The second largest city in Northern Ireland is Derry, officially called Londonderry.

Quick Scoop

  • Belfast is the largest and capital city of Northern Ireland.
  • Derry/Londonderry is the second largest city by population in Northern Ireland.
  • It lies on both banks of the River Foyle in the northwest of the region.
  • The city’s name is politically sensitive: many nationalists say “Derry,” while many unionists and official UK usage often say “Londonderry.”

A tiny bit of context

If you imagine Northern Ireland’s cities as a ladder of size, Belfast sits at the top rung, and just below it is Derry/Londonderry, often described in media and reference works as “Northern Ireland’s second-largest city” or “second city.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.