Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom covering 9864 hectares. Furthermore, it is the 2nd largest city in terms of population in the West Midlands metropolitan area after Birmingham. Predominantly urban in nature, it is bordered by the rest of the West Midlands to the west and Warwickshire greenbelt to the east. The city also has excellent road, rail and air links. This is made more significant as car ownership in the area is lower than the national average with one third of households not owning a car.
Coventry’s population of 306,700 is young and diverse, due in part to the fact that it plays host to two universities (Coventry and Warwick). 23.8% originate from black or minority ethnic groups (compared to 13% for England as a whole) while 24% and 35% are under the ages of 18 and 24 years respectively, both of which are higher than that reported nationally. The percentage of the population that are deemed to be of working age (male: 16-64, female: 16-59) is above national levels whilst the percentage in actual employment (71.3%) falls below both the regional (72.4%) and national averages (74.5%).
Coventry’s economy is undergoing rapid change. There has been a steady decline of its traditional manufacturing based economy from 24% to 14%; however there have been slight increases in jobs from the business service, education, health, distribution and public administration sectors.
The level of owner-occupied properties in Coventry is aligned with that reported nationally. Only 11% of Coventry’s housing stocks were built post 1980.
Overall the educational attainment of pupils is improving. It is not however yet in line with the national average.
38% of Coventry’s children live in areas of the city that are included within 20% of the most disadvantaged in the country. In 2007 the educational attainment of children living in these neighbourhoods has improved at a faster rate than in other neighbourhoods across the rest of the city.
Crime levels have been falling for some years in Coventry. Coventry Community Safety Partnership identified that 49% of crimes which are covered by the British Crime Survey (domestic burglary, violent crime, robbery, theft from a person, vehicle crime, theft of bicycles, and criminal damage), take place in just seven areas of Coventry (including the city centre.) These areas combined only include 28% of the city's population.
