London
© PIXABAY

London

Lesedauer: 5 Minuten

15.10.2023

The London region or “Greater London” includes the City of London and 32 borough councils and is surrounded by the South East and East of England regions. It is the wealthiest region in the UK and   one of just a handful of truly global cities. Its R&D expenditure indicators are affected by the focus of its economic structure. However, it is an important hub for human resources in science and technology, high quality public-sector research establishments and higher education institutions.

Innovation in London is mainly tied to services in the financial sector and in the creative and digital industries.

Population: 8,8 million inhabitants in 2018, which represents 13,4 % of the UK’s total population

Area: 2.660 km² 

  • GDP (2017): 457 billion £
  • GDP per capita (2017): 48.000 £ – London has the highest GDP per capita of all the UK regions and European cities
  • Low inflation rate: 0,4 %
  • London is one of the most productive places in Western Europe
  • London is a leading global centre for professional services, tech, FinTech, and media and creative industries.
  • A wide range of “foundational” sectors play a significant role in the London economy: the wholesale and retail trade, health, education and public administration sectors, together account for over 1,9 million jobs in the capital, equal to a third of all jobs and around a fifth of economic output.

  • London has one of the largest urban public transport networks in the world, with integrated rail, river and road systems spanning the city’s 32 boroughs.
  • A city with excellent IT infrastructure and an effective public transport system, underpinning London’s rise as the great Victorian Metropolis and later its emergence as a global city and financial centre.
  • For years, London Heathrow Airport was the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic, serving 185 destinations in 84 countries with 80,1 million annual passengers.

  • The UK is rated by the World Bank as the most business-friendly of Europe’s 10 largest economies.
  • Stable legal and regulatory environment in one of the world’s oldest democracies.
  • Transparent, flexible corporate law and governance that makes the UK easy to do business.
  • Well-established diplomatic influence around the world, built on the UK’s cultural and political strengths.
  • Favourable tax system for companies: the lowest corporation tax rates (19 %) in the G20 and is highly competitive within Europe.
  • London is the first choice for companies to set up headquarters, as it is sitting at the nexus of European, Asian and US time zones, so as to provide extensive business opportunities to companies.
  • London is one of the world’s largest financial centres, a centre of international trade and is home to the head offices of most of the UK’s top companies and more than 100 of Europe’s 500 largest companies.
  • London is the tech capital of Europe - by size, level of investment and the presence of more than a third of Europe’s billion-dollar “unicorn” companies. The capital is home to 46.000 tech companies, supporting 240.000 jobs in an ecosystem worth an estimated 32 billion £.
  • London is also home to many cultural, academic and civil society institutions that are thought leaders in this field.

  • London leads the way for FDI in the UK and Europe: between 2003 - 2015, London secured 39 % of all UK projects and 26 % of all jobs in the UK; between 2011 and 2018 London secured 3.910 FDI projects, the highest among global cities. London tops this global list even in more recent years, despite Brexit-related uncertainties.
  • London is a key gateway to the UK for international investors and a great business accelerator: over 12 % of FDI projects in the rest of UK stemmed from an investment in London between 2003 - 2015, creating over 38.000 jobs and 7,6 billion £ in GVA.
  • Between 2011 and 2018, “Software & IT Services” (35 %) accounted for the largest share of FDI projects in London.
  • London’s top foreign investors originate from the United States, France, Germany, Ireland and Japan.
  • The EU is London’s main trading partner in services and the largest destination for goods exports.
  • In 2015 London exported 131,1 billion £ of goods and services, more than three-quarters (77 %) of this was exports of services.
  • In 2015 London exported 100,4 billion £ of services, while financial services was the largest service export category in London, with exports worth around 28,3 billion £.
  • In 2015 London exported 30,7 billion £ of goods, while miscellaneous manufactured articles (including, for example, clothing, toys and games, works of art and antiques) was London’s largest goods export product by value at 11,9 billion £.

  • London has competitive strengths in several leading R&D sectors, including tech and digital, low-carbon and environmental goods and services, advanced urban services, life sciences and the creative industries.
  • In 2017, R&D spending in London totaled 5,548 million £, almost 16 % of total UK R&D spending.
  • The 2019 Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS) ranks London as an “Innovation Leader”, with performance more than 20 % above the EU average.
  • Strong governmental support on R&D: R&D spending has grown fastest in London of any UK region between 2017 - 2020, with an average annual growth rate of over 10 %. This is more than double the annual growth rate in R&D spend for the UK as a whole.

  • London has the highest concentration of universities and higher education institutes in the UK and Europe, nurturing a uniquely large pool of high-skilled workers for companies to recruit.
  • With its world-class education and excellent employment opportunities, London continues to attract more than 110,000 students every year.
  • Access a diverse and talented workforce of more than 4 million people, speaking over 300 languages in a range of specialties, that includes 46.000 tech companies supporting 240.000 jobs and 800.000 creatives and some of the world’s best professional services partners.

  • London is the second most visited city in the world for international tourism, people could experience the outstanding history and heritage, arts and culture, food, star attractions, nightlife and so much more.
  • Tourism and the nighttime economy contribute 36 billion £ a year to London's economy overall and employ 700.000 people.
  • Visitors to London have increased over the past decade reaching 31,5 million overnight visitors, of which 12,9 million were overnight domestic visitors, and 18,6 million were international visitors.