About Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a unique economy in its own right and a core part of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. 

Oxfordshire has one of the strongest economies in the UK. It is a net contributor to the UK exchequer, contributing £23bn GVA in real terms (pre COVID-19). It is also rapidly growing, with an average growth of 3.9 per cent growth year-on-year in nominal terms since 2006.

We are home to around 678,000 people and 31,000 VAT registered businesses, including a high concentration of technology-based businesses that are at the forefront of global innovation. The region is home to the University of Oxford, the top performing university in the world, as well as Oxford Brookes, one of the leading young universities in the UK for teaching and research.

Oxfordshire has the highest intensity of university spin out companies in the country. The University of Oxford continues to generate more spin-outs than any other university nationally. 

The Oxfordshire economic mix has the potential to lead the UK's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On a per-head basis, the output of local workers is in the top 20 per cent of English regions, and Oxfordshire is leading the way in the UK for ‘good growth’ – Oxford is the highest ranking city in the UK in PwC’s 2021 Good Growth for Cities report, which measures the performance of cities against key economic and wellbeing indicators, such as employment, health, income and skills.

This impressive track record of growth has been delivered through close partnership working between government, local authorities, business leaders and universities.

Around £1billion-worth of funding has been secured for Oxfordshire by OxLEP – including government and European funds such as; Growth Deals, a City Deal, European Structural Investment Funds and Infrastructure Funds – all part of an overall investment programme in Oxfordshire worth £3.1billion.