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In common with many cities, Liverpool's population is younger than that of England as a whole, with 42.3 per cent of its population under the age of 30, compared to an English average of 37.4 per cent. 65.1 per cent of the population is of working age. The city is also known for its large Irish and Welsh populations. In 1813, 10 per cent of Liverpool's population was Welsh, leading to the city becoming known as ''the capital of North Wales''. but many more Liverpudlians are of Welsh or Irish ancestry.

As of 2005, an estimated 92.3 per cent of Liverpool's population was White, 1.9 per cent Asian or Asian British, 1.8 per cent Black or Black British, 1.9 per cent mixed-race and 2.1 per cent Chinese and other.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added (GVA) of Liverpool at current basic prices (pp.240–253) by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of pounds sterling.

The economy of Liverpool is beginning to recover from its long, post-World War II decline. Between 1995 and 2001 GVA per head grew at 6.3% annum. This compared with 5.8% for inner London and 5.7% for Bristol. The rate of job growth was 9.2% compared with a national average of 4.9% for the same period, 1998-2002. However, Liverpool is still comparatively poor; a 2001 report by CACI showed that Liverpool still had four of the ten poorest postcode districts in the country, and almost 30% of people aged 65 or over are without central heating.

Like the rest of the United Kingdom the city has seen a large growth in the service sector, both public and private. Government offices include parts of the National Health Service, Revenue and Customs and Home Office agencies such as the Criminal Records Bureau and the Identity and Passport Service, formerly the UK Passport Agency. Major private sector service industry concerns have also invested in Liverpool especially the financial services sector with Barclays, JPMorgan, Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, HBOS and the Bank of Ireland either opening or expanding their sites, a number of major call centres have opened in recent years too and the professional advice sector. The activities of the port had, due to containerisation and reduced levels of commerce, left the region with a communications infrastructure that exceeded its requirements, however the port's cargo volumes have picked up significantly.

Growth in the areas of New Media has been helped by the existence of a relatively large computer game development community. Sony based one of only a handful of European PlayStation research and development centres in Wavertree, after buying out noted software publisher Psygnosis. According to a 2006 issue of industry magazine 'Edge' (issue 162), the first professional quality PlayStation software developer's kits were largely programmed by Sony's Liverpool 'studio'.

Tourism is a major factor in the economy and this has led to a great increase in the provision of high quality services such as hotels, restaurants and clubs. The buildings of Liverpool also attract film makers, who regularly use Liverpool to double for cities around the world and making it the second most filmed city in the UK. Liverpool is also one of the few cities in the world where cruise liners can berth in the city centre, and from 2008 a significant number of ships will either set sail or call at Liverpool's cruise liner terminal, including the Grand Princess, and the QE2. Large naval ships coming in to dock also draw large crowds on sunny days. Liverpool and its boroughs have a large number of sandy beaches accessible by Merseyrail, which prove popular in the summer months.

Car-manufacturing also takes place in the city at the Halewood plant where the Jaguar X-Type and Land Rover Freelander models are assembled.

The owner of Liverpool's port and airport, Peel Holdings, announced on 6 March 2007 that is had plans to redevelop the city's northern dock area with a scheme entitled Liverpool Waters, which may see the creation of 17,000 jobs and £5.5bn invested in the vicinity over a 50 year period. This is coupled with a sister scheme on the other side of the River Mersey, called Wirral Waters.

Liverpool's main shopping area is ''Church Street'', lying between Bold Street to the East and Lord Street to the West. Liverpool One opened fully in October 2008 being the redevelopment of a large part of the postcode area L1—hence the name. It is also partly built on the old Chavasse Park, but much of the park still remains.

Landmarks

Liverpool's history means that there are a considerable variety of architectural styles found there. Its role as a major port in the British Empire means that many of the finest buildings in the city were built as headquarters for shipping firms and insurance companies, whilst the great wealth this afforded the city allowed the development of grand civic buildings, designed to allow the local administrators to 'run the city with pride'.

There are over 2,500 listed buildings in Liverpool (of which 26 are Grade I listed and 85 are Grade II* listed) and only the UK capital London, has more. It has been the beneficiary of high-minded public spirit since the late 18th century, largely with Dissenter impetus, resulting in more public sculpture than in any UK city aside from Westminster, more listed buildings than any city apart from London and more Georgian houses than the city of Bath, though most date from after the Georgian era. Liverpool is also described by English Heritage as England's finest Victorian city.

Renowned architects are particularly well represented in Liverpool, including Peter Ellis, John Wood, the Elder of Bath (commissioned in 1749 to design the original Public Exchange which later became the Town Hall), Thomas 'Greek' Harrison, James Wyatt, Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, Philip Hardwick, Jesse Hartley (Dock engineer and architect of the Albert Dock and Stanley Dock), Charles Cockerell, Thomas Rickman, John Foster, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, J.J. Scholes, Sir Joseph Paxton, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, J.K. Colling, J.A. Picton, George Edmund Street, John Loughborough Pearson, E.W. Pugin, E.R. Robson, Edmund Kirby, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Sir Frederick Gibberd, Alfred Waterhouse (who was born in Aigburth), W.D. Caroe, Leonard Stokes, Norman Shaw, James Francis Doyle, Walter Aubrey Thomas (architect of the iconic Royal Liver Building on the Liverpool waterfront), Gerald de Courcy Fraser, Charles Reilly and Herbert Rowse (architect of Martins Bank, Queensway Tunnel and India Buildings).

Waterfront and docks museums

In 2004, Liverpool's waterfront was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site, reflecting the city's importance in the development of the world's trading system and dock technology.

The docks are central to Liverpool's history, with the best-known being Albert Dock: the first enclosed, non-combustible dock warehouse system in the world and is built in cast iron, brick and stone. It was designed by Jesse Hartley. Restored in the 1980s, the Albert Dock has the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in Britain. Part of the old dock complex is now the home to the Merseyside Maritime Museum (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage), the International Slavery Museum and the Tate Liverpool. Other relics of the dock system include the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse, which at the time of its construction in 1901, was the world's largest building in terms of area, and is still the world's largest brick-work building. Also the ill-fated passenger liner RMS ''Titanic'' was registered in Liverpool.

The Pier Head is the most famous image of Liverpool, the location of the ''Three Graces'' (a fairly recent phrase), three of Liverpool's most recognisable buildings. In order from north to south they are:

They were built on the site of the former George's Dock and Manchester Dock.

Kings Dock immediately south of the Albert Dock is the site of the Liverpool Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre which officially opened on the 12 January 2008.

In front of these buildings at the water's edge are the memorials to the men of the merchant navy who sailed out of the port during both World Wars. Memorials to the British mariners, Norwegian, Dutch and to the thousands of Chinese seamen who manned Britain's ships cluster together here. Perhaps most interesting is the Chinese memorial to the men forcibly deported from the city after World War Two and to the families they left behind.

Places of worship

The thousands of migrants and sailors passing through Liverpool resulted in a religious diversity that is still apparent today. This is reflected in the equally , and two Christian cathedrals.

Christ Church, in Buckingham Road, Tuebrook, is a conservative evangelical congregation and is affiliated with the Evangelical Connexion. They worship using the 1785 Prayer Book, and regard the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice.

The parish church of Liverpool is the Anglican Our Lady and St Nicholas, colloquially known as ''the sailors church'', which has existed near the waterfront since 1257. It regularly plays host to Catholic masses. Other notable churches include the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas (built in the Neo-Byzantine architecture style), and the Gustav Adolfus Kyrka (the Swedish Seamen's Church, reminiscent of Nordic styles).

Liverpool's wealth as a port city enabled the construction of two enormous cathedrals, both dating from the 20th century. The Anglican Cathedral, which was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and plays host to the annual Liverpool Shakespeare Festival, has one of the longest naves, largest organs and heaviest and highest peals of bells in the world. The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, on Mount Pleasant next to Liverpool Science Park was initially planned to be even larger. Of Sir Edwin Lutyens' original design, only the crypt was completed. The cathedral was eventually built to a simpler design by Sir Frederick Gibberd; while this is on a smaller scale than Lutyens' original design, it still manages to incorporate the largest panel of stained glass in the world. The road running between the two cathedrals is called Hope Street, a coincidence which pleases believers. The cathedral is colloquially referred to as ''Paddy's Wigwam'' due to its shape and the vast number of Irish men who worked on its construction and are living in the area.

Liverpool contains several synagogues, of which the Grade I listed Moorish Revival Princes Road Synagogue is architecturally the most notable. Princes Road is widely considered to be the most magnificent of Britain's Moorish Revival synagogues and one of the finest buildings in Liverpool. Liverpool has a thriving Jewish community with a further two orthodox Synagogues, one in the Allerton district of the city and a second in the Childwall district of the city where a significant Jewish community reside. A third orthodox Synagogue in the Greenbank Park area of L17 has recently closed, and is a listed 1930s structure. There is also a Lubavitch Chabad House and a reform Synagogue. Liverpool has had a Jewish community since the mid-18th century. The current Jewish population of Liverpool is around 3000.

Liverpool also has an increasing Hindu community, with a Mandir on 253 Edge Lane; the Radha Krishna Hindu Temple from the Hindu Cultural Organisation based there. The current Hindu population in Liverpool is about 1147. date=July 2008 Liverpool also has the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in L15.

The city had one of the earliest mosques in Britain, founded in 1887 by William Abdullah Quilliam, a lawyer who had converted to Islam. This mosque, which was also the first in England, however no longer exists. Plans have been ongoing to re-convert the building where the mosque once stood into a museum. Currently there are three mosques in Liverpool: the largest and main one, Al-Rahma mosque, in the Toxteth area of the city and a mosque recently opened in the Mossley Hill district of the city. The third mosque was also recently opened in Toxteth and is on Granby Street.

Other notable buildings and main museums

The area around William Brown Street has been labeled the city's 'Cultural Quarter', owing to the presence of the William Brown Library, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum Liverpool, just three of Liverpool's neo-classical buildings. Nearby is St George's Hall, perhaps the most impressive of these neo-classical buildings. It was built to serve a variety of civic functions, including both as a concert hall and as the city's law courts. Its doors, inscribed ''S.P.Q.L.'' (Latin ''senatus populusque Liverpudliensis''—''the senate and people of Liverpool''), as well as its grand architecture proclaim the municipal pride and ambition of the city in the mid-nineteenth century. Also in this area are Wellington's Column and the Steble Fountain.

Liverpool's Town Hall dates from 1754 and has an interior which is well-regarded architecturally. The city's stock exchange and financial district are set immediately behind this building, and show how closely government and commerce were tied in the city's development.

At 40 storeys, West Tower is Liverpool's tallest building.

The Adelphi Hotel on Ranelagh Street is the most famous hotel in Liverpool and was very popular in the days when luxury liners crossed the Atlantic when it was described as the great Cunard liner stuck in the middle of the city. A 'fly-on-the-wall' TV documentary series was made on it and its staff.

The Atlantic Tower hotel near pier head was designed to resemble the prow of a ship to reflect Liverpool's maritime history.

The term ''Red Brick University'', applied to British universities dating from a similar period, was inspired by the University of Liverpool's Victoria Building, noted for its clock tower.

Some of Liverpool's landmarks are better known for their oddness rather than for their role. The Williamson Tunnels are architecturally unique as being the largest underground folly in the world. The Philharmonic Dining Rooms are noteworthy for their ornate Victorian toilets, which have become a tourist attraction in their own right.

On Renshaw Street there is the new alternative shopping centre Grand Central Hall—which has not only fine external architecture but also has much to offer inside, such as the metalwork and ceiling decoration of the Ground floor and the fantastic domed ceiling of Roscoe Hall. It was originally built in 1905, under the guidance of the Methodist Church, as a 2,000-seat cinema. The original organ of Roscoe Hall still remains and is a listed item itself, although recent shop additions to the hall have obscured the view somewhat.

In the south of the city, the art deco former terminal building of Speke Airport, used from the 1930s to 1986, has been adapted for use as a hotel, and is now the Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The terraces from which fans welcomed home The Beatles have been preserved.

Everton water tower is a Grade II listed building.

Parks and gardens

The English Heritage National Register of Historic Parks describes Merseyside’s Victorian Parks as collectively the ''most important in the country''

Transport

Mersey crossings

There are three tunnels under the River Mersey: the Mersey Railway Tunnel; and two road tunnels, Queensway Tunnel and Kingsway Tunnel.

The Mersey Ferry continues to provide an important link between Liverpool and the Wirral, as well as a tourist attraction. Made famous by the song ''Ferry Cross the Mersey'' by Gerry & The Pacemakers, the song is now played on the ferryboats themselves every time they prepare to dock at Liverpool after a tourist cruise.

The Mersey is crossed upstream from Liverpool at Runcorn and Widnes, by the Silver Jubilee Bridge (usually known simply as the ''Runcorn Bridge'') and the Runcorn Railway Bridge.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal

Built between 1770 and 1816 the Leeds and Liverpool Canal links Liverpool and the Mersey to Leeds and the River Aire. Its terminus had been at Old Hall Street, Pall Mall, Chisenhale Street, but that section now ends at Eldonian Village. A flight of locks just north of there takes the canal down to Stanley Dock, famous for the Tobacco Warehouse, and on to the main dock system.

A new link across the front of the Pier Head buildings will link the northern docks to the Albert Dock is presently under construction, with the plan being to open it during Liverpool's Capital of Culture Year of 2008.

Airport

Opened in the 1930s, Liverpool Airport, is situated near Speke in the south of the city. It was renamed Liverpool John Lennon Airport in 2001, in honour of the late Beatle John Lennon. The airport's logo consists of a sketch that John Lennon had drawn of himself, and the words ''Above us only sky'', lyrics from his song ''Imagine''. The sensitivity surrounding the airport's name change meant that the logo had to be designed in secret before it could be unveiled by John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. The airport was the starting point for Beatles tours in the sixties, and images of the band boarding planes there were seen throughout the world. In 2006 the airport handled nearly 5 million passengers and now serves 64 destinations, including many key European cities. New routes to New York and Toronto in summer 2007 were withdrawn towards the end of the year, as was the route to London City Airport, due to low passenger numbers.

Port

In 2002, 716,000 passengers used the Port of Liverpool, with the Isle of Man and Ireland being the two most important passenger routes, goods trade which was very low in the past decades, is growing up now.

Together, the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal offer a comprehensive range of port facilities, handling more than 40 million tonnes of cargo and 15,000 ship movements a year – making the River Mersey Britain's third busiest estuary.

The Port and Canal form the ''green'' gateway to an economy of more than 120,000 industrial and commercial enterprises and a population equal to that of greater London.

The Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal are now as one under the banner of Peel Ports, the UK's second largest ports group.

Railways

Liverpool is served by the Merseyrail urban rail network. The sections in the city centre are mostly underground. It has three lines: the Northern Line, which runs to Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby and Hunts Cross; the Wirral Line, which runs through the Mersey Railway Tunnel and has branches to New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port; and the City Line, only from Lime Street, for St Helens, Wigan, Preston, Warrington and Manchester.

The city's main railway station for longer-distance services is Lime Street station, one of the most famous railway stations in Britain. Trains operate to destinations including London (in 2 hours 8 minutes) with Pendolino trains, Birmingham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester, Preston, Leeds, Scarborough, Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich.

The London line was one of the first electrified in Britain with wire (with Manchester and Glasgow).

Liverpool had been home to the first electrically powered overhead railway in the world. Known as the Liverpool Overhead Railway (or ''Dockers Umbrella'') it opened on 4 February 1893 with an eventual total of 14 stations. The line suffered extensive damage during the Second World War and was eventually closed down on 30 December 1956 with considerable protest. The tunnel portal in Dingle is one of the only surviving signs of the railway's existence as the iron bridges were removed for scrap.

Buses

Long distance coach services arrive at and depart from the Norton Street Coach Station. Local buses serve the whole of the city and its surrounding areas. The two principal termini for local buses are Queen Square Bus Station (located near Lime Street railway station) for services north and east of the city, and Paradise Street Interchange (located near the Albert Dock) for services to the south and east. Cross-river services to the Wirral use roadside terminus points in Castle Street and Sir Thomas Street.

Historic tramway and railways

Historically, Liverpool had an extensive tram network, construction of which started in 1869 by the Liverpool Tramways Company; however, this was dismantled in the 1950s. Other railway lines, such as the Canada Dock Branch from Edge Hill to Kirkdale, no longer see passenger services, or have been removed completely, such as the North Liverpool Extension Line.

Proposed new tram

In 2001, a plan to build new a light rail system, Merseytram was developed. After central government insisted on additional guarantees prior to the release of previously committed funds, it was cancelled in November 2005. However, it is to be included in the transport plan from 2006-2011, as it is deemed to be an important part of Liverpool's development.

Road links

Liverpool has direct road links with many other major areas of England.

The M62 motorway connects Liverpool with Hull and along the route also provides a link with areas including Manchester, Leeds and Huddersfield, and not far along the M62 from Liverpool is the interchange with the M6 that provides links to more distant areas including Birmingham, Staffordshire, the Lake District and the Scottish border.

The Kingsway and Queensway tunnels give a direct link to the A41 that eventually stretches to London, although using the M62 or M6 and eventually M1 is a far quicker route from Liverpool to London. However, the A41 is a relatively quick and direct link with Cheshire and Shropshire.This in turn provides a quick link to the A55 road that runs along the North Wales coastline.

In the early 1960s there were plans to build a ''Liverpool Inner Motorway'' which would been similar to the ''urban motorways'' which were later built around the cities of Manchester and Leeds. The motorway was still a possibility as the 1970s drew to a close, but it was never built.

Culture

In 2003, Liverpool was named a European Capital of Culture for 2008, the other site being Stavanger, Norway. A series of cultural events during 2003-9 is planned, peaking in 2008.

Literature

A number of notable authors have visited Liverpool including Daniel Defoe, Washington Irving, Thomas De Quincey, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, and Gerald Manley Hopkins all of whom spent extended periods in the citydate=January 2009. Hawthorne was stationed in Liverpool as United States consul between 1853 and 1856date=January 2009.

Although he never visited, Jung had a vivid dream of the city which he analysed in one of his works.

Music

Liverpool was the centre in the 1960's of Merseybeat and since then has been home to a music scene. The city is also home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, headquartered in the Philharmonic Hall, and to a youth orchestra. Max Bruch was one of numerous notable conductors of the RLPO, and dedicated his Kol Nidre to the Jewish community in the city. Sir Edward Elgar dedicated his famous Pomp and Circumstance No.1, ''Land of Hope and Glory'', to the Liverpool Orchestral Society, and the piece had its first performance in the city in 1901.

Poetry

During the late 1960s the city became well-known for the Liverpool poets, who include Roger McGough and the late Adrian Henri. An anthology of poems, ''The Mersey Sound'', written by Henri, McGough and Brian Patten, has sold over 500,000 copies since first being published in 1967date=January 2009.

Theatre

Liverpool also has a history of performing arts, reflected in its annual theatrical highlight The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival which takes place inside Liverpool Cathedral and in the adjacent historic St James' Gardens every summer, and by the number of theatres in the city. These include the Empire, Everyman, Liverpool Playhouse, Neptune, Royal Court and the Unity Theatre. The Everyman Theatre, Unity Theatre and Playhouse Theatre all run their own theatre companies.

Visual arts

Liverpool has more galleries and national museums than any other city in the United Kingdom apart from London. The Tate Liverpool gallery houses the modern art collection of the Tate in the North of England and was, until the opening of Tate Modern, the largest exhibition space dedicated to modern art in the United Kingdom. The FACT centre hosts touring multimedia exhibitions, whilst the Walker Art Gallery houses an extensive collection of Pre-Raphaelites. Sudley House contains another major collection of pre 20th century art., and the number of galleries continues to expand: Ceri Hand Gallery opened in 2008, exhibiting primarily contemporary art, and Liverpool University's Victoria Building was re-opened as a public art gallery and museum to display the University's artwork and historical collections which include the second-largest display of art by Audubon outside the USdate=July 2008.

Artists have also come from the city, including painter George Stubbs who was born in Liverpool in 1724.

The Liverpool Biennial festival of arts runs from mid-September to late November and comprises three main sections; the International, The Independents and New Contemporaries although fringe events are timed to coincide. It was during the 2004 festival that Yoko Ono's work ''My mother is beautiful'' caused widespread public protest when photographs of a naked woman's pubic area were exhibited on the main shopping street. Despite protests the work remained in placedate=July 2008.

Education

In Liverpool primary and secondary education is available in various forms supported by the state including secular, Church of England, Jewish, and Roman Catholic. Islamic education is available at primary level, but there is currently no secondary provision.

One of Liverpool's important early schools was The Liverpool Blue Coat School; founded in 1708 as a charitable school.

The Liverpool Blue Coat School is the top-performing school in the city with 100% 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE resulting in the 30th best GCSE results in the country and an average point score per student of 1087.4 in A/AS levels. Other notable schools include Liverpool College founded in 1840 Merchant Taylors' School founded in 1620. Another of Liverpool's notable senior schools is St. Edward's College situated in the West Derby area of the city. Historic grammar schools, such as the Liverpool Institute High School & Liverpool Collegiate, closed in the 1980s are still remembered as centres of academic excellence. Bellerive Catholic College is the city's top performing non selective school, based upon GCSE results in 2007.

Liverpool has three universities: the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University. Edge Hill University, originally founded as a teacher-training college in the Edge Hill district of Liverpool, is now located in Ormskirk in South-West Lancashire.

The University of Liverpool, was established in 1881 as University College Liverpool. In 1884, became part of the federal Victoria University. Following a Royal Charter and Act of Parliament in 1903, it became an independent university, the University of Liverpool, with the right to confer its own degrees.

Liverpool Hope University, founded in 1844, is situated on both sides of Taggart Avenue in Childwall and a second Campus in the City Centre (The Cornerstone). Hope is quickly making a name for itself within the Liberal Arts, the University has also enjoyed successes in terms of high graduate employability, campus development, and a substantial increase in student applications from outside of the City.

The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, founded to address some of the problems created by trade, continues today as a post-graduate school affiliated with the University of Liverpool and is one of only two institutions internationally that house the de facto standard anti-venom repository.