The map shows just how big London’s economy is. Each of the coloured areas has an economy that is roughly equal to London’s GDP figure of £487 billion ($600 billion) in 2018.
London also dominates the UK economy. In 2018, London had a population of 8,908,081 or 13.4% of the UK. However, it’s GDP is 22.8% of the UK.
When looked at on a per capita basis the difference is even more stark. The UK’s GDP per head (including London) in 2018 was £31,976 ($39,551) or £28,736 ($35,532) per head when London is excluded. However, London’s GDP per head is £54,686 ($67,619) or 90% higher than the rest of the UK.
Finally, if you’re wondering why the divisions were done the way they were, they were based largely on NUTS 2 regions and then joined purely based on economic size to as closely match London’s GDP.
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Mr Reynard says
Ohh.. Come on ?? That’s peanuts as to compare it with Kalifornia’s economy, which is 90 time greater than Russian economy …
Some even say 150 time greater ??
Maak says
1. as you know, California is not a city, but a state more populous than Canada. Comparing that to London is as pointless as this article comparing regions with completely different structures and population sizes.
2. California’s GDP is twice the size of Russia’s, which is a stark difference from your ridiculous claims, because 90 times Russia’s GDP would be 164 percent of total world GDP. 150 times would be 274 percent of world GDP. That being said, Russia is a poor emerging economy with a low GDP per capita, ranking just 65th in per capita comparisons.
3. yes, California has a large GDP, but California would be the 36th largest country in the world and if it were one of the 38 member countries of the OECD, it would be the 11th largest member.
4. there is nothing special about that. Some countries have extremely strong regions and the size of their states or regions differs extremely. You often hear that the states of the U.S. are comparable in size to European countries. But the same is true for the states in Germany when compared to European countries. Or if you compare the German states to those in the U.S., because most of the states in Germany are also as populous as the larger states in the U.S.. NRW and Bavaria would each be ranked 5th, Baden-Würtemberg 8th, Lower Saxony 13th, Hesse 18th, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony both 28th, the city-state of Berlin 29th, etc. There are cities that are larger than countries or states. Of course, their GDP is also larger. The GDP of the Greater Tokyo Area is 2.2 trillion so Tokyo would be in 8th place if it were a country. So what? But it is a capital and at the same time the most important economic center of a country and the largest city in the world, so no wonder.
5. Ireland has a higher GDP per capita than California – so what? For a similar reason why California ranks first in the US, Ireland ranks second in the EU. Because various tech companies find the ideal conditions there within the EU.
6. This list of GDP per capita of the regions of the OECD members gives a reasonable picture of economic strength, although the reason for the differences is of course completely individual and specific. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_OECD_regions_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita