of the United Kingdom amounted to around 2.54 trillion British pounds, compared just under 2.53 trillion pounds in 2022, and 2.4 trillion in 2021. Although the UK economy grew in 2023, it has struggled to recover fully from the record
in 2020, which was a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK was not alone in this respect;
falling across the continent in 2020. The UK was the
in 2024, behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India. As a
, however, the UK fell from 2.39 percent in 2019 to 2.24 percent in 2023, with this share expected to fall further in the coming years.
UK ends 2023 in recession
Although GDP did grow over the whole of year, the UK finished 2023 in a technical recession due to
two quarters of negative growth at the end of the year. In Q3 2023, the economy shrank by approximately 0.1 percent, and then by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Despite slightly stronger growth
forecast for 2024, and 2025, the UK economy is still struggling from the impact of COVID-19. The UK economy experienced such a severe economic shock in 2020 because it was also one of the worst-affected countries, suffering the highest
death toll in Europe. The sudden and extensive lockdown that began at the end of March forced the closure of significant parts of the UK economy, resulting in a record 19.6 percent fall in
monthly GDP in April of that year. Although GDP growth returned the following month and reached a record growth rate of 9.7 percent that June, the UK economy was still
smaller than pre-pandemic levels. A second wave of the virus gripped the UK throughout the winter, resulting in the reintroduction of some restrictions that had been lifted in the summer. GDP growth slowed and even began to reverse again, with a growth rate of -2.5 percent reported in January 2021. As the UK emerged from this slump, however, positive growth returned, and as of early 2024, the UK economy is slightly larger than it was prior to the pandemic.
Characteristics of UK GDP
Like many advanced market economies, the United Kingdom is heavily reliant on its
service sector, which accounts for over 72 percent of GDP. In terms of
gross value added (GVA), the real estate sector had the highest value of any industry, at over 270 billion pounds, followed by wholesale and retail at over 283.5 billion pounds. On a
regional basis, London had a GDP of more than 496.4 billion pounds in 2021 or nearly a quarter of the entire UK economy. When adjusted for
GDP per capita, the disparity between London and the UK average was even larger, at 56,431 pounds and 31,947 pounds, respectively. London however, did not have the fastest-growing regional economy in the UK in 2021, with a
GDP growth rate of 8.5 percent, compared to the UK average of 7.5 percent, with the fastest growth occurring in the North West, at 9.9 percent.
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