Economy - overview The UK 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

NOTE: The information regarding United Kingdom on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of United Kingdom Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about United Kingdom Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.