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{{infobox England region |name = North West England |short_name = North West |hq = Liverpool / Manchester ] |area_km2= 14,165 |area_mi2= 5,469 |area_rank= 6th |density = 475/km²|nuts= UKD |euro= North West England (European Parliament constituency) |population = 6,853,200 (2006) |population_rank= 3rd |gdp_rank= 7th |gdp= 15,088 |assembly = North West Regional Assembly |election = non-directly elected |url = http://www.nwra.gov.uk/ |-->North West England is one of the nine official regions of England. It has a population of 6,853,200 and comprises five counties of England – Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire.

North West England is bounded on the west by the Irish Sea and on the east by The Pennines, and stretches from the Scottish Borders in the north, to the Geography of Wales in the south. The highest point in the region is Scafell Pike, in Cumbria, which is England's highest peak at 3209 feet (978 m).

Two large conurbations, centred on the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, occupy the south of the region and are its largest centres of population. The north of the region, including northern Lancashire and Cumbria, is largely rural.

Local government The official Regions of England consists of the following subdivisions:

{| class="wikitable"|-! Ceremonial counties of England || County/Unitary || Districts|-| rowspan="3" | Cheshire ], Chester (district), Crewe and Nantwich, Congleton (borough), Macclesfield (borough), Vale Royal|-| colspan="2" | [Halton (borough)|-| colspan="2" | Cumbria † ], South Lakeland, Copeland, Cumbria, Allerdale, Eden, Cumbria, City of Carlisle|-| colspan="2" | Greater Manchester * ], Bury (borough), Manchester, Oldham (borough), Rochdale (borough), City of Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan (borough)|-| rowspan="3" | Lancashire ], Chorley, South Ribble, Fylde (borough), Preston, Wyre, City of Lancaster, Ribble Valley, Pendle, Burnley (borough), Rossendale, Hyndburn|-| colspan="2" | [Blackburn with Darwen * || [Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens (borough), Sefton, Wirral (borough)|-|}

Key: shire county = † ] = *

After abolition of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside County Councils in 1986, power was transferred to the Metropolitan Boroughs, effectively making them Unitary Authorities.

Demographics Population, Density and Settlements

{| class="wikitable"|-! Region/County! Population! Population Density! Largest town/city! Largest metropolitan area|-| North West England| 6,853,200| 475/km²| Manchester (452,000)] (2,240,230)|-| Greater Manchester| 1,449,600| 468/km²| [Blackpool (142,700)] (335,000)|-| Merseyside (436,100)| [Liverpool Urban Area (816,000)]| 999,800| 424/km²| Chester (77,040)] (194,700)|-| Cumbria (71,980)| [City of Carlisle (105,200)], and due to increasing migration in the region and country, the ethnic minority populations are likely to be much higher than stated below.

94.4% (6,355,495) of people in the region classified themselves as 'White' in the 2001 UK Census. 92.1% (6,203,043) of the overall regional population is White British, 1.15% (77,499) White Irish and 1.11% (74,953) White Other.

The British Mixed population makes up 0.92% (62,539) of the region's population. There are 229,875 British Asians in the region, making up 3.41% of the population, and 41,637 Black British. 0.39% of the population (26,887) is British Chinese and 0.19% (13,331) of people classified themselves as 'Other' in the census .

North West England is a very diverse region, and cities such as Manchester and Liverpool are amongst the most diverse in Europe. 19.4% of Blackburn with Darwen's population are Muslim, the third highest among all local authorities in the United Kingdom and the highest outside London and a significant British Asian population of over 20%. Areas such as Moss Side in Greater Manchester are home to over a 30% Black British population. Even isolated towns such as Barrow-in-Furness (considered to be at the end of England's largest cul-de-sac) have significant and ever increasing ethnic minority populations, the town now has higher proportions of Mixed Race and Oriental people than the Demography of the United Kingdom which can only be said for a few North West towns. The City of Liverpool is now over 800 years old, and is one of the few places in Britain where ethnic minority populations can be traced back over dozens of decades, being one of the closest English cities to Ireland it is home to a significant irish people population, and links to the History of slavery resulted in the city being home to one of the first ever Afro-Caribbean communities in the UK.

Important cities and towns

GM = Greater Manchester, ME = Merseyside, CU = Cumbria, LA = Lancashire, CH = Cheshire

Manchester city centre skyline across the River Mersey along the Irish Sea coastline town centre Salford Quays city centre and Carlisle Castle Industrial areas city centre across the River Lune and Lune Millennium Bridge city centre with medieval buildings

Population > 400,000

Manchester, GM
Liverpool, ME

City Population > 100,000

Warrington, CH

Blackpool, LA

Bolton, GM

Stockport, GM

Preston, LA

Blackburn, LA

Oldham, GM

St Helens, Merseyside, ME

Population > 70,000

Southport, ME
Rochdale, GM
Birkenhead, ME
Wigan, GM
Chester, CH
Burnley, LA
Salford, GM
Barrow-in-Furness, CU
Carlisle, CU

Population > 50,000

Crewe, CH

Wythenshawe, GM

Ellesmere Port, CH

Runcorn, CH

Bury, GM

Bootle, ME

Wallasey, ME

Huyton, ME

Widnes, CH

Sale, Greater Manchester, GM

Macclesfield, CH

Population > 30,000

Lancaster, Lancashire, LA

Middleton, Greater Manchester, GM

Morecambe, LA

Stretford, GM

Ashton-under-Lyne, GM

Leigh, Greater Manchester, GM

Swinton, Greater Manchester, GM

Lytham St Annes, LA

Urmston, GM

Walkden, GM

Altrincham, GM

Leyland, Lancashire, LA

Skelmersdale, LA

Eccles, Greater Manchester, GM

Accrington, LA

Darwen, LA

Denton, Greater Manchester, GM

Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, GM

Tyldesley, GM

Chorley, LA

Chadderton, GM

Prestwich, GM

Hyde, Greater Manchester, GM

Thornton-Cleveleys, LA

Wilmslow, CH

Reddish, GM

Population > 20,000

Winsford, CH

Haslingden, LA

Nelson, Lancashire, LA

Maghull, ME

Ashton-in-Makerfield, GM

Heywood, Greater Manchester, GM

Fleetwood, LA

Kendal, CU

Whitehaven, CU

Farnworth, GM

South Turton, GM

Workington, CU

Formby, ME

Saddleworth, GM

Marple, Greater Manchester, GM

Hindley, Greater Manchester, GM

Ormskirk, LA

Whitefield, Greater Manchester, GM

Droylsden, GM

Golborne, GM

Westhoughton, GM

Congleton, CH

Stalybridge, GM

Kirkham, Lancashire, LA

Clitheroe, LA

Rawtenstall, LA

Shaw and Crompton, GM

Penwortham, LA

Royton, GM

Failsworth, GM

Colne, LA

Elected regional assembly .It is one of the two regions (along with Yorkshire and the Humber) that were expected to hold a referendum on the establishment of an elected Regional Assemblies in England. However, when the North East England region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, further referendums where cancelled and the proposals for elected regional assemblies in England put on hold. The regional assembly, an unelected quango, is based on Waterside Drive in Wigan.

European Parliament The North West England (European Parliament constituency) has the same boundaries as the Region.

History Ten English regions were established by the government in 1994. At that time, Merseyside, which already had its own Government Office, formerly the Merseyside Task Force, was regarded as a separate region. In 1998, Merseyside was merged into the North West region. This action was controversial in some quarters.

Transport Road is one of the North West's and UK's primary road networks

Regionwide

Regionwide the principal road link is the M6 motorway, this runs all the way from Carlisle and Scotland in the north to Warrington in the south, connecting such towns and cities as Penrith, Kendal, Lancaster, Preston, Liverpool and Manchester. The M6 intersects many of the North West's motorways and Great Britain road numbering scheme, and carries almost 120,000 vehicles per day (41,975,000 per year).

viaduct near Manchester Airport.

Greater Manchester and Merseyside

The Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas are home to almost 4 million people, and over half the region's population. The road networks intertwining these metropolitan areas are extremely important to the economy and are largely motorway, including the M62 motorway which crosses the entire country (east to west – Kingston upon Hull to Liverpool), this motorway directly connects the cities of Manchester and Liverpool. The M62 sees 78,000 vehicles using the motorway in the North West per day. The Merseyside-Manchester region has many motorways, that serve many millions on a daily basis, other include the M61 motorway which connects Manchester to Preston, the M56 motorway which runs south of Manchester ot Cheshire and Wales, The M57 motorway and M58 motorway motorways run north of Liverpool, and connect towns such as St Helens, Merseyside and Wigan. The M60 motorway is Manchester's ring road, the M67 motorway and M66 motorway motorways run east and north respectively, both of these motorways are under 10 miles and link Manchester to smaller outlying settlements. On top of this there are countless numbers of A-roads, B-roads and minor roads which circle, entwine and serve these two major metropolises. For more information, see: Transport in Manchester.

, a trunk road road crossing the border.

Cumbria

In Cumbria the M6 runs all the way down the east of the county connecting the very north of England to the Lancashire border. The A590 road links Barrow-in-Furness to Kendal with around 14,000 vehicles per day. The A595 road runs all the way along the West Cumbrian coast beginning near Barrow and ending in Carlisle, linking towns such as Whitehaven and Workington. The A591 road runs from Kendal to the centre of the county connecting Lake District settlements like Windermere, Cumbria, Ambleside and Keswick, Cumbria. Other important A-roads include the A5092, A66 road, A596 road and A74 road (connecting Carlisle and the M6 to Scotland and the major A74 road).

Lancashire

The Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6 which also runs from north to south (Lancaster to Chorley). Other motorways in the region include the fairly short M55 motorway which connects the cities of Preston and Blackpool at 11.5 miles (18.3 km) in length. The M65 motorway runs from east to south starting in the town of Colne, running through Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn, Preston and entering Merseyside linking the M6 to the M58 motorway. Lancashire is home to many A-roads, the Lancaster-Morecambe area is served by the A683 and A589 roads, the Blackpool-Fylde-Fleetwood area is home to the A587, A584, A583 and A585 roads. the city of Preston and its surroundings are served by the A6 road, A583, A582 and to the very south-east, the M61 motorway. To the east of the county are the A59, A6119, A677, A679, A666, A680, A56, A646 and A682.

Cheshire

In Cheshire there are three motorways the M6, the M56 (linking Chester to the east), the M53(linking Chester to Birkenhead) and the M62, which runs just along the county's northern border with Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The Cheshire road system is made up of 3417 miles (5500 km) of highway, and the principal one (M6) carries 140,000 vehicles in the county daily, linking the North West to the West Midlands. The county town of chester is served by the A55 road, A483 road and A494 roads which lead to all directions of the UK including Wales, which part of the city lies in. To the west of the M6, Crewe, Northwich and Sandbach are served by the A54 road, A51 road, A49 road, A533 and A530 roads, these all eventually link up connecting the towns to the larger cities, including Stoke-on-Trent to the south. To the east of the M6 in Cheshire lies the Peak District, and towns such as Macclesfield and Congleton which are served by the A6 road, A537, A536, A34 road, A523 and A566 roads.

Air – The UK's fourth busiest airport, and World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic

The primary international airport in the region is by far Manchester Airport, which served 22,120,000 million passengers in 2006 (18,596,505 of which were international) , this is above some of the world's major aviation hubs, including Los Angeles International Airport. The airport is home to Manchester Airport#Terminals and destinations (including the Manchester Airport#World Freight Terminal), which serve destinations worldwide with Airlines such as American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, BMI (airline), Air Canada, Continental Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa and many more. In 2006 Manchester had a recorded 234,835 aircraft movements, the airport is also a Airline hub for MyTravel, Thomas Cook Airlines, Monarch Airlines, Jet2.com as well as a focus airport for British Airways. The regions second largest airport is Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which in recent years has been one of Europe's fastest growing airports, having increased its annual passenger numbers from 875,000 in 1998 to 4.96 million in 2006, LJLA serves destinations primarily in the UK, Europe and North America and is a major hub for easyJet, Ryanair and MyTravel Airways. The only other significant passenger airport in the region is Blackpool International Airport, the airport has only been established recently and receives around half a million passengers annually. Destinations range from the Canary Islands in Spain to the Republic of Ireland. Below is a list of every airport and airfield in the North West, categorised by county and alphabetically.

Cheshire

Hawarden Airport – Operated by Airbus UK, public and company use

Cumbria

Barrow/Walney Island Airfield – Operated by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, private use
Carlisle Airport – Operated by Eddie Stobart Ltd., public use

Greater Manchester

City Airport Manchester – Operated by City Airport Manchester Ltd, public use
Manchester Airport – Major international airport operated by Manchester Airport Group, destinations worldwide
Woodford Aerodrome – Operated by BAE Systems Regional Aircraft, private use

Lancashire

Blackpool International Airport – Operated by Blackpool Airport Ltd, public use to UK and European destinations
Warton Aerodrome – Operated by BAE Systems, private use

Merseyside

Liverpool John Lennon Airport – International airport operated by Liverpool Airport plc, destinations worldwide
RAF Woodvale – Operated by the Royal Air Force, military use
Southport Birkdale Sands Airport – Sand runway located on Southport beach

Rail is the largest train station in the region, and the largest and busiest in England outside of London

The main connection by train is the West Coast Main Line (Virgin Trains), connecting most of the North West. Other important lines are the Liverpool to Manchester Lines and the North TransPennine which connects Liverpool Lime Street railway station to Manchester Piccadilly station through Warrington Central railway station. East-west connections in Lancashire are carried via the Caldervale Line to Blackpool North railway station.

Sea Sea ferries depart from Port of Liverpool (Gladstone Dock) to Dublin (P&O Irish Sea) and to Douglas, Isle of Man on the Isle of Man (Isle of Man Steam Packet); Birkenhead (Twelve Quays) to Belfast and Dublin (Norfolkline – former Norse Merchant Ferries); Fleetwood to Larne (Stena Line) in Northern Ireland; and Heysham to Douglas (Isle of Man Steam Packet).

Economy The North West is historically linked with the textiles industry, mainly before the mid 20th century. Cheshire is linked with the Salt in Cheshire. Nationally well-known companies in the region include Reebok in Bolton and Lancaster, Kelloggs in Trafford Park (Manchester), Littlewoods in Garston, and Pilkington in St Helens, Merseyside. Makro is in Eccles. JJB Sports is in Wigan. ICI Chemicals is in Runcorn. Scottish & Newcastle have their large Royal Brewery in Manchester. InBev have a brewery in Samlesbury near Preston. The Co-op UK is based in Manchester and Rochdale. Inventive Leisure is in Ashton-under-Lyne. Princes (company) are in Liverpool. H. J. Heinz Company, although based in Hayes in Middlesex, has the largest food processing complex in Europe at a 55 acre site at Kitt Green in Wigan, which produces 1.4 billion cans of food each year. AstraZeneca is in Macclesfield. BNFL and its subsidiary British Nuclear Group are based in Daresbury near Runcorn, although most of BNG's operations take place at Sellafield in Cumbria. Vauxhall and Royal Dutch Shell are in Ellesmere Port. Ford Motor Company is in Halewood. British Salt is in Middlewich. Royal Navy submarines and ships are made by BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness. The Lake District is popular with holiday makers. MAN B&W Diesel is in Stockport. BAE Systems build aircraft in Chadderton and Woodford, Greater Manchester in Manchester, and Warton Aerodrome and Samlesbury near Preston.

Education Secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, except Trafford retains a wholly selective school system, and there are some other grammar schools in Lancashire, Wirral, Liverpool and Cumbria. At GCSE, the lowest performing area by a country mile is Knowsley, one of the worst performing in the UK. Other low performing areas in Greater Merseyside are Halton and Liverpool. Sefton performs much better than its neighbour, Liverpool. Warrington is the best performing area, followed by Wirral. In Greater Manchester, Manchester performs the worst, followed by Salford then Oldham. The best performing area is Trafford (one of the best in the UK), followed by Stockport and Bury. In the Lancashire area, Blackpool is low performing. Bury, Cheshire, Lancashire, Stockport, Trafford, Warrington and Wirral perform higher than the UK average. At A level, Trafford performs the best, and again like GCSE is one of the best areas in the UK. The lowest performing area is, again, Knowsley but followed by Rochdale. Areas performing above the UK average are Lancashire, Bury, Wigan, Blackpool, Cheshire, and Wirral. Blackpool performs not particularly well at GCSE, yet produces much better results at A level – even better than Cheshire.

Top twenty state schools in the North West (2006 A level results)

1. Altrincham Grammar School for Girls (1179)
2. Altrincham Grammar School For Boys
3. Lancaster Royal Grammar School
4. Lancaster Girls' Grammar School
5. Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
6. Winstanley College
7. Liverpool Blue Coat School
8. Wirral Grammar School for Girls
9. Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
10. Sale Grammar School
11. St Ambrose College
12. Audenshaw School
13. Holy Cross College (UK)
14. Sir John Deane's College
15. Blue Coat School, Oldham
16. West Kirby Grammar School
17. Loreto Grammar School
18. Stretford Grammar School
19. Canon Slade School
20. Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith (936)

Local media Local media include:

The North West region of BBC Television is based on Oxford Road in Manchester; it produces the BBC North West Tonight regional programme. The north of Cumbria is covered by BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The BBC intends to move its BBC Sport and childrens television departments and BBC Radio Five Live to Salford Quays. Granada Television is based in Manchester, and produces many ITV well-known programmes such as Coronation Street. It has the regional Granada Reports programme. Border Television is based in Carlisle, producing the regional Lookaround programme.
BBC Radios BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC Radio Lancashire and BBC Radio Cumbria.
Several commercial radio stations including: 105.4 Century FM (Salford), 97.4 Rock FM (Preston), Smooth Radio 100.4 (Salford), 105.4 Century FM (Salford), Radio City 96.7 (Liverpool), Galaxy Manchester, Key 103 (Castlefield), Juice FM (Liverpool), The Bay (radio station) (Lancaster, Barrow-in-Furness, Morecambe and other surrounding areas), CFM Radio (Carlisle), Lakeland Radio (Kendal), 107.3 Abbey FM (Barrow-in-Furness), Xfm Manchester (Salford), 107.2 Wire FM in Warrington, The Revolution (radio station) (Oldham), Imagine FM (Stockport), Proud FM (Preston), Buzz 97.1 (Birkenhead), Tower FM (Bolton), Radio Wave 96.5 (Blackpool), Wish FM (Wigan), and 2BR (Burnley and Pendle).
Local regional newspapers are the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, North-West Evening Mail (Barrow-in-Furness), Lancashire Evening Post (Preston), Liverpool Daily Post, The Gazette, Blackpool, Wigan Evening Post, Oldham Evening Chronicle, Chester Evening Leader, Lancashire Telegraph (Blackburn), Bury Times (Bury) and The Bolton News.