Ballymena is a town in northeastern Northern Ireland. It is the headquarters of the Mid and East Antrim local government district.
Ballymena is known as an industrial center, but service industries have grown in importance. Ballymena’s factories were long known for producing cigarettes, linen, and tires. Bacon curing, flax spinning and bleaching, and flour milling have also been important economic activities. Major manufactures in the Ballymena region today include medical equipment, processed foods, and transportation equipment. Kieselguhr, a clay used in dynamite, is mined in the Ballymena region. Rural areas near Ballymena have rich agricultural land and are noted for salmon and trout fishing.
Ballymena lies in historic Country Antrim, one of the six former counties of Northern Ireland. County Antrim ceased to be used as an administrative area in 1973, when local government was reorganized into smaller districts. From 1973 to 2015, Ballymena was the name of a district council area—a kind of local government area—centered on the town of Ballymena. In 2015, the Ballymena, Carrickfergus, and Larne districts were combined to form the Mid and East Antrim local government district.
