United Kingdom: Economic and political outline

Economic Overview

The United Kingdom is the sixth-largest economy in the world. According to the ONS, in 2024, GDP grew by 0.8%, following a 0.4% increase in 2023. Services led the growth with a 1.3% rise, while construction and agriculture, forestry, and fishing saw increases of 0.4% and 1.0%, respectively. However, production fell by 1.7%, with all four subsectors declining. Twelve of the twenty industry subsectors grew, with professional, scientific, and technical activities (3.2%) and human health and social work activities (2.9%) leading the way. The largest decline came from mining and quarrying, which dropped by 7.2%. According to the EU Commission, GDP is expected to grow by 1.4% in both 2025 and 2026. Private consumption is forecast to increase by 1% in 2025 and 1.4% in 2026. Investment is projected to rise slightly in 2025 and 2026, supported by lower interest rates, especially for residential investment. Imports and exports are expected to grow modestly, with goods trade remaining weak due to post-Brexit supply chain issues and the real exchange rate appreciating in 2024. Net trade is not anticipated to significantly drive growth.

According to official governmental figures, borrowing for the financial year ending December 2024 was GBP 129.9 billion, GBP 8.9 billion higher than the previous year, marking the second-highest borrowing since monthly records began in January 1993. Public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks, was provisionally estimated at 97.2% of GDP by December 2024, up 0.3 percentage points from December 2023, remaining at levels last seen in the early 1960s. The new UK government's budget, presented in October 2024, plans a significant increase in public current and investment spending, about 2% of GDP by 2026, funded by higher taxes and increased borrowing. As a result, total public expenditure is projected to decline only slightly as a share of GDP in 2025 and 2026, while total receipts as a share of GDP are expected to rise. The general government deficit is forecast to narrow slowly, remaining around 4% in 2026, with overall government debt continuing to rise throughout the forecast period (EU Commission). Prices in the UK rose by 3% in the 12 months to January, pushing inflation further from the 2% target of the Bank of England, which has made three cuts since August 2024. CPI was 3% for the year to January 2025, up from 2.5% in December, mainly due to rising food prices, VAT on private school fees, and airfares not decreasing as expected. In announcing the latest cut, the Bank warned that inflation was expected to rise again in 2025.

The UK labour market has shown moderate signs of loosening recently, with vacancies continuing to fall and now at pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate was 4.4% in 2024, with 1.56 million people aged 16+ unemployed, up by around 210,000 over the year (ONS). With tepid GDP growth expected in the coming quarters, labour market slack is anticipated to rise, and nominal wage growth is projected to slow gradually throughout the forecast period. The country’s GDP per capita (PPP) was estimated at USD 62,573 in 2024 by the IMF, but the relatively solid macroeconomic performance of the United Kingdom conceals weaknesses and situations of inequality. Thus, as the IMF has emphasised, strengthening human capital remains a key priority for the country's economy.

Main Sectors of Industry

The agricultural sector accounts for only 0.6% of GDP and 1% of employment (World Bank, latest data available), but is very productive, the country managing to produce enough to meet around 60% of its food demand. The main crops produced in the UK are potatoes, beets, wheat and barley. Livestock farming (especially sheep and cattle) remains a major agricultural activity. The fishing sector is also well developed but is currently suffering from the depletion of fish volumes in traditional fishing areas (the subject was a key issue of the trade deal concluded with the EU, which states that the UK will have the right to completely exclude EU boats after 2026). According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2024, the UK’s utilised agricultural area (UAA) covered 16.8 million hectares, accounting for 69% of the total land, while the croppable area reached 6.2 million hectares (37% of UAA). The arable crop area fell by 5.4% from 2023 to 4.1 million hectares, with cereals comprising 72% (almost 3.0 million hectares). The country’s total income from farming in 2023 was GBP 7.2 billion, -9.8% year-on-year; while the total livestock output was GBP 19.2 billion (-0.7% - ONS, latest data available).

The United Kingdom is one of the world's largest producing countries, with particularly important civil and military aerospace and pharmaceutical industries, and has considerable mineral resources. Once the 10th-largest oil producer in the world with huge natural gas reserves, its production is declining rapidly. Nevertheless, groups such as British Petroleum (BP) continue to be among the world leaders in the petroleum industry. The industrial sector, which accounts for 17.5% of GDP and employs 18% of the working population, is not very competitive, mainly due to low productivity. Some of the main sectors include machine tools, transport equipment and chemicals. Among the sectors with strong potential are information and communication technologies, biotechnologies, aviation, renewable energies and defence. In 2023, the UK had 269,000 manufacturing organizations, with over 250,000 being SMEs (90%). The sector contributed GBP 217 billion in output (data The Manufacturer).

The tertiary sector is the backbone of the British economy, representing 72.5% of GDP and over 81% of employment. Despite Brexit, London remains the largest financial centre in Europe, on par with New York, and it is also home to the headquarters of many multinationals. The banking sector has been very dynamic, the same as the tourism sector, which generates around 10% of GDP. There are more than 370 monetary financial institutions in the UK, with just under half the sector balance sheet being held in GBP, less than a fifth in EUR and a third in other currencies (European Banking Federation). The retail sector is also pivotal: in 2024, retail sales in Great Britain reached GBP 517 billion, up 1.4% from 2023 (data House of Commons).

Source: World Bank, Latest data available.

Indicator of Economic Freedom

Score:

78,4/100

World Rank:

7

Regional Rank:

3

Economic freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation

Business environment ranking

Score:

7.70/10

World Rank:

17/82

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit - Business Environment Rankings 2020-2024

Sources of General Economic Information

Ministries

HM Treasury
UK Export Finance
Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs
Department for Business and industrial strategy
Department for Business & Trade

Statistical Office

Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Central Bank

Bank of England

Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

Other Useful Resources

Confederation of British Industry

Main Online Newspapers

Financial Times
The Economist
The Guardian
The Times
The Independent
The Daily Telegraph

Economic Portals

Monthly forecasts for the UK economy from HM Treasury

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders

Re: Carlo III (dall'8 settembre 2022). Predecessore: Regina Elisabetta II.
Primo ministro: Sir Keir Starmer (dal 5 luglio 2024), Partito Laburista.

Next Election Dates

General elections (House of Commons): July 2029

Current Political Context

The July 2024 general elections saw the first victory for Labour since 2005 and ended the Conservatives' 14-year tenure as the primary governing party. Labour achieved a 174-seat simple majority and a total of 411 seats. Labour won 211 more seats than the previous general election in 2019, but half a million fewer total votes. The Conservative Party was reduced to 121 seats on a vote share of 23.7%, the worst result in its history, losing 251 seats in total. Smaller parties took a record 42.6% of the vote in the election. Of these, the Liberal Democrats made the most significant gains, securing 72 seats.
 The five main goals of Keir Starmer's government agenda are to boost economic growth, achieve net-zero electricity by 2030, revitalize the NHS, enhance public safety, and increase opportunities for everyone. Plans call for investing in AI innovation, accelerating infrastructure projects, and constructing 1.5 million houses close to transportation hubs. Furthermore, the Labour government is expected to take a closer stance with the European Union (EU) than the previous government, even if Kier Starmer has made it clear “about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union or a return to freedom of movement”.

Main Political Parties

Historically, the three dominant parties are:
- Labour Party: left-wing socialist and social democratic, grew out of trade union movement in the 19th century;
- Conservative Party: centre-right; believes in free-market economy, strong military and traditional cultural values;
- Liberal Democrats: centrist, moderate pro-European;

Other parties represented in the parliament include:
- Scottish National Party (SNP): centre-left;
- Democratic Unionist Party: right-wing;
- Reform UK (Brexit Party): right-wing, Eurosceptic;
- Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW - Greens): environmentalist;
- Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales: centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalism;
- Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP): advocates Irish reunification;
- Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI): liberal, centrist.

Type of State

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy based on parliamentary democracy. It is divided into four parts called constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK is a unitary state with partial devolution of power in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Executive Power

The King is the head of state. But above all he plays a symbolic and representational role. He continues to exercise three essential rights: the right to be consulted, to advise and to warn. Following legislative elections to the lower house of parliament, the leader of the majority party or coalition is usually appointed Prime Minister by the King and remains in office as long as he/she retains the confidence of the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of government and has all executive powers, which include law enforcement and the conduct of the day-to-day affairs of the country. The Prime Minister selects members of the Cabinet and other ministers, who are then formally appointed by the monarch.

Legislative Power

The United Kingdom has a bicameral legislative system. The parliament consists of the House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house). The House of Lords includes life peers, who are appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister and the House of Lords Appointments Commission, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 members of the clergy (Lords Spiritual). The House of Commons has 650 seats, and its members are elected by universal suffrage, generally for a 5-year term. The government is directly responsible to and dependent on parliament.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:

33/180

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:

Free

Political Freedom:

1/7

Civil Liberties:

1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House