| Economy | United Kingdom |
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Economy - overview:
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The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France. 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 resources, but its oil and natural gas reserves are declining and the UK became a net importer of energy in 2005. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. After emerging from recession in 1992, Britain's economy enjoyed the longest period of expansion on record during which time growth outpaced most of Western Europe. In 2008, however, the global financial crisis hit the economy particularly hard, due to the importance of its financial sector. Sharply declining home prices, high consumer debt, and the global economic slowdown compounded Britain's economic problems, pushing the economy into recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompting the then BROWN government to implement a number of measures to stimulate the economy and stabilize the financial markets; these include nationalizing parts of the banking system, cutting taxes, suspending public sector borrowing rules, and moving forward public spending on capital projects. Facing burgeoning public deficits and debt levels, the CAMERON government in 2010 initiated a five-year austerity program, which aims to lower London's budget deficit from over 10% of GDP in 2010 to nearly 1% by 2015. In November 2011, Chancellor of the Exchequer George OSBORNE announced additional austerity measures through 2017 because of slower-than-expected economic growth and the impact of the euro-zone debt crisis. The Bank of England periodically coordinates interest rate moves with the European Central Bank, but Britain remains outside the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$2.25 trillion (2011 est.)
$2.225 trillion (2010 est.)
$2.195 trillion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$35,900 (2011 est.)
$35,800 (2010 est.)
$35,500 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
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$2.481 trillion (2011 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
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1.1% (2011 est.)
1.4% (2010 est.)
-4.4% (2009) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 21.6%
services: 77.7% (2011 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
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14.4% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
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14% (2006 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1999) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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34 (2005)
36.8 (1999) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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4.5% (2011 est.)
3.3% (2010 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
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7.75% (31 December 2010 est.)
0.5% (31 December 2009 est.) |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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4% (31 December 2011 est.)
3.962% (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of money:
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$NA |
Stock of money - per capita:
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void |
Stock of quasi money:
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$NA |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
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void |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$5.151 trillion (31 December 2009)
$4.436 trillion (31 December 2008) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
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82,156 USD per capita |
Stock of narrow money:
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$96.55 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$88.88 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of broad money:
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$3.53 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
$3.362 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Labor force:
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31.76 million (2011 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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50.66 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 18.2%
services: 80.4% (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate:
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7.9% (2011 est.)
7.8% (2010 est.) |
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
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total: 18.9%
male: 21.7%
female: 15.6% (2009) |
Budget:
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revenues: $1.015 trillion
expenditures: $1.232 trillion (2011 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
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16,189 USD per capita |
Taxes and other revenues:
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40.9% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
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-8.8% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Public debt:
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79.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
76.1% of GDP (2010 est.)
note: data cover general Government Debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by Government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment. Debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions. |
Industries:
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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:
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0.2% (2011 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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346 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
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5,519 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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344.7 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
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5,498 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
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3.748 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
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2.861 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
Oil - production:
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1.393 million bbl/day (2010 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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22,218 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
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1.622 million bbl/day (2010 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
|
9.44 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
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1.311 million bbl/day (2009 est.) |
Oil - imports:
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1.45 million bbl/day (2009 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
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2.858 billion bbl (1 January 2011 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
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56.3 billion cu m (2010 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
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898 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - consumption:
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94.28 billion cu m (2010 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
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1,504 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - exports:
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15.65 billion cu m (2010 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
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53.63 billion cu m (2010 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
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256 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
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cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish |
Current account balance:
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-$66.6 billion (2011 est.)
-$71.6 billion (2010 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
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-1,062 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$495.4 billion (2011 est.)
$410.2 billion (2010 est.) |
Exports per capita:
|
7,902 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
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manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco |
Exports - partners:
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US 11.4%, Germany 11.2%, Netherlands 8.5%, France 7.7%, Ireland 6.8%, Belgium 5.4% (2010) |
Imports:
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$654.9 billion (2011 est.)
$563.2 billion (2010 est.) |
Imports per capita:
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10,446 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
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manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners:
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Germany 13.1%, China 9.1%, Netherlands 7.5%, France 6.1%, US 5.8%, Norway 5.5%, Belgium 4.9% (2010) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$82.41 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$66.72 billion (31 December 2009 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
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1,315 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
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$9.836 trillion (30 June 2011)
$8.981 trillion (30 June 2010) |
Debt - external - per capita:
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156,879 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
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$1.136 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
$1.076 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
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18,119 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
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$1.702 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
$1.675 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
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27,146 USD per capita |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
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$3.107 trillion (31 December 2010)
$2.796 trillion (31 December 2009)
$1.852 trillion (31 December 2008) |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
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49,555 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
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British pound (GBP) |
Exchange rates:
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British pounds (GBP) per US dollar -
0.6176 (2011 est.)
0.6468 (2010 est.)
0.6175 (2009)
0.5302 (2008)
0.4993 (2007) |
Fiscal year:
|
6 April - 5 April |
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