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The UK economy - Statistics & Facts

The gross domestic product of the British economy was 2.27 trillion British pounds in 2023 and was the sixth-largest global economy, behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India. With two quarters of negative growth at the end of 2023, the UK economy is currently in recession, and has grown only slightly compared to its pre-pandemic size. In 2020, UK GDP shrank by a record 10.4 percent due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some ways, the UK economy has successfully recovered from the sudden shock of the pandemic. An annual GDP growth rate of 8.7 percent was recorded in 2021, while the labor market bounced back very strongly, with very low levels of unemployment in 2022. The inflation rate, by contrast, increased rapidly towards the end of 2021 and reached a 41-year high of 11.1 percent in October 2022.

Inflation eases but cost of living crisis continues into 2024

Although inflation remained in double figures for several months after the October 2022 peak, by the end of 2023, it had fallen to four percent. Additionally, since June 2023, wages have begun to grow again, following 20 months of inflation outpacing wage growth. Despite this, as of January 2024, almost half of UK households were still reporting that their cost of living had increased in the last month. This was however down from 91 percent in April 2022, when the average annual energy bill for a typical home in the UK rose significantly due to the energy cap (which limits what suppliers can charge per unit of energy) increasing in that month with a further rises in 2022 and 2023. Due to these factors real household disposable income fell in 2022/23 and 2023/24, with a further decline expected in 2024/25. It is unclear how long this crisis will last, although the annual inflation rate is expected to fall to 2.2 percent in 2024, and then 1.5 percent in 2025. GDP is forecast to grow by 0.8 percent, in 2024 while unemployment will continue to remain reasonably low, at 4.4 percent.

Coronavirus devastates UK economy in 2020

In early 2020, the UK government moved swiftly to mitigate the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic by furloughing workers and protecting the incomes of the self-employed, its handling of the public health crisis was much less assured, and the country suffered a very high number of deaths in the initial wave as a result. In April 2020, the GDP of the UK fell by 18.9 percent, the biggest monthly fall in GDP ever recorded. Unemployment claims, which numbered 1.23 million before the pandemic, increased to 2.62 million by May. As Summer arrived, there were estimated to be just 343 thousand job vacancies, compared with 796 thousand before lockdown measures started. With cases falling, some parts of the UK economy began to open up, with the government providing aid to the ailing restaurant industry through the 'Eat out to Help Out' scheme. The end of summer coincided with the arrival of the second wave of the pandemic just as the government's trade negotiations with the European Union began to enter troubled waters. Although an agreement was eventually reached and ratified just before the end of the transition period, the arrangement has left the UK economically isolated from the rest of the continent.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by D. Clark, Mar 8, 2024

Key insights

GDP of the UK
2.27 tr GBP
Unemployment rate
4.2%
Inflation rate
4%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Average year-on-year growth of weekly earnings (3-month-average) in the United Kingdom from March 2001 to February 2024

Wages & Salaries

Average weekly earning growth in the UK 2001-2024

Budgeted public sector expenditure on services in the United Kingdom in 2023/24, by function (in billion GBP)

Income & Expenditure

Public sector spending in the United Kingdom 2023/24

Number of people employed in the United Kingdom from March 1971 to February 2024 (in 1,000s)

Employment

Number of people employed in the UK 1971-2024

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