Although Northern Ireland is a small country, it makes major contributions to the world.

Belfast , Gaelic Béal Feirste, is the capital of Northern Ireland and sits on Belfast Lough, an inlet of the North Channel of the Irish Sea, and at the mouth of the Lagan River. The harbor, 8.5 mi (13.7 km) long, is navigable to the largest ships. The great shipyards of Belfast have built some of the world’s largest ocean liners. The city is also the center of the Irish linen industry; other industries include tobacco and food processing, packaging, and the manufacture of rayon, aircraft, tools and machinery, clothing, carpets, and rope.

Queen’s University (founded 1845) and Victoria College (founded 1859), one of the oldest women’s grammar schools in the British Isles, are among the educational institutions there. The Cathedral of St. Anne, the Waterfront concert hall, and the Odyssey Center, housing a sports arena and a science museum, are notable. The Parliament House of Northern Ireland is at Stormont, a suburb.

• Belfast was founded in 1177 when a castle in defense of a ford over the Lagan was built, but the present city is a product of the Industrial Revolution.
• French Huguenots , coming there after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), stimulated the growth of the town’s linen industry.
• The ocean liner Titantic was built in Belfast and there are still some people in Northern Ireland who remember seeing the launching of this “unsinkable ship”
• In 1900, the large industrial city of Belfast had the biggest shipyard, biggest rope-works and biggest textile factory in the world
• Famous Northern Irelanders include Oscar-winning actor Liam Neeson, singer/song-writer Van Morrison, Noble Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, Formula One Racing driver Eddie Irvine and professional golfer Darren Clark
• The city of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age and visitors can still visit the remains of the Iron Age hill forts.
• In 2007, more than 6.9 million visitors came to Belfast, 1 million more than in 2004. Tourists injected £313.3 million into the local economy and helped to support over 17,230 full-time jobs. (40% of visitors came to Belfast on business or to attend a conference, 30% of visitors came to Belfast on holiday, 3% of visitors came to visit friends and relatives)
• The city is also a popular destination for cruise ships with 31 vessels visiting the city in 2007, carrying over 38,000 passengers and crew.
• Agricultural and livestock products are the chief exports.