[5] The official region consists of the following subdivisions: After abolition of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside County Councils in 1986, power was transferred to the metropolitan boroughs, making them equivalent to unitary authorities.

The north of the region, comprising Cumbria and northern Lancashire, is largely rural, as is the far south which encompasses parts of the Cheshire Plain and Peak District.

Parts with notably high populations with Welsh ancestry as a result of this include Liverpool, Chester, Skelmersdale, Widnes, Halewood, Wallasey, Ashton-in-Makerfield and Birkenhead.

In some parts of the region, the Brythonic dialect developed into the medieval language known today as Cumbric, which continued to be spoken perhaps as late as the 12th century in the north of Cumbria.

German and Italian are available at more senior levels and, in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, even Urdu and Mandarin are being taught to help maintain links between the local minority populations.

At the Calico Printers' Association in Manchester in 1941, John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson discovered polyethylene terephthalate, known as PET, a common polyester compound found in plastic bottles and food, and also known as Terylene or Dacron.

Halothane, the world's first synthetic inhalation general anaesthetic gas, was discovered in 1951 at ICI's Widnes Laboratory by Wallasey's Charles Suckling, and first tested on a patient in Manchester in 1956; it works by binding to the GABA receptor.

Chat Moss was a problem to constructing the railway, with Edge Hill Tunnel and Sankey Viaduct; the line was bitterly opposed by William Molyneux, 2nd Earl of Sefton.

The spreadsheet was invented in 1974, known as the Works Record System, and used an Adabas database on an IBM 3270 at ICI in Northwich; it was developed by Robert Mais and it was around four years before (the more well-known) VisiCalc in 1978.

The Merlin-powered Avro Tudor G-AGPF, which took off from what is now Manchester Airport on 14 June 1945, was Britain's first pressurised civilian aircraft; only 38 were built and it was designed for the North Atlantic route.

In the North West region, the following transport authorities have published their LTP online: Blackburn with Darwen U.A,[42] Blackpool U.A.,[43] Cheshire,[44] Cumbria,[45] Greater Manchester,[46] Halton U.A.,[47] Lancashire,[48] Merseyside[49] and Warrington U.A.

The world's first hovercraft service took place on 20 July 1962, from Leasowe (Moreton) to Rhyl, operated by British United Airways in a Vickers-Armstrongs VA-3, powered by two turboprop engines.

Ball Packaging Europe is based on the A483 at Chester Business Park, near the A55 junction in Eccleston, which has a main office of Marks & Spencer; east of M&S, south of the A55 bypass is Sira, which issues ATEX product approvals.

Unilever makes Persil and Surf washing powders next to the Bank Quay railway station; next door between the A5061 and River Mersey is PQ Silicas (former Joseph Crosfield).

AB InBev have a brewery on the B6230 in nearby in Samlesbury (former Whitbread, and brews Stella Artois); further east the BAE Systems factory is between the A677 and A59, mainly in Balderstone.

Next door, AGC Chemicals Europe,[68] owned by Asahi Glass Co., makes ETFE (fluon) for electrical wire insulation, and silica gel off the B5268 at Thornton-Cleveleys.

Off the A678 near the River Calder in Altham (north east of Clayton le Moors) is Senator who claim to be the UK's largest manufacturer of office furniture; Simon Jersey designed and made the Team GB clothing for the 2016 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.

Burton's Biscuit Company (owned since November 2013 by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan) have many head office functions in Layton, Blackpool and a factory off the B5124, in the south of Warbreck, next to the railway line, which makes Maryland Cookies, Cadbury Fingers and Wagon Wheels (with another main factory in Torfaen, south Wales); it is the UK's second largest biscuit maker and was founded in Blackpool.

Graham & Brown at Blackburn make fancy wallpaper, next to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, and off the A6077 is CWV (Coloroll and Crown Wallpaper); Capita Group runs TV Licensing in the middle of the town; Lucite International has its main plant on the A666 in the north of the town centre, where it makes Lucite; this site, under ICI Acrylics, manufactured the perspex for wartime aircraft canopies from 1940, becoming Ineos Acrylics from 1999 until 2002 and the company is the world's largest manufacturer of methyl methacrylate (MMA); ICI Acrylics invented the process to make perspex in 1936; the granular form of Perspex was known by ICI as Leukon.

Tensar International, invented and manufacture geogrids for construction, off the A6077 near junction 5 of the M65 in Blackburn near the B6231 roundabout; nearby is Castle Metals UK; also on the Shadsworth Business Park is Evertaut, who make auditorium seating.

Nearby in Moss Nook is Franke UK, the world's largest manufacturer of domestic sinks and Simon Carves (process engineering), and Renold plc is an international chain company based on the B5166, off the Manchester Airport spur of the M56.

Benteler UK (carbon steel tubes) is next to the River Croal off the A58 at Tonge Moor next to Astley Bridge in north Bolton and to the south PMT Industries makes paper drying machines.

DNV UK (engineering standards), National Tyre Service (at the A5145/A6 junction) and Britain's first internet bank Smile (founded by the Co-op in 1999) are nearby in Stockport.

Robertson's (now owned by Premier Foods since it was bought from Rank Hovis McDougall) moved their marmalade (Golden Shred) and jam processing from Droylsden to Histon (Cambridgeshire) in October 2008.

Kelloggs is in Trafford Park (Manchester); to the north Adidas have their European distribution centre, and nearby TDG was on the industrial estate, until bought by Norbert Dentressangle in 2011.

Next door Halewood International, who make Lambrini, Red Square, Lamb's Navy Rum and some alcopops, are in Whitefield Lane End, in the south of Huyton at the M62/M57 junction.

CML Group (part of Teledyne) makes composites and aircraft components off the A41 at Bromborough near Eastham Country Park; to the south is Einhell UK (power tools).

Cammell Laird at Birkenhead build ships, including two Polaris Resolution-class submarines in the 1960s; on Twelve Quays off the A554 is Faiveley Transport UK (railway electrical components).

The British Cattle Movement Service is at Workington next to Tata Steel Projects, near a site of the National Nuclear Laboratory on Derwent Howe Ind Est.

Areas also performing above the England average, in order of results, are Blackpool, Warrington, Wigan, Cheshire West and Chester, Bury, Cumbria, Wirral, and Stockport.