Herefordshire sits in the West Midlands, bordering Wales to the north and the west, Shropshire to the north-east, Worcestershire to the east and Gloucestershire to the south-east. Herefordshire has a population of over half a million, making it one of England’s largest counties by residents. Formed in 1974 after The Counties Act of 1972, the population of Herefordshire was 172,400 in 2011, with Welsh being spoken by 0.7% and Cornish being spoken by 0.2%. The population density is 134 people per square kilometre or 350 per square mile and the population growth-rate 0.1%.