Location

Lying a short distance north of the city of Belfast on the shores of Belfast Lough, Newtownabbey is a tourist gateway to the beautiful nine Glens of Antrim and the magnificent Antrim coast. With its prominent suburban position at the heart of Northern Ireland’s business belt the area enjoys fast access to Northern Ireland’s two main airports and ports by means of its first-class road and rail infastructure.

Newtownabbey has several major international companies which sit comfortably alongside small and medium-sized businesses. There is also a strong agricultural base, chiefly in the fertile Ballyclare and surrounding area.

Population:

As of 2005, 80,834 with a density of 536 persons per square kilometer. Over 60% of the population are of working age (16-65).

Housing

The number of households in Newtownabbey total 31,302. 75% of these are owner occupied and of the remaining 25%, 17.5% are rented from the Northern Ireland housing Executive, 5.6% rented from private landlords and the remainder by other social renting arrangements.

Education

Based in Newtownabbey are the Northern Regional College and the University of Ulster, Jordanstown campus. Both produce a highly skilled workforce and well trained graduates.

The University of Ulster has a student population of around 12,000 at its Jordanstown campus. Many companies in the area have strong links with the University, attracted by its Science and Technology Incubator Unit for graduate and postgraduate study.

Statistics Finder

Further details are available from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.