This factsheet compares Liverpool to the five most similar European cities in terms of size and industrial structure. These are: Bordeaux (France), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Nice (France), Nantes (France) and Dortmund (Germany)

Comparing cities in this way helps us to understand more about how well UK cities are competing on an international scale because it groups cities with similar industrial structures, rather than on their resulting economic performance. The factsheet also compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of Liverpool to its European counterparts on variables such as skills, employment and productivity.

City group characteristics

The cities grouped with Liverpool are large in size, and have a relatively large public sector and business services sector. Its manufacturing sector is relatively small.

Population

Industrial structure

Key

• Manufacturing, mining and utilities 2011
• Business services 2011
• Public services 2011
• Other private services 2011
• Other sectors 2011

Overall economic performance

Relative to its group, Liverpool does not perform well across the indicators. However, as a large city, it is in the top 100 for both jobs and GVA of all European cities compared.