Key Facts and Figures - Snapshot
About Sandwell: Sandwell is a metropolitan borough which was formed in 1974, and is one of seven authorities that makes up the West Midlands conurbation. The Sandwell Borough comprises of 6 towns – Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich.
Population: Sandwell has a population of 309,000 (June 2011 Estimate). The population of the area fell considerably from the late 1960s until the early 2000s, however this trend has now been reversed, there has been an increase of around 26,000 since 2001. Click for more information.
Ethnicity: Sandwell is an ethnically diverse borough, in the ten years between 2001 and 2011, the White British population decreased from 78% to 65.8%. The White 'Other' category, (excluding Irish) has increased by 78% to 10,463. The Asian groups, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Other Asian, account for 19.2% of the population.
Health: In absolute terms, health in Sandwell has been improving over time, though at a slower rate than the country as a whole. Life expectancy in Sandwell is 75.5 years for men and 80.8 for women, compared to the national figures of 78.6 and 82.6 years respectively (3 year rolling average 2008/10). Click for Sandwell Health Profile (Department of Health) Or Child Health Profile (Child and Maternal Health Observatory).
Economy: In Sandwell (November 2012) 13,586 people claimed Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), which accounts for 7.4% of the local working age population (16-64) compared to 4.6% (West Midlands) and 3.8% (Great Britain).
Housing: In March 2011, Sandwell had 127,072 dwellings and 121,498 households (Census 2011). Of the total households, 56.9% were in owner-occupation, 22.7% were renting from the council, 4.8% were social rented 'other' and 12.9% were private renting.
Environment: Sandwell has an area of 8,600ha and is at the centre of both the motorway network and local conurbation, meaning there is heavy traffic crossing the borough. Sandwell has the highest proportion of its area given to parks and open spaces of any of the West Midlands Metropolitan Districts: 15.2% compared to an average of 10.6% in the West Midlands county area. Sandwell’s open space is concentrated in the Sandwell Valley and Rowley Hills (2005).