Economy—overview: Britain is one
of the world’s great trading powers and financial centers
and its essentially capitalistic economy ranks among the four
largest in Western Europe. 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 only about 1% of the labor force.
The UK has large coal natural gas and oil reserves; primary
energy production accounts for 12% of GDP one of the highest
shares of any industrial nation. Services particularly banking
insurance and business services account by far for the largest
proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in
importance now employing only 18% of the work force. Exports and
manufacturing output have been the primary engines of growth.
Unemployment is gradually falling. Inflation is a moderate 3.1%.
A major economic policy question for the UK in the late 1990s is
the terms on which it participates in the financial and economic
integration of Europe.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$1.242
trillion (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 3.5% (1997
est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power
parity—$21 200 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 31.4%
services: 66.8% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate—consumer price index:
3.1% (1997)
Labor force:
total: 28.2 million (1997)
by occupation: services 68.9% manufacturing and
construction 17.5% government 11.3% energy 1.2% agriculture 1.1%
(1996)
Unemployment rate: 5.5% (1997 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $416.1 billion
expenditures: $470 billion including capital expenditures
of $NA (1996 est.)
Industries: production machinery including
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 and other consumer goods
Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1997
est.)
Electricity—capacity: 66.149 million
kW (1995)
Electricity—production: 306.62 billion
kWh (1995)
Electricity—consumption per capita: 5
546 kWh (1995)
Agriculture—products: cereals oilseed
potatoes vegetables; cattle sheep poultry; fish
Exports:
total value: $268 billion (f.o.b. 1997)
commodities: manufactured goods machinery fuels chemicals
semifinished goods transport equipment
partners: EU countries 53.2% (Germany 12.4% France 9.9%
Netherlands 7.8%) US 11.4% (1996)
Imports:
total value: $283.5 billion (f.o.b. 1997)
commodities: manufactured goods machinery semifinished
goods foodstuffs consumer goods
partners: EU countries 50.2% (Germany 14.2% France 9.0%
Netherlands 6.5%) US 13.9% (1996)
Debt—external: $16.2 billion (June
1992)
Economic aid:
donor: ODA $2.908 billion (1993)
Currency: 1 British pound (£) = 100
pence
Exchange rates: British pounds (£) per
US$1—0.6115 (January 1998) 0.6106 (1997) 0.6403 (1996)
0.6335 (1995) 0.6529 (1994) 0.6658 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 April—31 March
