Value added in service industries in select European countries 1970-1999

Across the EU's 15 largest economies in 1999, economic development was characterized by a significant increase in the share of services industries in the economy, as a wave of de-industrialization also took place. Overall, value added in services industries made up just over half of total value added in the EU15 in 1973, but this increased to almost 70 percent by the end of the century. The United Kingdom, which had fallen behind most other Western European economies in terms of industrial growth since the 1950s, saw the largest share of its total value added come from services, particularly financial services.