Edinburgh is a great place to live and work with many interesting and varied things to do. It offers a unique blend of historic charm, stunning landscapes and modern city life, and is renowned as one of the UK’s most beautiful and walkable cities.
About Edinburgh
Edinburgh is Scotland's capital, where centuries of history meet a vibrant, cosmopolitan city in an unforgettable setting.
It's the UK’s most prosperous city outside of London and the UK’s second largest financial centre and has a long-held reputation for high quality education and academic excellence.
Culture
Every August, the city transforms into the world’s leading festival city, hosting a massive, unparalleled celebration of arts, culture, and performance. What is often referred to simply as "The Edinburgh Festival" is actually a collection of several distinct, concurrent events - most notably the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which turns our city into a vibrant global hub and attracts millions of visitors annually.
Winner of numerous accolades and awards, the capital was voted one of the best city in the world to visit by Time Out magazine in 2025 and the only British city listed. And in 2024, Edinburgh was voted Europe’s leading cultural city destination in the World Travel Awards. We're also home to seven out of ten of Scotland’s most visited attractions.
To get a taste of life in our fabulous city, visit Forever Edinburgh, the Official Guide to Edinburgh.
People
Over 500,000 people call Edinburgh home, and the population is projected to grow to over 586,566 by 2043.
Education and Training
Our four universities are internationally renowned for their academic research base and The University of Edinburgh was in 22nd place in the 2024 QS World University Rankings.
The city is home to around 160,000 students based in education institutions including schools, universities and colleges.
Business and Economy
Edinburgh attracts the highest salary levels and residents have the most disposable income outside of London.
Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s busiest airport and the UK’s sixth busiest airport, and Edinburgh Waverley is the fifth most used train station outside London. The gross value added (GVA) in Edinburgh of the financial and insurance sector was £6.1 billion in 2021, this represents 26% of Edinburgh’s total GVA.
Edinburgh has the largest proportion of workers in high skilled occupations, such as corporate managers, directors, and science, research and engineering professions than any other UK city including London.