Manchester Outpaces UK With Decade of Strong Economic Growth

Manchester has demonstrated sustained economic expansion over the past decade, with growth rates consistently exceeding national averages. The city's performance highlights a pattern of regional economic divergence within the UK.

Data shows that Manchester’s economy maintained an annual growth rate of approximately 3.1% over the last ten years. This figure is about double the rate recorded for the UK as a whole during the same period.

Greater Manchester as a region also reported faster economic growth than the national average. Over the past decade, Greater Manchester’s growth rate was around 2.8%, compared to the UK’s 1.3%.

The city centre of Manchester achieved an average annual gross value added (GVA) growth rate of 3.6% since 2008. This rate stands in contrast to the national GVA growth rate of 1.4% over the same timeframe.

What the numbers show

• Manchester’s nominal GDP per capita increased from £35,864 in 2011 to £65,591 in 2023
• Real GDP per capita in Manchester rose from £22,174 to £35,255 between 2011 and 2023
• Greater Manchester South’s GVA in 2012 was £34.8 billion, accounting for 2.5% of UK GVA

Manchester’s increase in nominal GDP per capita between 2011 and 2023 amounted to 83%. When adjusted for inflation, real GDP per capita grew by 58% in the same period, which is substantially higher than the UK’s 20% growth.

In 2012, Greater Manchester South recorded a GVA growth rate of 3.1%. This was higher than the average for the Core Cities group, which stood at 2.0% that year.

Economic data from 2012 indicates that Greater Manchester South contributed £34.8 billion in GVA, representing 2.5% of the total GVA for the UK. This contribution reflects the area’s role within the national economy during that period.

The growth trends seen in Manchester and its surrounding areas have persisted over multiple years, with both nominal and real economic indicators outpacing national figures. These patterns underline the city’s position as one of the UK’s fastest-growing urban economies in recent times.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.