How is the London economy performing, and what are the key policy issues facing the city?
This factsheet shows how London compares to the five most similar European cities in size and industrial structure. These are: Amsterdam (Netherlands), Madrid (Spain), Cologne (Germany), Hamburg (Germany), Paris (France)
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 London to its European counterparts on variables such as skills, employment and productivity.
London and its group have a large business services sector, and a small manufacturing base. London is also the largest city in Europe.
London’s performance within the group is mixed and it tends to appear in the middle on many indicators. In some cases, such as for productivity and skills, this is because it is part of a high performing group. Against European cities, London is 21st for GVA per worker and 32nd for high skilled people.
This option generates a factsheet of all the available data for one UK city and the five most similar cities based on population size and industrial structure. From here you can explore the rest of the tool to create charts and tables based on the city selection.
AberdeenAldershotBarnsleyBasildonBirkenheadBirminghamBlackburnBlackpoolBournemouthBradfordBrightonBristolBurnleyCambridgeCardiffChathamCoventryCrawleyDerbyDoncasterDundeeEdinburghExeterGlasgowGloucesterHuddersfieldHullIpswichLeedsLeicesterLiverpoolLondonLutonManchesterMansfieldMiddlesbroughMilton KeynesNewcastleNewportNorthamptonNorwichNottinghamOxfordPeterboroughPlymouthPortsmouthPrestonReadingSheffieldSloughSouthamptonSouthendStokeSunderlandSwanseaSwindonTelfordWakefieldWarringtonWiganWorthingYork
This option will take you to the main data tool and allows you to create bar charts, scatter plots and tables for the full dataset of 330 European cities, or any selection of cities you choose.
Go to the European Cities Data Tool