United Kingdom Economy Profile 2008

Economy - overview

The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quintet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades, the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. Since emerging from recession in 1992, Britain's economy has enjoyed the longest period of expansion on record; growth has remained in the 2-3% range since 2004, outpacing most of Europe. The economy's strength has complicated the Labor government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and public opinion polls show a majority of Britons are opposed to the euro. The BROWN government has been speeding up the improvement of education, health services, and affordable housing at a cost in higher taxes and a widening public deficit.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$2.147 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$2.756 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.9% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$35,300 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 23.6%
services: 75.5% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line

14% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1999)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.4% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

18.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

30.71 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 18.2%
services: 80.4% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate

5.4% (2007 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

34 (2005)

Budget

revenues: $1.155 trillion
expenditures: $1.237 trillion (2007 est.)

Public debt

43.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Industries

machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate

0.7% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production

372.6 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption

348.7 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports

2.839 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports

11.16 billion kWh (2005)

Oil - production

1.861 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

1.82 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

1.654 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports

1.956 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves

4.029 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

84.16 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

91.16 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

8.843 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

15.84 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves

509.2 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$111 billion (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish

Exports

$415.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners

US 13.9%, Germany 10.9%, France 10.4%, Ireland 7.1%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium 5.2%, Spain 4.5% (2006)

Imports

$595.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs

Imports - partners

Germany 12.8%, US 8.9%, France 6.9%, Netherlands 6.6%, China 5.3%, Norway 4.9%, Belgium 4.5% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$47.04 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external

$10.45 trillion (30 June 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$1.135 trillion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$1.487 trillion (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$3.058 trillion (2005)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $12.46 billion (2006)

Currency (code)

British pound (GBP)

Exchange rates

British pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)

Fiscal year

6 April - 5 April