district, administrative and historic county of Staffordshire, central England, immediately west of the West Midlands metropolitan area centred on Birmingham. A greenbelt area of rolling terrain, South Staffordshire contains both rich agricultural farmland and residential suburbs housing commuters working in the West Midlands metropolitan area. Towns include Codsall, Great Wyrley, Penkridge, and Wombourne. The district is a source of sand and gravel for the heavy industries of the West Midlands, and modern industrial estates are dispersed throughout. Codsall is the administrative centre. Area 158 square miles (409 square km). Pop. (2001) 105,896.