Published online 2022
Contents
Belfast at a glance
City development
Tourism
Education
Quality of life
Office costs
Investment destination
Key growth sectors
Employment and enterprise
Connectivity
Delivering The Belfast Agenda
Belfast at a glance
- Belfast ranked #2 best UK city to live for good value for money.
- Home to a young working age population over a third are aged 16-39 years.
- Capital of Northern Ireland with a population of 342,560 (over one million in the wider Belfast region).
- In NI, Belfast accounts for 18% and 30% of total population and jobs respectively.
- Two airports within 30 minutes of the city centre.
- Our city provides the unique benefit of dual market access to the UK and and EU. For companies looking to serve the UK and EU markets we are the ideal location.
- Belfast generates circa 30% of the region’s GDP.
Office costs
- Operating costs are up to 30% lower than other locations in the UK and Europe.
- Belfast office take-up by sector:
- 32% creative industries
- 21% business services
- 21% banking, finance and insurance
| City | Cost per square foot |
|---|---|
| Belfast | £23* |
| Cork | £25.95* |
| Bristol | £38* |
| Edinburgh | £38* |
| Manchester | £37.50* |
| Dublin | £47.36** |
*Source CBRE* Q3 2021
**Source Lisney Q3 2021
Exchange rate on 7 March 2022 1 GBP=1.21352 EUR
Investment destination
Number 2 mid-sized European City of the future 2022/23 for FDI strategy