HomeYorkshire Forward is the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Development Agency, the government agency responsible for developing the region’s economy. Yorkshire Forward’s most current key strategy is to bring more investment to the region and promote local businesses and industries through major events (music, sport and culture), this will give scope for exciting new opportunities for businesses within the region for the foreseeable future.
We work very closely with Yorkshire Forward so please contact us for information about the region’s economy, demographics and development plans. You will find an up to date list of Yorkshire Forward events on the “Calendar of Events” and “Latest News” pages on this website. Please contact us to discuss ways in which you can get involved in any of these major events.
Facts & Figures for Yorkshire & Humber
Economy
Yorkshire and the Humber have six of the country’s top 30 "wealthiest" areas to live in the country, according to banking experts.
The region’s GDP exceeds £81 billion. It ranks amongst the top third of the world’s national economies (outpacing the European average for the last 5 years). Billions of pounds have been poured into commercial development in its key cities over the past decade – with millions more earmarked for projects under way or in the pipeline.
Research from Barclays Premier Banking found that when combining salary and cost of living data to calculate the actual value of disposable incomes, parts of the county are considered extremely affluent places in which to live.
The region boasts no fewer than five great cities – and these have become the drivers of business growth throughout Yorkshire and Humber. Each offers a truly distinctive commercial environment that, when grouped together, embraces every sector of modern commerce.
- A regional economy growing faster than the European average
- A regional venture capital market worth over £500 million
- One of the best financial assistance packages for business in Europe
- Half of the world’s top ten companies have a base in the region
- One of the fastest growing IT sectors in the UK
- The country’s largest concentration of food research and production
- The biggest banking and legal centre outside of London
- The UK’s most profitable region with a return on investment of 12.4%
- Some of the lowest labour costs in the country
- One of the few regions where major cities are actually growing
Population
4,964,338 = 10.1% of England’s population.
Major Tourist Attraction
As Britain’s biggest county, Yorkshire has more historic houses, castles and national parkland than anywhere else, along with the best shopping in the north.
As Britain’s biggest county, and with over 1,000 sq miles of national parkland, Yorkshire and Humber’s countryside and breathtaking landscapes can’t fail to captivate.
It’s always been God’s own country. Now it’s Country Life and Condé Nast’s favourite place too!
Accessibility
By road - With the M1 and A1 running north to south through the region and the M62 linking east with west, Yorkshire and the Humber is one huge crossroads. It is halfway between London and Edinburgh, with up to 40 million British customers within easy reach.
By rail Mainline stations are throughout Yorkshire including Leeds, York, Doncaster, Hull, Wakefield and Bradford. All are within 2 hours of London.
By air Leeds Bradford and Humberside Airports provide connections to over 40 countries. In 2005 these were joined by Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Britain’s newest international airport that within the next 10 years, aims to deal with over 2 million passengers and 50,000 tonnes of freight.