Aberdeen City Region 50 fab facts
Open for business The working age population in the region is forecast to increase by over 15% to 2039 (v only 1% growth nationally) We are number 1 in Scotland and in the top 10 UK city regions for business start ups Over a quarter of Scotland s food and drink exports are from the North-east 25+ of Scotland s top 100 businesses are located here This is one of the top five most economically productive regions in the UK There are still up to 20bn barrels of oil equivalent to be recovered from the UKCS Westhill hosts Europe s largest cluster of subsea businesses Aberdeen ranked 5th for economic potential among small European cities
Quality of life Aberdeen regularly voted best Scottish city to live in and fifth in UK Quicker journey time from Aberdeen to London than from York to London 1 degree warmer than the Scottish average and half the annual rainfall of Miami A 37m overhaul of Aberdeen s major cultural venues is underway We have 208km of unspoilt coastline with eight beaches on our doorstep A purple flag confirms Aberdeen is one of Scotland s safest night time destinations
Always innovating There is breakthrough research in Alzheimer's happening now, here in Aberdeen Insulin was discovered by an Aberdonian scientist Foresterhill is Europe s biggest single site health campus 180m+ is being invested in a world-leading oil & gas technology centre We have the largest concentration of health and life scientists in Europe The UK s first degree in artificial intelligence was awarded here Aberdeen is a pioneering city for hydrogen and low carbon Ellon is home to craft beer punks BrewDog now valued at 1bn
Tourism Aberdeenshire stretches from one of the last great places on earth (the Cairngorms) to one of the world s top-rated coastlines, according to National Geographic magazine There are a staggering 300 castles in the area, more per acre than anywhere else in the British Isles We enjoy some of the best golf courses on the planet with a new 80m resort designed by Jack Nicklaus soon to be built here The stunning backdrop of Royal Deeside is where Queen Victoria was at her happiest Aberdeen one of the most architecturally distinctive cities in Europe according to the Scotsman There are flights from Aberdeen to 20 domestic destinations - more than from any other UK airport
Infrastructure More than 9bn of infrastructure & regeneration investment is planned and underway in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire One of Europe s biggest road building projects is due to complete here in 2018 A 350m world class conference and exhibition centre currently under construction The world s first floating windfarm can be found off the Aberdeenshire coast A brand new state of the art 330m harbour is being built in Aberdeen We have a City Centre Masterplan - 50 major projects to transform the heart of Aberdeen New 20m departure and arrivals area being added at Aberdeen International Airport
Great place to study & work Founded in 1495, University of Aberdeen is ranked among the top 1% of the world s universities RGU is the best Scottish university for graduate prospects with 96.7% employability rate Aberdeen is 2nd in the UK for the number of patents filed per capita Thirty per cent of Aberdeen s workforce is educated to degree level (sixth highest in UK) Our 250m City Region Deal is funding innovation hubs and digital infrastructure Aberdeen - home to the world s busiest civilian heliport The Capitol has been voted best new office development outside of central London
Did you know? Fraserburgh Harbour is Europe s largest shellfish port Aberdeen F.C - the only Scottish club to win two major European trophies The city has won Britain in Bloom a record ten times Waterloo Bridge and the Houses of Parliament terraces are built of Aberdeen granite The P&J is the world s second oldest English language newspaper and the most read regional daily in the UK Aberdeen has the only medieval granite cathedral in the world The self-seal envelope was invented by an Aberdonian Enough oats are grown in North-east Scotland every year to make 700m servings of porridge