000 jobs were lost between 1961 and 1971. During the 1970s, increased demand for foreign cars contributed to car-factory closures and mass unemployment.

Four causes of industrial change

Globalisation exposed Birmingham’s manufacturers to greater international competition. Goods could be produced more cheaply in developing countries, while cheaper imports competed with locally made goods. Increased demand for foreign cars reduced demand for Birmingham’s car production, contributing to closures and job losses.

Decentralisation moved industrial activity away from the inner city. Some older factories were small, crowded and housed in deteriorating buildings, with little room to expand. Congested roads made access difficult. Outer locations offered alternatives to these constrained inner-city sites, so relocation reduced manufacturing employment in the original areas even where production continued elsewhere.

Technological advances reduced the need for labour. Automation allowed machines to undertake tasks previously performed by workers. Manufacturing employment could therefore fall even without an equivalent fall in output.

Developments in transport helped change industrial locations. Birmingham’s inner ring road construction in the 1970s required the demolition of older factories, warehouses and homes. Some factories closed permanently; others relocated outside Birmingham. Improved transport links also enabled workers to live farther from their workplaces.

The effects on jobs, neighbourhoods and land use

Factory closures and reduced labour demand caused unemployment and loss of income. With less money to spend, former workers bought less from local shops. Some shops then lost trade and closed, spreading the effects beyond manufacturing itself.

Industrial decline also changed the physical city. Vacant factories left derelict sites, while some old factories were later redeveloped or demolished to make way for housing. This represents a change from industrial to residential land use, not the restoration of the original manufacturing jobs.

Job losses contributed to population decline in some inner-city areas as people moved elsewhere, although housing clearance and redevelopment also encouraged outward movement. The relationship worked in both directions: industrial decline could encourage people to leave, while relocation and redevelopment changed where people and businesses were concentrated.

Birmingham therefore illustrates two changes occurring together: a growing city population in recent censuses, and a long-term decline in traditional manufacturing employment.

Census evidence: Birmingham

• Population: about 1,073,000 in 2011 → 1,144,900 in 2021; around 71,900 more people, or 6.7% growth.
• Growth comparison: West Midlands 6.2%; England 6.6%.
• Youthful but ageing: median age rose from 32 to 34, still below England’s 40 in 2021.
• Ages 50–64: 14.4% → 16.2%; ages four and under: 7.6% → 6.6%.
• Growth reasons: natural increase, in-migration and increased life expectancy. Whole-city growth can coexist with inner-city decline.

Causes of deindustrialisation

• Globalisation: cheaper overseas production and competition from imports; demand for foreign cars contributed to Birmingham factory closures.
• Decentralisation: cramped, ageing inner-city factories relocated to other locations.
• Technology: automation reduced labour requirements.
• Transport: ring road construction demolished industrial buildings; some factories closed or relocated.

Birmingham’s impacts

• Around 50,000 jobs lost, 1961–1971; car-factory closures and mass unemployment during the 1970s.
• Job losses → lower household spending → declining trade and local shop closures.
• Vacant factories → dereliction or redevelopment for housing.
• Industrial decline contributed to outward movement and inner-city population decline.