Doing Business in United Kingdom
Published in March 2020
England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain) together with Northern Ireland comprise the United Kingdom (UK).
The UK's economy is the sixth largest economy in the world and the second largest in the European Union (EU). The country is a globally important influencer, being one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO and of the Commonwealth, and a member of the G7 and G20 economic forums. The country pursues a global approach to foreign policy.
The UK withdrew its membership of the EU on 31 January 2020 and until 31 December 2020 is operating within an implementation period. During this time the UK will negotiate its future with the EU, including its trade agreements.
Also during this period, EU law continues to apply in the UK and passporting continues. Any new EU legislation passed in the period will apply to the UK. Essentially this means business as usual until 31 December 2020, by which time there should be more clarity on the UK’s position.
The UK had an estimated 66.87 million people in 2019, with $2,824,850 million GDP (2019) and growth of 1.4%. The inflation rate is currently around 1.8 % and nominal GDP per capita is $41,030.2 (2019 est.). The currency is the Great Britain Pound, GBP.
In 2019 the United Kingdom was the 10th largest export economy in the world and the 11th most complex economy according to the 2017 Economic Complexity Index (ECI). The top UK exports in 2019 were machinery (including computers), cars, gems (precious metals) and mineral fuels including oil.
The UK’s service industries include the retail sector, the financial sector, the public sector, business administration, leisure and cultural activities. In 2018, the service industries accounted for 81% of total UK economic output (Gross Value Added). Services accounted for 84% of workforce jobs in September 2019.
The UK is the largest market in the world for U.S. service exports. Major categories of US exports to the UK are aerospace products, precious metal and stone (gold), machinery, mineral fuels, and electrical machinery , biomass, cyber security, medical equipment, new build civil nuclear, certain consumer goods such as pet products, smart grids, sustainable construction, travel and tourism.
This portal incorporates live data feeds from:
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The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
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The World Bank
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The observatory of Economic Complexity
The intention is to provide access to live information extracted from the regularly refreshed databases maintained by these organisations.