I want to add background color to vimrc but it's not working

I am forced to run this in my vim editor everytime I work.

highlight Normal ctermfg=grey ctermbg=black

What I want is for this to be automatic, I already have background set to dark but nothing is happening in vimrc. What should I do? Vimrc contents (first few lines)

syntax on
set background=dark
set ruler                     " show the line number on the bar
set more                      " use more prompt
set autoread                  " watch for file changes
set number                    " line numbers

Thanks.

In .vimrc, replace

set background=dark

with

highlight Normal ctermfg=grey ctermbg=black

If you make the changes permanently that you did in Vim then you have to write the code in .vimrc then open the .vimrc file and then place this line

set background=dark

and then save & close . then open the Vim and you will see the changes.