United Kingdom GDP Growth Rate

Last Release

Dec 31, 2023

Actual

-0.3

Units In

Frequency

Quarterly

Next Release

Jun 28, 2024

Time to Release

2 Months 30 Days 6 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
17.6 Sep 2020	-19.4 Jun 2020	0.58 %	1955-2023	Office for National Statistics

The services sector is the most important and account for 79 percent of United Kingdom's GDP. The biggest segments within services are: government, education and health (19 percent of total GDP); real estate (12 percent); professional, scientific and technical activities and administrative and support services (12 percent); wholesale and retail trade (11 percent); and financial and insurance (8 percent). Industry accounts for 21 percent of the GDP and the largest segments within this sector are: manufacturing (10 percent of total GDP) and construction (6 percent). The Agriculture sector accounts for only 1 percent of GDP. Composition of the GDP on the expenditure side: household consumption (65 percent), government expenditure (20 percent) and gross fixed capital formation (17 percent). Exports of goods and services account for 28 percent of GDP while imports account for 30 percent, subtracting 2 percent from GDP.

Latest Updates

The UK's economy shrank by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2023, entering a technical recession for the first time since the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak in the initial half of 2020, as high inflation, record borrowing costs, and weak external demand weighed on demand and activity. Household consumption declined by 0.1% (vs -0.9% in Q3) due to lower spending on recreation and culture, household goods and services, transport, and clothing and footwear. Additionally, net trade contributed negatively to GDP as exports fell more than imports, along with inventory changes. On the other hand, fixed investment rose by 0.9%, rebounding from two periods of declines, boosted by increases in other buildings and transport. Finally, government consumption edged up 0.1%, marking a third period of growth, driven by higher spending on public administration and defense, which offset lower activity in education and health. On a yearly basis, the UK economy contracted by 0.2% in the fourth quarter.