Greater Manchester is the third most populous county in the UK with over 2.5 million inhabitants. Manchester is a city on the West coast of England known as the second city of the United Kingdom. Apart from the City of Manchester, towns in the region include: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Stockport, Salford and Wigan. The name reflects the Roman occupation of the area.

Educational institutions in the region are: University of Manchester, University of Salford, University of Bolton and Manchester Metropolitan University. The University of Manchester had numerous Nobel Prize winners to their name especially in the Chemistry and Physics departments.

The centre of Manchester was bombed by the IRA in 1996, the blast was centred in a department store and ended up costing over £400 million and led to a complete facelift for Manchester with a new shopping centre (The Armadale Centre) even hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2002. The city has been a target for the Republicans several times: twice in 1992, once in 1939 with earlier attacks dating back to 1867.

Industries in Manchester were textile manufacturing (cotton spinning), munitions and airplane engines during World War II whereas new employers are finance, shopping and services, life sciences and communications.

The Manchester Ship Canal links up the Mersey estuary to Salford and is over 36 miles long.

Famous Mancunians include: Nobel Prize winner for Physics Arthur Rutherford, inventor of computers Alan Turing, architect Norman Foster, author Anthony Burgess and, equality campaigner Emmeline Pankhurst and authoress Elizabeth Gaskell.