Economy of England

Economy of England

The City of London, the financial capital of England, and the United Kingdom as a whole
Currency	Pound sterling (£)
Fiscal year	1 April to 31 March[a]
Statistics
Population	57,106,398 (2022)[1]
GDP	£2.162 trillion (2022)[1]
GDP per capita	£37,852 (2022)[1]
Labour force	28,081,000 / 74.9% in employment (Jan–Mar 2024)[b][2]
Labour force by occupation	List 27.0% Professional 15.1% Associate professional 11.2% Managers, directors and senior officials 9.5% Administrative and secretarial 9.1% Elementary occupations 8.6% Skilled trades 7.8% Caring, leisure and other service 6.1% Sales and customer service 5.3% Process plant and machine operatives (Jan–Dec 2023)[c][2]
Unemployment	1,298,000 / 4.4% (Jan–Mar 2024)[d][2]
Average gross salary	£683.40 per week (2023)[e][2]
External
Exports	£539.2 billion (2021)[f][3]
Export goods	List £92.8bn Machinery and transport £40.2bn Chemicals £31.8bn Miscellaneous manufactures £28.6bn Manufactured goods £14.2bn Mineral fuels £8.6bn Food and live animals £7.4bn Crude materials £2.3bn Beverages and tobacco £0.4bn Animal and vegetable oils £0.0bn Other commodities £226.4bn Total (2021)[g][4]
Main export partners	List £110.5bn European Union £42.2bn Asia & Oceania £39.1bn North America £11.9bn Middle East and North Africa (excl. EU) £10.3bn Western Europe (excl. EU) £5.0bn Eastern Europe (excl. EU) £3.9bn Sub-Saharan Africa £3.2bn Latin America and Caribbean £0.2bn Undefined country group £226.4bn Total (2021)[g][4]
Imports	£535.9 billion (2021)[f][3]
Import goods	List £124.5bn Machinery and transport £56.9bn Miscellaneous manufactures £51.0bn Manufactured goods £42.6bn Chemicals £35.6bn Mineral fuels £29.9bn Food and live animals £12.0bn Crude materials £5.5bn Beverages and tobacco £1.3bn Animal and vegetable oils £0.1bn Other commodities £359.4bn Total (2021)[g][4]
Main import partners	List £178.6bn European Union £86.9bn Asia & Oceania £34.0bn Western Europe (excl. EU) £30.3bn North America £10.0bn Middle East and North Africa (excl. EU) £8.0bn Eastern Europe (excl. EU) £7.1bn Sub-Saharan Africa £4.4bn Latin America and Caribbean — Undefined country group £359.4bn Total (2021)[g][4]

The economy of England is the largest economy of the four countries of the United Kingdom. England's economy is one of the largest and most dynamic in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £37,852 in 2022.^[1]

His Majesty's Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. Government involvement is also primarily exercised by the Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Regarded as a highly developed social market economy, it has adopted many free market principles, yet maintains an advanced social welfare infrastructure.^[5]

England is a highly industrialised country. It is a leader in the high-tech, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software industry.^[6] It is also an important producer of textiles and chemical products. Although automobiles, locomotives, and aircraft are among England's other important industrial products, a significant proportion of the country's income comes from the City of London and its financial hubs, banking, insurance, investment management and other related financial services. The UK technology sector is valued at US$1 trillion, third behind the United States and China, mostly based in England.^[7][8]

The service sector of the economy is largest in England and one the largest in Europe. Construction industry, technology, and business services continue to produce economic growth, provided mainly by the growing services, administrative and financial sectors. Creative industries (arts, film production, product, fashion, design, music, IT, etc.) remain important to the national economy, with England having the second largest creative industry sector in Europe.^[9][10]

In the 18th century, England was the first nation to industrialise.^[11] In common with most other advanced industrialised economies, England has seen a decline in the importance of both manufacturing industries and primary-based extractive industries. Since the 1990s, the financial services sector has played an increasingly significant role in the English economy and the City of London is one of the world's largest financial centres. Banks, insurance companies, commodity and futures exchanges are heavily concentrated in the city.

The London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom's main stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England's financial centre, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations being based there.^[12] The official currency in England is the pound sterling, whose ISO 4217 code is GBP. The "pound sterling" is the oldest currency in continuous use. Taxation in England is quite competitive when compared to much of the rest of Europe – as of 2014^[update] the basic rate of personal tax is 20% on taxable income up to £31,865 above the personal tax-free allowance (normally £10,000), and 40% on any additional earnings above that amount.^[13]

England is a nation within the United Kingdom, which is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G7, the G8, the G20, the CPTPP, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the United Nations.

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