In the period between 1912 and 1938 (years shortly before each respective world war), there was a considerable restructuring of the British economy. The production of cotton goods, of which Britain was the world's largest exporter in the 19th century, dropped by half in some industry sectors. Raw materials, such as pig iron and coal, saw their output drop by 10 percent each, as the British economy concentrated on producing more complex, manufactured goods. The production of cars doubled in this period, while the output of aircraft quadrupled. These industries would become increasingly important during the Second World War, as would the manufacturing of artificial fibers (i.e., synthetic fabrics such as nylon and polyester), which the military used for tents, ropes, and parachutes.

Index values and growth rates for production, manufacturing and the main industrial groupings in the UK.

In 2024, agriculture contributed around 0.56 percent to the United Kingdom’s GDP, 16.74 percent came from the manufacturing industry, and 72.79 percent from the services sector. The UK is not a farmer’s marketThe vast majority of the UK’s GDP is generated by the services sector, and tourism in particular keeps the economy going. In 2017, almost 214 billion British Pounds were contributed to the GDP through travel and tourism – about 277 billion U.S. dollars – and the forecasts see an upwards trend. For comparison, only an estimated 10.3 billion GBP were generated by the agriculture sector in the same year. But is it a tourist’s destination still? Though forecasts are not in yet, it is unclear whether travel and tourism can keep the UK’s economy afloat in the future, especially after Brexit and all its consequences. Higher travel costs, having to wait for visas, and overall more complicated travel arrangements are just some of the concerns tourists have when considering vacationing in the UK after Brexit. Consequences of the referendum are already observable in the domestic travel industry: In 2017, about 37 percent of British travelers said Brexit caused them to cut their holidays short by a few days, and about 14 percent said they did not leave the UK for their holidays because of it.

Tap into the UK’s fastest-growing industries to identify opportunities both within and beyond the London area.

In 2020, 32% of all enterprises in the UK manufacturing industry with over 10 employees purchased high Cloud Computing services, for example CRM software or computing power. This almost doubled the percentage of enterprises that bought such services compared to the 18% that did so in 2018. Enterprises in the UK manufacturing industry also bought a significantly bigger share of financing and accounting software applications in 2020 then they did in 2018, raising the share from 12% to 26%.

This statistics presents the number of enterprises in manufacturing industries exporting goods in Great Britain from 2011 to 2018. After a slight decline throughout the period, the number peaked at 31,400 in 2018.

Annual employee and employment estimates for Great Britain and UK split by two, three and five-digit Standard Industrial Classification: SIC 2007. Results given by full-time or part-time and public or private splits.

Dataset population: Persons aged 16 and over in employment the week before the census

Industry

The industry in which a person aged 16 and over works relates to their main job, and is derived from information provided on the main activity of their employer or business. This is used to assign responses to an industry code based on the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (UK SIC 2007).

Occupation

A person's occupation relates to their main job and is derived from either their job title or details of the activities involved in their job. This is used to assign responses to an occupation code based on the Standard Occupational Classification 2010 (SOC2010).

Movements in the volume of production for the UK production industries: manufacturing, mining and quarrying, energy supply, and water and waste management. Figures are seasonally adjusted.

Industrial Production in the United Kingdom decreased 0.30 percent in May of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Industrial Production - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Experimental dataset providing a breakdown of UK trade in services by industry, country and service type on a balance of payments basis. Data are subject to disclosure control.

Monthly index values for production and the main Index of Production sectors in the UK to four decimal places.

During the last two decades research on industrial districts, flexible specialisation, and high-tech regions has highlighted the importance of the local business environment to successful industrial development. Nineteenth century Britain developed a series of specialised industrial districts, providing pools of skilled labour, highly developed ancillary trades and services, networks of cooperative subcontracting relationships, and (in some cases) rented factory accommodation including power and utilities. However, the 'new' industries of the 'second industrial revolution', tended to locate outside such districts, in new 'green field' industrial areas. These often involved a new, more formally constituted, form of industrial agglomeration - the industrial or 'trading' estate. Closely associated with the rise of electric power and the internal combustion engine, and highly concentrated in the South East, industrial estates rapidly expanded to accommodate plants employing around 285,000 people by 1939, including some of Britain's best known companies such as Ford, HMV, Hoover, Lever Brothers, Mars, and Metropolitan Vickers. Despite considerable contemporary interest in their development, there has been little academic analysis of the general growth of pre-1939 industrial estates. This may be due, at least in part, to the paucity of quantitative and other evidence regarding their early development.

The main aims and objectives of the research project from which this dataset arose were:
(1) To asses the contribution of industrial estates to the growth and location of new manufacturing enterprises in interwar Britain;
(2) To examine the ways in which location of interwar industrial estates boosted firm growth;
(3) To explore the contribution of industrial estates to fostering locational externalities for the firms which located on them;
(4) To examine the regional impact of industrial estate development.

United Kingdom UK: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Industry data was reported at 18.574 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 17.985 % for 2016. United Kingdom UK: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Industry data is updated yearly, averaging 20.001 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27.892 % in 1990 and a record low of 17.830 % in 2014. United Kingdom UK: GDP: % of GDP: Gross Value Added: Industry data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Gross Domestic Product: Share of GDP. Industry corresponds to ISIC divisions 10-45 and includes manufacturing (ISIC divisions 15-37). It comprises value added in mining, manufacturing (also reported as a separate subgroup), construction, electricity, water, and gas. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or depletion and degradation of natural resources. The origin of value added is determined by the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), revision 3 or 4.; ; World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.; Weighted average; Note: Data for OECD countries are based on ISIC, revision 4.

In 2023, the most energy intense industry in the UK industrial economy was the chemical sector, followed by food and beverages. Both industries recorded gross calorific energy use of more than *** million metric tons of oil equivalent.

Census 2021 industry data for people aged 16 years and older and in employment, to a detailed level (Standard Industrial Classification Group Title - 2007), is part of The occupations and industries most dependent on older and younger workers: March 2021, a release of results from the 2021 Census for England and Wales. Figures may differ slightly in future releases because of the impact of removing rounding and applying further statistical processes.

Some shorthand may be used in this workbook. Individual estimates suppressed with "[c]" relate to statistics based on a small number of respondents (< 10). Such values have been suppressed on quality grounds and to maintain confidentiality.

Armed forces personnel and defence employees are included in the census and recorded as usually resident using the standard definitions. The instructions given to personnel on how to respond to the census mean that this group cannot be reliably identified in census data on industry and occupation. Information on the size and characteristics of the UK armed forces population is produced by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

Part-time workers are defined as those that worked 30 hours or fewer a week. Full-time workers are defined as those that worked 31 hours or more a week.

Quality assurance information can be found here

Occupation

Occupation is classified using the Standard Occupation Classification 2020 version. Details can be found here.

Industry

Industry is classified using the Standard Industrial Classifications 2007 version. Details can be found here.

Age

This is someone’s age on their last birthday on Census Day, 21 March 2021 in England and Wales.

Disabled

People who assessed their day-to-day activities as limited by long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses are considered disabled. This definition of a disabled person meets the harmonised standard for measuring disability and is in line with the Equality Act (2010).