{{About|the capital of Northern Ireland|other uses|Belfast (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}}

{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}

{{pp-move-indef}}

{{Infobox UK place

|name = Belfast

|official_name = City of Belfast

|irish_name= Béal Feirste

|scots_name= Bilfawst/ Bilfaust

|label_position = bottom

|static_image_name = BelfastMontageWiki.jpg

|static_image_width = 275px

|static_image_caption = Top: Skyline of Belfast<br/>Middle top left to right, [[Queen's University Belfast]], [[Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast]], The Boat, [[Titanic Belfast]]<br/>Bottom left to right: [[Belfast City Hall]], view of Belfast with [[Samson and Goliath (cranes)|Samson and Goliath]].

|static_image_2_name = Belfast Coat of Arms.gif

|static_image_2_caption = Belfast Coat of Arms.

|static_image_3_name = Flag of Belfast.svg

|static_image_3_caption = Flag of Belfast.

|latitude = 54.597

|longitude = -5.930

|label_position = none

|population =

|population_ref = <span style = "font-size: smaller;">City of Belfast:<br/> 286,000<ref name = "demography1">{{cite web|url = http://www.nisra.gov.uk/Census/pop_press_release_2_2011.pdf|title = Demography |publisher = NISRA |accessdate = 18 December 2012}}</ref>&nbsp;<br/>Urban area:<br/>483,418<ref>[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fom2005/03_FOPM_UrbanAreas.pdf The UK's major urban areas] Office for National Statistics (Belfast Urban Area defined in footnote 6, page 16 of the pdf)</ref><br/>[[Belfast Metropolitan Area|Metropolitan area]]:<br/>641,638<ref name = "nisra.gov.uk">{{citation|title=Statistical Classification and Delineation of Settlements|url=http://www.nisra.gov.uk/archive/demography/publications/urban_rural/ur_gaz.pdf|date= February 2005|publisher=NISRA|accessdate=13 May 2012}}</ref>

|irish_grid_reference = J338740

|unitary_ireland = [[Belfast City Council|City of Belfast]]

|country = Northern Ireland

|post_town = BELFAST

|postcode_area = BT

|postcode_district = BT1–BT17, BT29 (part), BT36 (part), BT58

|dial_code = 028

|constituency_westminster = [[Belfast North (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast North]]<br/>[[Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast South]]<br/>[[Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast East]]<br/>[[Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast West]]

|constituency_ni_assembly = [[Belfast North (Assembly constituency)|Belfast North]]<br/>[[Belfast South (Assembly constituency)|Belfast South]]<br/>[[Belfast East (Assembly constituency)|Belfast East]]<br/>[[Belfast West (Assembly constituency)|Belfast West]]

|lieutenancy__ireland = [[County Antrim]]<br/>[[County Down]]

|website = [http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/ www.belfastcity.gov.uk]

|area_total_sq_mi = 44.4

}}

{{Historical populations

|state=collapsed

|percentages=pagr

|1757|8549

|1782|13105

|1791|18320

|1806|22095

|1821|37277

|1831|53287

|1841|75308

|1851|97784

|1861|119393

|1871|174412

|1881|208122

|1891|255950

|1901|349180

|1911|386947

|1926|415151

|1937|438086

|1951|443671

|1961|415856

|1966|398405

|1971|362082

|1981|314270

|1991|279237

|2001|277391

|2006|267374

|2011|281000

||footnote=<ref>{{cite book| last=Wakefield| first=Edward| title=An account of Ireland, statistical and political: in two volumes| volume=2| publisher=Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown| location=London| pages=693–694| url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YeI_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA693#v=onepage}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cso.ie/census |title=Census for post 1821 figures |publisher=Cso.ie |accessdate=12 August 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100920090814/http://cso.ie/census| archivedate= 20 September 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histpop.org |title=Home |publisher=Histpop.Org |date=2 April 2007 |accessdate=13 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=NISRA |url=http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census |title=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency – Census Home Page |publisher=Nisranew.nisra.gov.uk |accessdate=12 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book

|last=Lee

|first=JJ

|editor-last=Goldstrom

|editor-first=J. M.

|editor2-last=Clarkson

|editor2-first=L. A.

|title=Irish Populatioe, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell

|year=1981

|publisher=Clarendon Press

|location=Oxford, England

|chapter=On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses

}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal

| last = Mokyr

| first = Joel

| author-link = Joel Mokyr

| last2 = O Grada

| first2 = Cormac

| author2-link =

| title = New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850

| journal = The Economic History Review

| volume = 37

| issue = 4

| pages = 473–488

| month = November

| year = 1984

| url = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract

| doi = 10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x

}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/factsandfigures/demographics.asp |title=Belfast City Council. Belfast: A Profile of the City. Demographics |publisher=Belfastcity.gov.uk |accessdate=12 August 2010| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20100925231740/http://belfastcity.gov.uk/factsandfigures/demographics.asp| archivedate= 25 September 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref>

}}

'''Belfast''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɛ|l|.|f|æ|s|t}} or {{IPAc-en|b|əl|ˈ|f|aː|s|t}}; {{Irish derived place name|Béal Feirste|[[River mouth|mouth]] of the [[sandbanks]]}})<ref>[http://www.royalmint.com/discover/ukcities/belfast_article.aspx Royal Mint]<!-- The link names it as "mouth of the sandbanks" --> – Belfast</ref> is the administrative capital and largest city of [[Northern Ireland]]. Most of Belfast is in [[County Antrim]], but parts of East and South Belfast are in [[County Down]].

It is on the flood plain of the [[River Lagan]].<ref>Beesley, S. and Wilde, J. 1997. ''Urban Flora of Belfast.'' The Institute of Irish Studies and The Queen's University of Belfast. ISBN 0 85389 695 X</ref>

By population, it is the fourteenth largest city in the United Kingdom<ref>[http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/population/cities.htm Woodlands] – What is the population of Britain's major cities ?</ref> and second largest on the [[Ireland|island of Ireland]]. It is the seat of the [[Devolution#United Kingdom|devolved]] [[Northern Ireland Executive|government]] and legislative [[Northern Ireland Assembly]].<ref name="MSN Encarta">{{cite encyclopedia | title = Northern Ireland | work = MSN Encarta – Northern Ireland | publisher = Microsoft | url = http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571415/Northern_Ireland.html | accessdate = 29 October 2007 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1257012982925640 | archivedate = 31 October 2009}}</ref> The city of Belfast has a population of 286,000<ref name="demography1"/> and lies at the heart of the Belfast Urban area which has a population of 483,418 and the [[Belfast Metropolitan Area]], which has a population of 579,276. The [[Larger Urban Zone]], as defined by the [[European Union]], has a total population 641,638. Belfast was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom#Northern Ireland|city status]] in 1888.

Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish [[linen]] industry (earning the nickname "[[Linenopolis]]"), tobacco production, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, [[Harland and Wolff]], which built the well-known ''[[RMS Titanic]]'', propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the [[Industrial Revolution]], establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the biggest city in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by [[Unionism in Ireland|unionist]] opponents of [[Irish Home Rule|Home Rule]] as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why [[Ulster unionism|Ulster unionists]] in particular would fight to resist it.

Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education and business, a legal centre, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of conflict called [[the Troubles]], but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. [[Belfast city centre]] has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around [[Victoria Square (Belfast)|Victoria Square]]. Belfast is served by two airports: [[George Best Belfast City Airport]] in the city, and [[Belfast International Airport]] {{convert|15|mi|km|0}} west of the city. Belfast is also a major port, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the [[Belfast Lough]] shoreline, including the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard. Belfast is a constituent city of the [[Dublin-Belfast corridor]], which has a population of three million, or half the total population of the island of Ireland. Belfast is listed by the [[Globalization and World Cities Research Network|Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC)]] as a [[global city]], with a ranking of 'Gamma-'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2010t.html |title= The World According to GaWC 2010 |publisher=Globalization and World Cities Research Network: [[Loughborough University]] |accessdate=8 October 2013 |year=2010 }}</ref>