Manchester (/ˈmæntʃɪstə(r),-tʃɛs-/ⓘ)[5][6] is a city andmetropolitan borough inGreater Manchester, England. Often referred to as the "capital of theNorth", it was the world's first industrialised city and has heldcity status since 1853. It had a population of 552,000 in the2021 census. Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest in Northern England, with a 2021 population of 2.87million.
The nameManchester originates fromMamucium, theLatin name for the city, or its variantMancunio; its citizens are still referred to as Mancunians (/mænˈkjuːniən/). These names are generally thought to represent aLatinised version of an olderBrittonic name. It is generally accepted that the etymology of the Brittonic name is from *mamm-, which means 'breast', in reference to abreast-shaped hill on which the city was built.[7][8] However, more recent work suggests that the name could have instead come from the Brittonic *mamma, which means 'mother', in reference to alocal river goddess. Both possible roots remain extant inCeltic languages today, withmam meaning 'breast' inIrish but the same word meaning 'mother' inWelsh.[9] Thesuffix-chester is fromOld Englishceaster ('Roman fortification', itself a loanword from Latincastra, 'fort; fortified town'),[7][8] and was first use after theend of Roman rule in Britain to describe places with former links to the Roman military.[10]
Nicknames for the city that originated from its role in the Industrial Revolution include "warehouse city" and "cottonopolis". The city is widely known as 'thecapital of theNorth'[11][12][13][14] and is part of an ongoing dispute with the city ofBirmingham as to which one is to be considered the unofficialsecond city of the United Kingdom,[15][16][17][18] although only considering population Birmingham is bigger.[19][20] The city is also infrequently referred to as 'Manny',[21][22][23] especially by non-Mancunians, which is considered offensive by some residents of the city.[21] The phrase was particularly popularised by rapperBugzy Malone's use of the phrase "putting Manny on the map".[22][23]
A fragment of foundations of the final version of the Mamucium fort is visible inCastlefield today. The Roman habitation of Manchester probably ended around the 3rd century; itscivilian settlement appears to have been abandoned by the mid-3rd century, although the fort may have supported a small garrison until the late 3rd or early 4th century.[31] The fort was first investigated by archaeologists in 1906,[32] and opened to the public in 1984.[33]
Manchester is mentioned as having amarket in 1282.[41] Around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx ofFlemish weavers, which have sometimes been credited as the foundation of the region's textile industry.[42] Manchester became an important centre for the manufacture and trade ofwoollens andlinen, and by about 1540 had expanded to become, in the words ofJohn Leland, "the fairest, best builded, quickest, and most populous town of all Lancashire".[34] The cathedral and Chetham's buildings are the only prominent survivors of Manchester at the time that Leland described it.[35]
During theEnglish Civil War, Manchester strongly favoured the Parliamentarians who were led byOliver Cromwell. He gave the town the right to elect its ownMember of Parliament;Charles Worsley was elected to the seat but only sat for a year. He was later appointed as the Major-General for Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire during theRule of the Major-Generals. He was a diligentpuritan, who forcibly shut down ale houses operating in the town and banned the celebration of Christmas.[43]
Significant quantities of cotton began to be used after about 1600, firstly in linen and cottonfustians, but by around 1750 pure cotton fabrics were being produced and cotton had overtaken wool in importance.[34] The Irwell and Mersey were made navigable by 1736, opening a route from Manchester to the sea docks on the Mersey. TheBridgewater Canal, Britain's first wholly artificial waterway, was opened in 1761, bringing coal from mines atWorsley to central Manchester. The canal was extended to the Mersey atRuncorn by 1776. The combination of competition and improved efficiency halved the cost of coal and halved the transport cost of raw cotton.[34][39] Manchester became the dominant marketplace for textiles produced in the surrounding towns.[34] Acommodities exchange, opened in 1729,[35] and numerous large warehouses, aided commerce. In 1780,Richard Arkwright began construction of Manchester's first cotton mill.[35][39] In 1803,John Dalton formulated his atomic theory in Manchester while he was a teacher in the city.[44]
1800–1939: Industrialisation
Manchester was one of the centres oftextile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. The great majority ofcotton spinning took place in the towns of south Lancashire and north Cheshire, and Manchester was for a time the most productive centre of cotton processing.[45] This caused the rapid expansion of the town that would lead to it become as the world's first industrialised city.[46] Manchester also became known as the world's largest marketplace for cotton goods,[34][47] because of which it was dubbed "Cottonopolis" and "Warehouse City" during theVictorian era.[45]
View from Kersal Moor towards Manchester bySebastian Pether,c. 1820, then still a rural landscape. Note theRiver Irwell in both paintings.
Brought on by theIndustrial Revolution, the unplanned urban expansion of Manchester reached "an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century as people flocked to the city from all other parts of theBritish Isles looking for work.[48][49][50] The city quickly developed a wide range of industries, such that urbanistPeter Hall described the city by 1835 as "without challenge the first and greatest industrial city in the world".[47] Engineering firms initially made machines for the cotton trade, before subsequently diversifying into general manufacture. Similarly, the chemical industry started by producing bleaches and dyes, but expanded into other areas. Commerce was supported by financial service industries such as banking and insurance.[51]
ThePeterloo Massacre of 1819 resulted in 15 deaths and several hundred injured.
A centre of industrial capitalism, Manchester was once the scene of bread and labour riots, as well as calls for greater political recognition by the city's working and non-titled classes.[52] On 16 August 1819, large crowds of working-class people protested inSt Peter's Square, Manchester;[53] estimates of the crowd range between 30,000–150,000 contemporaneously and 50,000–80,000 by modern critics.[54] When ordered to disperse the peaceful crowd, the soldiers instead charged and attacked them on horseback, killing at least 18 and injuring more than 700. The event was given the name 'Peterloo' as aportmanteau of Peter's Square andWaterloo (afterthe battle).[53]
The political landscape of early industrial Manchester contained capitalist and communist schools of thought alike.[55] The city was the home of, and eponymous to,Manchester Liberalism, and it was also the centre of theAnti-Corn Law League after 1838.[52] Manchester has an equally notable place in the history of left-wing politics; the city is the subject ofFriedrich Engels' workThe Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844. Engels spent much of his life in and around Manchester,[56] and whenKarl Marx visited Manchester, they met atChetham's Library in the city. The economics books which Marx was reading at the time can still be seen at the library, as can the window seat where Marx and Engels would meet.[40] The firstTrades Union Congress was held in Manchester at the Mechanics' Institute on David Street between 2–6 June 1868. Manchester was an equally important centre of theLabour Party, theSuffragette Movement, and theChartist Movement.[55][57]
Trade, and feeding the growing population, required a large transport and distribution infrastructure: the canal system was extended, and Manchester became one end of the world's first intercity passenger railway – theLiverpool and Manchester Railway – in 1830. Competition between the various forms of transport helped to keep costs down.[34] The number ofcotton mills in Manchester itself peaked at 108 in 1853,[45] after which the number began to decline and Manchester had been surpassed as the largest centre of cotton spinning byBolton by the 1850s andOldham by the 1860s.[45] However, this period of decline coincided with the rise of the city as the financial centre of the region.[45] In 1878 theGeneral Post Office (the forerunner ofBritish Telecom) provided its first telephones to a firm in Manchester.[58]
Some critics see Manchester in the late 1800s as a place rife with opportunities: there were new industrial processes being developed; the city had become known for its experimental ways of thinking, with theManchester School promotingfree trade andlaissez-faire; there was the advent of new classes or groups in society and new religious sects; and the city was also experimenting with new forms of labour organisation. These factors led it to attract educated visitors from all parts of Britain and Europe. A saying capturing this sense of innovation survives today: "What Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow."[59] Manchester's golden age is often dated as the last quarter of the 19th century, with many of its grand public buildings, for exampleManchester Town Hall, dating from the period. The city's cosmopolitan atmosphere also contributed to a vibrant culture, which included theHallé Orchestra. In 1889, when county councils were created in England, the municipal borough became acounty borough which gave it even greater autonomy.[60]
Others interpret the newly industrialised Manchester as a site of widespread poverty and squalor. HistorianSimon Schama noted that "Manchester was the very best and the very worst taken to terrifying extremes, a new kind of city in the world; the chimneys of industrial suburbs greeting you with columns of smoke". An American visitor taken to Manchester's blackspots reported that he saw "wretched, defrauded, oppressed, crushed human nature, lying and bleeding fragments".[61]
TheManchester Ship Canal was built between 1888 and 1894, in some sections by canalisation of the Rivers Irwell and Mersey, running 36 miles (58 km)[62] fromSalford to Eastham Locks on the tidal Mersey. This enabled oceangoing ships to sail right into the Port of Manchester. On the canal's banks, just outside the borough, the world's first industrial estate was created atTrafford Park.[34] Manchester began exporting its cotton to Africa as a way of paying for slaves to be purchased for thetransatlantic slave trade.[63] Manchester's relation to the slave trade and its reliance on theBritish Empire for its expansion forms a complex and controversial part of its history;[63][64] historianEric Williams, said it was a "tremendous dependence on the triangular trade that made Manchester" in 1944.[64]
Manchester continued to process cotton, and in 1913, 65% of the world's cotton was processed in the area.[34] The First World War interrupted access to the export markets; combined with increased cotton processing in other parts of the world, this led to the rapid decline of the textile industry within the city.[65] Furthermore, industry and employment suffered greatly as a result of theGreat Depression,[66][67] particularly due to its effect on the value of British exports.[66] However, Manchester also saw a cultural revolution in the 1930s as locals tried to use greater creativity and local pride to counteract the effect of the status of the economy; this included the first formation of the BritishHigh Street, and embarking on infrastructure projects such as theManchester Central Library.[67]
The biggest air raids on the city during the war took place during theChristmas Blitz on the nights of 22–23 and 24–25 December 1940, when an estimated 474 tonnes (467 long tons) of high explosives plus over 37,000 incendiary bombs were dropped. A large part of the historic city centre was destroyed, including 165 warehouses, 200 business premises, and 150 offices. 376 were killed and 30,000 houses were damaged.[68]Manchester Cathedral,Royal Exchange andFree Trade Hall were among the buildings seriously damaged, with the restoration of the cathedral taking 20 years.[69] In total, 589 civilians were recorded to have died as result of enemy action within the Manchester County Borough.[70]
Cotton processing and trading continued to decline in peacetime, and the exchange closed in 1968.[34] By 1963 the port of Manchester was the UK's third largest,[71] and employed over 3,000 men, but the canal was unable to handle the increasingly largecontainer ships. Traffic declined, and the port closed in 1982.[72] Heavy industry suffered a downturn from the 1960s and was greatly reduced under the economic policies followed byMargaret Thatcher's government after 1979. Manchester lost 150,000 jobs in manufacturing between 1961 and 1983.[34] Regeneration began in the late 1980s, with initiatives such as theMetrolink, theBridgewater Concert Hall, theManchester Arena, and (in Salford) the rebranding of the port asSalford Quays. Two bids to host the Olympic Games were part of a process to raise the international profile of the city.[73]
Manchester has a history of attacks attributed to Irish Republicans;[74] in 1867, a group called theManchester Martyrs werehanged following their conviction of murder after an attack on apolice van in which apolice officer was accidentally shot dead.[75] The perpetrators were linked with theIrish Fenian groups that wished to free Ireland from British rule.[76] Other instances before the 1996 attack include arson in 1920, a series of explosions in 1939, and two bombs in 1992.[74]
On 15 June 1996, theProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) set off alorry bomb inCorporation Street in the city centre. The largest to be detonated on British soil, the bomb injured over 200 people, heavily damaged nearby buildings, and broke windows1⁄2 mile (800 m) away.[74] Although no one was killed by the explosion, it was one of the most expensive man-made disasters in history:[77] the cost of the immediate damage was initially estimated at £50million (equivalent to £119,000,000 in 2023[78]), but this was quickly revised upwards.[74] The final insurance pay-out was over £400million (equivalent to £948,000,000 in 2023[78]); many affected businesses never recovered from the loss of trade.[79] However, it is also credited as helping to drive the regeneration of the city.[80]
Spurred by the investment after the 1996 bombing and aided by theXVII Commonwealth Games, the city centre has undergone extensive regeneration.[73]The Printworks had been closed byRobert Maxwell after he had bought it,[81] but it was redeveloped by architectsRTKL Associates following the 1996 IRA bombing and reopened as aleisure centre andcinema.[82][83] TheCorn Exchange was also heavily damaged in the 1996 IRA bombing,[84] before being reopened as the Triangle Shopping Centre;[85] it was then redeveloped by the Norwich Property Trust and opened under its current name in 2012.[86]Manchester Arndale is the UK's largest city-centre shopping centre.[87]
Large city sections from the 1960s have been demolished, re-developed or modernised with the use of glass and steel. Old mills have been converted into apartments.Hulme has undergone extensive regeneration, with million-pound loft-house apartments being developed. The 47-storey, 554-foot (169 m)Beetham Tower was the tallest UK building outside ofLondon and the highest residential accommodation in Europe when completed in 2006. It was surpassed in 2018 by the 659-foot (201 m) South Tower of theDeansgate Square project, also in Manchester.[88] In January 2007, the independent Casino Advisory Panel licensed Manchester to build the UK's onlysupercasino,[89] but plans were abandoned in February 2008.[90]
On 22 May 2017, anIslamist terrorist carried outa suicide bombing outside theManchester Arena, shortly after anAriana Grande concert.[91] The explosion killed 23 people (including the perpetrator) and injured over 800.[92] It was the deadliest terrorist attack and first suicide bombing in Britain since the7 July 2005 London bombings. It causedworldwide condemnation and changed theUK's threat level to "critical" for the first time since 2007.[93] On 2 October 2025,another terrorist attack occurred outside theHeaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue.[94] A 35-year-old drove a car into pedestrians and then began stabbing worshippers.[95] Two British men were killed, and three others were seriously injured; the assailant was shot dead by armed police.[96] Following the terrorist attack, Prime MinisterKeir Starmer, Deputy Prime MinisterDavid Lammy, and Home SecretaryShabana Mahmood addressed growing concerns over the rise inantisemitic incidents in Manchester and across the UK, which have increased since pro-Palestinian protests and marches began taking place regularly in British cities.[97][98]
The City of Manchester is governed by theManchester City Council. TheGreater Manchester Combined Authority, with adirectly elected mayor, has responsibilities for economic strategy and transport, amongst other areas, on a Greater Manchester-wide basis. Manchester has been a member of the EnglishCore Cities Group since its inception in 1995.[99] The town of Manchester was granted a charter by Thomas Grelley in 1301 but lost itsborough status in a court case of 1359. Until the 19th century local government was largely in the hands ofmanorial courts, the last of which was dissolved in 1846.[60]
In 1792, Commissioners – usually known as "Police Commissioners" – were established for the social improvement of Manchester. Manchester regained its borough status in 1838 and comprised the townships ofBeswick,Cheetham Hill,Chorlton upon Medlock andHulme.[60] By 1846, with increasing population and greater industrialisation, the Borough Council had taken over the powers of the "Police Commissioners". In 1853, Manchester was grantedcity status.[60]
In November 2014, it was announced that Greater Manchester would receive a directly elected mayor. The mayor would have fiscal control over health, transport, housing and police in the area.[102]Andy Burnham was elected as the firstMayor of Greater Manchester in the2017 election with 63% of the vote.[103] He was re-elected in the2021 election with an increased vote share of 67% despite a poor performance by the Labour party nationally.[104] He was re-elected in the2024 election for a third term with 63% of the vote.[105]
As Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham is responsible for ten local authorities which form theGreater Manchester Combined Authority, with a budget of £2.6bn in 2024. Of this, £1.51bn is spent on policing and transport alone.[106] The role of Mayor of Greater Manchester is the most powerful mayoral role in the country;[105] he is thepolice and crime commissioner for Greater Manchesterex officio and is responsible for some housing, education, and welfare policies.[106]
The City of Manchester. Theland use is overwhelmingly urban.
At53°28′0″N2°14′0″W / 53.46667°N 2.23333°W /53.46667; -2.23333, 160 miles (260 km) northwest of London, Manchester lies in a bowl-shaped land area bordered to the north and east by thePennines, an upland chain that runs the length ofnorthern England, and to the south by theCheshire Plain. Manchester is 35.0 miles (56.3 km) north-east ofLiverpool and 35.0 miles (56.3 km) north-west ofSheffield, making the city the halfway point between the two. Thecity centre is on the east bank of theRiver Irwell, near its confluences with the RiversMedlock andIrk, and is relatively low-lying, being between 35 and 42 metres (115 and 138 feet) above sea level.[107]
TheRiver Mersey flows through the south of Manchester. Much of the inner city, especially in the south, is flat, offering extensive views from many highrise buildings in the city of the foothills and moors of the Pennines, which can often be capped with snow in the winter months. Manchester's geographic features were highly influential in its early development as the world's first industrial city. These features are its climate, its proximity to aseaport atLiverpool, the availability of waterpower from its rivers, and its nearby coal reserves.[108]
For purposes of theOffice for National Statistics, Manchester forms the most populous settlement within theGreater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's second-largest conurbation. There is a mix of high-density urban and suburban locations. The largest open space in the city, at around 260 hectares (642 acres),[109] isHeaton Park. Manchester is contiguous on all sides with several large settlements, except for a small section along its southern boundary withCheshire. TheM60 andM56 motorways pass throughNorthenden andWythenshawe respectively in the south of Manchester. Heavy rail lines enter the city from all directions, the principal destination beingManchester Piccadilly station, the city's largest railway terminus, and thesecond-busiest in Great Britain outside of London.[110]
Manchester has a temperateoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb), like much of the British Isles, with warm summers and cold winters compared to other parts of the UK. Summer daytime temperatures regularly top 20 °C (68 °F), quite often reaching 25 °C (77 °F) on sunny days during July and August. In more recent years, temperatures have occasionally reached over 30 °C (86 °F). There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. The city's average annual rainfall is 806.6 mm (31.76 inches)[111] compared to a UK average of 1,125.0 mm (44.29 inches).[112] Its mean rain days are 140.4 per annum,[111] compared to the UK average of 154.4.[112] Manchester has a relatively high humidity level, and this, along with abundant soft water, was one factor that led to advancement of the textile industry in the area.[113] Snowfalls are not common in the city because of theurban warming effect. TheWest Pennine Moors to the north-west,South Pennines to the north-east andPeak District to the east receive more snow, which can close roads leading out of the city.[114] They include theA62 viaOldham andStandedge,[115] theA57,Snake Pass, towardsSheffield,[116] and thePennine section of the M62.[117] The lowest temperature ever recorded in Manchester was −17.6 °C (0.3 °F) on 7 January 2010.[118] The highest temperature recorded in Manchester is 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) on 19 July 2022, during the2022 European Heatwave.[119]
Source 1: Starlings Roost Weather[120] NOAA (relative humidity and snow days 1961–1990)[121]
Source 2: Starlings Roost Weather[122] Current Results - Weather and Science[123] Meteo Climat[124] Time and Date: Average dew point (1985–2015)[125] WeatherAtlas[126]
Manchester lies at the centre of agreen belt region extending into the wider surrounding counties. This reducesurban sprawl, prevents towns in the conurbation from further convergence, protects the identity of outlying communities, and preserves nearby countryside. It is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building.[127]
Due to being already highly urban, the city contains limited portions of protected green-belt area withingreenfield throughout the borough, with minimal development opportunities,[128] atClayton Vale,Heaton Park, Chorlton Water Park along with theChorlton Ees & Ivy Green nature reserve and the floodplain surrounding the River Mersey, as well as the southern area around Manchester Airport.[129] The green belt was first drawn up in 1961.[127]
The UK- and foreign-born population pyramid of Manchester in 2021
The population of Manchester began to increase rapidly during theVictorian era, estimated at 354,930 for Manchester and 110,833 for Salford in 1865,[130] and peaking at 766,311 in 1931. From then the population began to decrease rapidly, due toslum clearance and the increased building ofsocial housingoverspill estates by Manchester City Council after the Second World War such asHattersley andLangley.[131]
Population
In the2021 United Kingdom census, the population of the City of Manchester was 552,000, compared to 503,100 in the2011 United Kingdom census. This was an increase of 9.7 per cent.[132] It was slower than the increase between 2001 and 2021 of 20.8 per cent, which was the largest in the United Kingdom outside of London.[133] The growth was higher than the forecasted rate of growth of 5.8 per cent.[134] In Manchester in 2021, 43.5% of people had nevermarried, 37% of people were married, 12.24% of people wereseparated ordivorced, and 7.26% of people werewidowed. Compared to the national average for 2021, Manchester has a higher proportion of people who have never married, those who are divorced, and those who are widowed, but a lower proportion of those who are married.[135]
According to theGreater Manchester Combined Authority, the population ofGreater Manchester in 2021 was 2,867,769, an increase of 6.9% from 2011. Since 1991, the City of Manchester's has grown faster than other major cities in England, growing by 36.3 per cent.Salford, another city in Greater Manchester, saw the highest growth in England across the 2010s with a 15.4 per cent increase.[136] In 2012, 6,547,000 people lived within 30 miles (50 km) of Manchester and 11,694,000 within 50 miles (80 km) of the city.[134]
Of the increase in Greater Manchester's population between 2011 and 2021, three quarters was as a result ofmigration to the city. One quarter was as a result of thebirth rate being higher than themortality rate.[136] Between the beginning of July 2011 and end of June 2012, births exceeded deaths by 4,800.[134] Manchester and Greater Manchester have younger populations than the average for England: nationally, 82.6 per cent of people are below the age of 65. For the City of Manchester the figure is 91.2 per cent, and for Greater Manchester the figure is 85.1 per cent. Greater Manchester Combined Authority's analysis of the 2021 census noticed the rising number of 0–15 year olds was a large drive for the increasing population change within the City of Manchester.[136]
The ManchesterLarger Urban Zone, aEurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had a population of 2,539,100 in 2004.[137] SinceBrexit the UK has no longer provided data toEurostat, and thus it does not define Manchester as a Large Urban Zone anymore. In 2024 a partial deal for GDP data was reached between theOffice for National Statistics and Eurostat, but the latter's website does not mention any plans for data sharing in regards to urban population.[138]
Since the 2001 census, the proportion of Christians in Manchester has fallen by 22 per cent from 62.4 per cent to 48.7 per cent in 2011. The proportion of those with no religious affiliation rose by 58.1 per cent from 16 per cent to 25.3 per cent. The proportion of Muslims increased by 73.6 per cent, from 9.1 per cent to 15.8 per cent. The size of the Jewish population in Greater Manchester is the largest in Britain outside London.[140]
Ethnicity
Manchester Chinatown's Paifang archThe ethnic demography of Manchester from 1971 to 2021
In terms ofethnic composition, the City of Manchester has the highest non-white proportion of any district in Greater Manchester. The2021 census showed that 56.8 per cent of the population wasWhite. 48.7 per cent wereWhite British, 1.7 per centWhite Irish, 0.1 per centGypsy orIrish Traveller, 6.2 per centOther White. The size of mixed European and British ethnic groups is unclear. There are reportedly over 25,000 people in Greater Manchester of at least partialItalian descent alone, which represents 5.5 per cent of the population of Greater Manchester.[141]
In 2021, 5.2 per cent weremixed race (1.8 per cent White and Black Caribbean, 1.1 per cent White and Black African, 1.1 per cent White and Asian, 1.2 per cent other mixed), 20.9 per centAsian (2.7 per centIndian,11.9 per centPakistani, 1.8 per centBangladeshi, 2.3 per centChinese, 2.2 per cent other Asian), 12 per centBlack (8.7 per cent African, 1.9 per centCaribbean, 1.4 per centother Black), 2.7 per centArab and 2.4 per cent of other ethnic heritage.[142]
Moss Side,Longsight,Cheetham Hill, andRusholme are population centres for ethnic minorities.[34] Manchester's Irish Festival, including aSt Patrick's Day parade, is one of Europe's largest.[143] There is a well-establishedChinatown in the city. The area attracts large numbers of Chinese students who, in attending the local universities,[144] contribute to Manchester having the third-largest Chinese population in Europe.[145][146]
The Great Jackson Street skyscraper district under construction in Central Manchester
Macroeconomic wealth
TheOffice for National Statistics does not produce economic data for the City of Manchester alone; instead it groups the city withSalford,Stockport,Tameside, andTrafford in an area named Greater Manchester South.[155] In 2023, the area had aGVA of £34.8billion. The economy grew relatively strongly between 2002 and 2012, when growth was 2.3 per cent above the national average.[155]
It is ranked as a Beta– (beta minus) city by theGlobalization and World Cities Research Network in their 2024 rankings, placing it second for UK cities behind London, which is A++ (the highest ranking). Below Manchester areBristol andBirmingham in the Gamma category.[156] As the UK economy continues to recover from its 2008–2010 downturn, Manchester compares favourably according to recent figures. In 2012 it showed the strongest annual growth in business stock (5 per cent) of allcore cities.[157]
The decade between 2015 and 2025 saw the economy of the United Kingdom significantly affected by thecountry's withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) and by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[158][159] These events impacted Manchester, with estimates showing a decline in economic output from COVID in the region of 9-10 percent, and with only 1 per cent of firms in the city reporting a positive impact from Brexit, with 60 per cent reporting a neutral or negative impact.[160] The years since 2021 have seen some recovery, with forecasts for 2025-28 suggesting that growth in the region will reach 2.4 per cent annually, exceeding the expected national growth rate of 1.6 per cent.[161]
Individual wealth
Manchester is a city of contrast, where some of the country's most deprived and most affluent neighbourhoods can be found.[162][163] As of the 2019Indices of Multiple Deprivation, Manchester is the second most deprived local authority by rank, the sixth by score, and fifth by the proportion ofLower Layer Super Output Areas (LLSOAs) that are deprived, with 43% of its LLOAs falling among the top 10% of areas nationally by the extent of deprivation. By final ranking it is only beaten byBlackpool, which is also in Lancashire.[164] As of the 2021 census, 53.5% of the over-16 population is in employment, 5.7% are unemployed while actively seeking work, and 40.8% are economically inactive.[165]
On the other hand, Greater Manchester is home to more multi-millionaires than anywhere outside London, with the City of Manchester taking up most of the tally.[166] In 2013 Manchester was ranked 6th in the UK for quality of life, according to a rating of the UK's 12 largest cities.[167] Women fare better in Manchester than the rest of the country in comparative pay with men. The per hours-workedgender pay gap is 3.3 per cent compared with 11.1 per cent for Britain.[168] 37 per cent of the working-age population in Manchester have degree-level qualifications, as opposed to an average of 33 per cent across other core cities,[168] although its schools under-perform slightly compared with the national average.[169]
Manchester's civic leadership has a reputation for business acumen.[170] It owns two of the country's four busiest airports and uses its earnings to fund local projects.[171] Meanwhile,KPMG's competitive alternative report found that in 2012 Manchester had the 9th lowest tax cost of any industrialised city in the world,[172] and fiscal devolution has come earlier to Manchester than to any other British city: it can keep half the extra taxes it gets from transport investment.[170] KPMG's competitive alternative report also found that Manchester was Europe's most affordable city featured, ranking slightly better than the Dutch cities ofRotterdam andAmsterdam, which all have a cost-of-living index of less than 95.[172]
Manchester has the largest UK office market outside London, according to GVA Grimley, with a quarterly office uptake (averaged over 2010–2014) of some 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) – equivalent to the quarterly office uptake ofLeeds, Liverpool andNewcastle combined and 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) more than the nearest rival, Birmingham.[173] The strong office market in Manchester has been partly attributed to "northshoring" (fromoffshoring), which entails the relocation or alternative creation of jobs away from the overheated South to areas where office space is possibly cheaper and the workforce market less saturated.[174]
Neo-baroqueLancaster House. Manchester is known for opulent warehouses from the city's textile trade.
Manchester's buildings display a variety of architectural styles, ranging fromVictorian tocontemporary architecture. The widespread use ofred brick characterises the city, much of the architecture of which harks back to its days as a global centre for the cotton trade.[39] Just outside the immediate city centre are a large number of formercotton mills, some of which have been left virtually untouched since their closure, while many have been redeveloped as apartment buildings and office space.Manchester Town Hall, inAlbert Square, was built in theGothic revival style.[175]
Manchester also has a number ofskyscrapers built in the 1960s and 1970s, the tallest being theCIS Tower nearManchester Victoria station until theBeetham Tower was completed in 2006. The latter exemplifies a new surge in high-rise building. It includes aHilton hotel, a restaurant and apartments. The largest skyscraper is now Deansgate Square South Tower, at 201 m (659 ft).The Green Building, oppositeOxford Road station, is a eco-friendly housing project, while the recently completedOne Angel Square, is one of the most sustainable large buildings in the world.[176]
Two of the city's four main line terminus stations did not survive the 1960s:Manchester Central, originally part of theCheshire Lines Committee, andManchester Exchange, originally part of theLondon and North Western Railway, both closed to passengers in 1969.[188]Manchester Mayfield station closed to passenger services in 1960,[189] before being redeveloped as a parcel depot which opened in 1970 and closed in 1986. As of July 2017[update] the buildings is extant despite various plans to demolish it.[190] In August 2025, Manchester City Council approved the regeneration of Mayfield Park, which includes the station, into ahousing estate.[191]
Today, the city is well served by its rail network although it is now working to capacity,[192] and is at the centre of an extensive county-wide railway network, including theWest Coast Main Line, with two mainline stations:Manchester Piccadilly andManchester Victoria. TheManchester station group – comprising Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria,Manchester Oxford Road andDeansgate – is the third busiest in the UK, with 44.9million passengers recorded in 2017/2018.[187] TheHigh Speed 2 link toBirmingham andLondon was also planned, which would have included a 12 km (7 mi) tunnel under Manchester on the final approach into an upgraded Piccadilly station,[193] however this was cancelled by Prime MinisterRishi Sunak in October 2023.[194]
Recent improvements in Manchester as part of theNorthern Hub in the 2010s have been numerous electrification schemes into and through Manchester, redevelopment of Victoria station and construction of theOrdsall Chord directly linking Victoria and Piccadilly.[195] Work on two new through platforms at Piccadilly and an extensive upgrade at Oxford Road had not commenced as of 2019. Manchester city centre, specifically theCastlefield Corridor, suffers from constrained rail capacity that frequently leads to delays and cancellations – a 2018 report found that all three major Manchester stations are among the top ten worst stations in the United Kingdom for punctuality, with Oxford Road deemed the worst in the country.[196]
Manchester became the first city in the UK to acquire a modernlight rail tram system when theManchester Metrolink opened in 1992. In 2023–2024, 42million passenger journeys were made on the system.[198] The present system mostly runs on former commuter rail lines converted for light rail use, and crosses the city centre via on-street tram lines.[199] The network consists of eight lines with99 stops.[200] A new line to theTrafford Centre opened in 2020.[201][202] Manchester city centre is also serviced by over a dozen heavy and light rail-based park and ride sites.[203]
Bus
Free buses operate on two routes around Manchester city centre.
The city has one of the most extensive bus networks outside London. Before the launch ofBee Network, there were over 50 bus companies operating in theGreater Manchester region radiating from the city. In 2011, 80 per cent of public transport journeys in Greater Manchester were made by bus, amounting to 220million passenger journeys each year.[204] Afterderegulation in 1986, the bus system was taken over byGM Buses, which after privatisation was split into GM Buses North and GM Buses South. Later these were taken over byFirst Greater Manchester andStagecoach Manchester. Much of the First Greater Manchester business was sold toDiamond North West andGo North West in 2019.[205] Go North West operate a three-routezero-fareManchester Metroshuttle, which carries 2.8million commuters a year around Manchester's business districts.[204][206][207] Stagecoach Manchester is theStagecoach Group's largest subsidiary and also the largest bus operator in Greater Manchester, operating around 690 buses.[208]
Manchester Airport serves Manchester,Northern England andNorth Wales. The airport is thethird busiest in the United Kingdom, withover double the number of annual passengers of the next busiest non-London airport.[209] Services cover many destinations in Europe, North America, theCaribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia (with more destinations from Manchester than any other airport in Britain).[210] A second runway was opened in 2001 and there have been continued terminal improvements; this makes the airport the only one in the UK outside London to have two fully-operational runways.[211]
The airport has the highest rating available: "Category 10", encompassing an elite group of airports able to handle "Code F" aircraft, including theAirbus A380 andBoeing 747-8.[212] From September 2010 the airport became one of only 17 airports in the world and one of only three UK airports alongsideHeathrow Airport andGatwick Airport to operate the Airbus A380.[213] Since theCOVID-19 pandemic,Boeing 747 aircraft can no longer be seen using Manchester Airport.[214][215]
An extensive canal network, including theManchester Ship Canal, was built to carry freight from the Industrial Revolution onward; the canals are still maintained, though now largely repurposed for leisure use.[220] In 2012, plans were approved to introduce awater taxi service between Manchester city centre andMediaCityUK atSalford Quays.[221] It ceased to operate in June 2018, citing poor infrastructure.[222]
Cycling for transportation and leisure enjoys popularity in Manchester and the city also plays a major role in British cycle racing.[223][224] Manchester has a history of cycling, and is one of the seven cities to have aRapha store alongsideNew York City,San Francisco,Sydney,Tokyo andOsaka.[224] As of 2023, 2% of journeys in Manchester are made by bicycle,[225] with cycle routes being integrated into Manchester's multimodalBee Network alongside walking, train, tram, and bus routes.[226]
Brass band music, a tradition in the north of England, is important to Manchester's musical heritage;[232] some of the UK's leading bands, such as theCWS Manchester Band and theFairey Band, are from Manchester and surrounding areas, and theWhit Friday brass-band contest takes place annually in the neighbouring areas ofSaddleworth andTameside.[233]
Music venues
The Manchester Arena, the city's premier indoor multi-use venue and one of thelargest purpose-built arenas in Europe
TheRoyal Exchange, whose eponymous theatre is the largest of its kind in the UK
Manchester is a significant cultural centre for theatre and the performing arts, with a number of large venues.[242] Significant theatres include: theManchester Opera House, which feature large-scale touring shows and West End productions;[243] thePalace Theatre, which despite near-closure in the 1970s is now one of the most successful in the country;[244] and theRoyal Exchange Theatre in Manchester's former cotton exchange, which is the largesttheatre in the round in the UK.[245] Smaller venues include theContact Theatre and Z-arts in Hulme. TheDancehouse on Oxford Road is dedicated to dance productions.[246] In 2014,HOME, a new custom-built arts complex opened. Housing two theatre spaces, five cinemas and an art exhibition space, it replaced theCornerhouse and TheLibrary Theatre.[247]
The municipally ownedManchester Art Gallery in Mosley Street houses a permanent collection of European painting and one of Britain's main collections ofPre-Raphaelite paintings.[255][256] In the south of the city, theWhitworth Art Gallery displays modern art, sculpture and textiles and was voted Museum of the Year in 2015.[257] The work ofStretford-born painterL. S. Lowry, known for "matchstick" paintings of industrial Manchester and Salford, can be seen in the City and Whitworth Manchester galleries, and atthe Lowry art centre inSalford Quays (in the neighbouring borough of Salford), which devotes a large permanent exhibition to his works.[258]
Literature
Gaskell House, where Mrs Gaskell wrote most of her novels. The house is now a museum.
Manchester is aUNESCOCity of Literature known for a "radical literary history".[259][260] Manchester in the 19th century featured in works highlighting the changes that industrialisation had brought. They includeElizabeth Gaskell's novelMary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life (1848),[261] andLetitia Landon's poetical illustrationManchester to a vista over the city by G. Pickering in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1835, which records the rapid growth of the city and its cultural importance.[262]
The novelHard Times is reputed to have been set in Manchester and Preston byCharles Dickens.[266] Similarly, the novelJane Eyre was first written byCharlotte Brontë in 1846, while she was staying in her lodgings inHulme, an area of the city. She was accompanying her fatherPatrick, who was convalescing in the city after cataract surgery.[267] She probably envisioned Manchester Cathedral churchyard as the burial place for Jane's parents and the birthplace of Jane herself.[268]
The night-time economy of Manchester has expanded significantly since about 1993, with investment from breweries in bars, public houses and clubs, along with active support from the local authorities.[275] The more than 500 licensed premises[276] in the city centre have a capacity to deal with more than 250,000 visitors,[277] with 110,000–130,000 people visiting on a typical weekend night,[276] making Manchester the most popular city for events at 79 per thousand people.[278] The night-time economy has a value of about £100million,[279] and supports 12,000 jobs.[276] In 2024, Manchester was voted the 8th best city in the world for nightlife, with voters praising its variety and inclusivity for different tastes and backgrounds.[280]
TheMadchester scene of the 1980s, from which groups includingthe Stone Roses, theHappy Mondays,Inspiral Carpets,808 State,James andthe Charlatans emerged, was based around clubs such asThe Haçienda.[281] The period was the subject of the movie24 Hour Party People. Many of the big clubs suffered problems with organised crime at that time; Haslam describes one where staff were so completely intimidated that free admission and drinks were demanded (and given) and drugs were openly dealt.[281] Following a series of drug-related violent incidents, The Haçienda closed in 1997.[275]
Public houses in theCanal Street area have had an LGBTQ+ clientele since at least 1940,[275] and now form the centre of Manchester's LGBTQ+ community. Since the opening of new bars and clubs, the area attracts 20,000 visitors each weekend[275] and has hosted a popular festival,Manchester Pride, each August since 1985, when it was backed by newly elected councillors on Manchester City Council.[282] Despite its high attendance, Manchester Pride has also received criticism from within the LGBT community dating as far back as 2007, due to its choice around where it spends the revenue it earns.[283]
Canal Street is now described as the centre of Manchester'sgay village,[284][285] and the surrounding area has been described as the most successful of its kind in Europe.[285] However, critics of the area have also described it as a "gay ghetto" and that its general popularity has led to a decreased focus onLGBTQ rights and inclusion itself.[284]
In 2019, the ManchesterLocal Education Authority (LEA) was ranked second to last out of Greater Manchester's ten LEAs and 140th out of 151 in the country LEAs based on the percentage of pupils attaining grades 4 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) with 56.2 per cent compared with the national average of 64.9 per cent.[292] Of the 63 secondary schools in the LEA, four had 80 per cent or more pupils achieving Grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs:Manchester High School for Girls,The King David High School, Manchester Islamic High School for Girls, and Kassim Darwish Grammar School for Boys.[293]
Manchester Metropolitan University was formed as Manchester Polytechnic on the merger of three colleges in 1970. It gained university status in 1992, and in the same year absorbed Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education in South Cheshire.[306] The Cheshire campus permanently closed in 2019.[307]The University of Law, the largest provider of vocation legal training in Europe, has a campus in the city.[308] The three universities are grouped around Oxford Road on the southern side of the city centre, which forms Europe's largest urban higher-education precinct.[309] Together they have a combined population of over 80,000 students as of 2022.[294]
The Guardian newspaper was founded in the city in 1821 asThe Manchester Guardian. Until 2008, its head office was still in the city, though many of its management functions were moved to London in 1964.[34][321] For many years most national newspapers had offices in Manchester:The Daily Telegraph,Daily Express,Daily Mail,Daily Mirror,The Sun. At its height, 1,500 journalists were employed, earning the city the nickname "secondFleet Street". In the 1980s the titles closed their northern offices and centred their operations in London.[322]
An attempt to launch a Northern daily newspaper, theNorth West Times, employing journalists made redundant by other titles, closed in 1988.[323] Another attempt was made with theNorth West Enquirer, which hoped to provide a true "regional" newspaper for theNorth West, much in the same vein as theYorkshire Post does forYorkshire orThe Northern Echo does for theNorth East; it folded in October 2006.[323]
The main regional newspaper in the city is theManchester Evening News, which was for over 80 years the sister publication ofThe Manchester Guardian.[321] TheManchester Evening News has the largest circulation of a UK regional evening newspaper and is distributed free of charge in the city centre on Thursdays and Fridays, but paid for in the suburbs. Despite its title, it is available all day.[324] Several local weekly free papers are distributed by the MEN group. TheMetro North West is available free atMetrolink stops, rail stations and other busy locations.[325]
Manchester has been a centre oftelevision broadcasting since the 1950s, with a number of television studios that have been in operation around the city.[326] TheITV franchiseGranada Television has been based in Manchester since 1954. Now based at MediaCityUK, the company's former headquarters atGranada Studios onQuay Street with its distinctive illuminated sign were a prominent landmark on the Manchester skyline for several decades.[327][328][329] Granada producesCoronation Street,[330] local news and programmes for North West England. Although its influence has waned, Granada had been described as "the best commercial television company in the world".[331][332] The Manchester television channel,Channel M, owned by theGuardian Media Group operated from 2000, but closed in 2012.[328][333] Manchester is also covered by an internet television channel called Manchester TV.[334]
Manchester has formaltwinning arrangements (or "friendship agreements") with several places.[348][349] In addition, theBritish Council maintains a metropolitan centre in Manchester.[350]
Manchester has been a so-called "friendship city" ofLos Angeles, United States since 2009;[356] this status is different from Los Angeles' twenty-five officially twinned cities.[357] Manchester is home to the largest group ofconsulates in the UK outside London. The expansion of international trade links during the Industrial Revolution led to the introduction of the first consuls in the 1820s and since then over 800, from all parts of the world, have been based in Manchester. Manchester hosts consular services for most of the north of England.[358]
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