Manchester

Manchester
City and metropolitan borough
Skyline of Deansgate Square Town Hall Manchester Cathedral Bridgewater Canal in Castlefield Manchester Central Library Central Convention Complex Corn Exchange on Exchange Square Royal Exchange Etihad Stadium
Coat of arms Worker bee
Nicknames:  Cottonopolis Madchester Mancs Second City
Motto(s):  Latin: Concilio Et Labore, lit. 'By Counsel and Work'[1]
Manchester shown within Greater Manchester
Coordinates: 53°28′44″N 2°14′43″W / 53.4790°N 2.2452°W / 53.4790; -2.2452
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	North West
Ceremonial county and city region	Greater Manchester
Founded	1st century AD
Town charter	1301
City status	29 March 1853
Metropolitan borough	1 April 1974
Administrative HQ	Manchester Town Hall
Government [2]
• Type	Metropolitan borough
• Body	Manchester City Council
• Executive	Leader and cabinet
• Control	Labour
• Leader	Bev Craig (L)
• Lord Mayor	Paul Andrews
• MPs	6 MPs Andrew Gwynne (L) Mike Kane (L) Afzal Khan (L) Lucy Powell (L) Jeff Smith (L) Graham Stringer (L)
Area [3]
• Total	45 sq mi (116 km2)
• Rank	181st
Population  (2022)[3]
• Total	568,996
• Rank	6th
• Density	12,700/sq mi (4,920/km2)
Demonyms	Mancunian Manc (colloq.)
Ethnicity (2021) [4]
• Ethnic groups	List 56.8% White 20.9% Asian 11.9% Black 5.3% Mixed 5.1% other
Religion (2021) [4]
• Religion	List 36.2% Christianity 32.4% no religion 22.3% Islam 1.1% Hinduism 0.6% Buddhism 0.5% Sikhism 0.5% Judaism 0.5% other 5.9% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode area	M WA
Dialling code	0161
ISO 3166 code	GB-MAN
GSS code	E08000003
Website	manchester.gov.uk

Manchester (/ˈmæntʃɪstə(r), -tʃɛs-/ ^ⓘ)^[5][6] is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of 568,996 in 2022.^[3] Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92 million,^[7] and the largest in Northern England. It borders the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The city borders the boroughs of Trafford, Stockport, Tameside, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Salford.

The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort (castra) of Mamucium or Mancunium, established c. AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Throughout the Middle Ages, Manchester remained a manorial township but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution^[8] and resulted in its becoming the world's first industrialised city.^[9] Historically part of Lancashire, areas south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century, including Wythenshawe in 1931. Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and linking the city to the Irish Sea, 36 miles (58 km) to the west. The city's fortunes declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation. The IRA bombing in 1996 led to extensive investment and regeneration.^[10] Manchester was the host city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

The city is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station is the world's oldest surviving inter-city passenger railway station.^[11] At the University of Manchester, Ernest Rutherford first split the atom in 1917; Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill developed the world's first stored-program computer in 1948; and Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov first isolated graphene in 2004.

Manchester is contiguous with the neighbouring city of Salford, separated from it by the River Irwell. The M60 motorway, also known as the Manchester Outer Ring Road, runs around the city and joins the M62 to the north-east and the M602 to the west, as well as the East Lancashire Road and A6.