Derry, or ‘the Maiden City’ as it is sometimes referred to, is the second largest city in Northern Ireland, and the fourth largest in Ireland after Dublin, Belfast and Cork respectively. It is the regional city for the northwest of Ireland, and the current population is approximately 105,000, with a catchment population of 400,000.
Between 1991 and 2001 the population of Derry grew at a rate of 9.2%, compared with the Northern Ireland average of 5.3% for the same period. The local economy in Derry has grown steadily over a number of years, and the annual employment growth rate for the northwest is currently 2.9% per annum, compared to 2% for Northern Ireland as a whole.
