Forecasts for the UK economy is a monthly comparison of independent forecasts.
Please note that this is a summary of published material reflecting the views of the forecasting organisations themselves and does not in any way provide new information on the Treasury’s own views. It contains only a selection of forecasters, which is subject to review.
No significance should be attached to the inclusion or exclusion of any particular forecasting organisation. HM Treasury accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of material published in this comparison.
This month’s edition of the forecast comparison contains short-term forecasts for 2023 and 2024.
In 2024, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom grew by *** percent and is expected to grow by just *** percent in 2025 and by *** percent in 2026. Growth is expected to slow down to *** percent in 2027, and then grow by ***, and *** percent in 2027 and 2028 respectively. The sudden emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 and subsequent closure of large parts of the economy were the cause of the huge *** percent contraction in 2020, with the economy recovering somewhat in 2021, when the economy grew by *** percent. UK growth downgraded in 2025 Although the economy is still expected to grow in 2025, the *** percent growth anticipated in this forecast has been halved from *** percent in October 2024. Increased geopolitical uncertainty as well as the impact of American tariffs on the global economy are some of the main reasons for this mark down. The UK's inflation rate for 2025 has also been revised, with an annual rate of *** percent predicated, up from *** percent in the last forecast. Unemployment is also anticipated to be higher than initially thought, with the annual unemployment rate likely to be *** percent instead of *** percent. Long-term growth problems In the last two quarters of 2023, the UK economy shrank by *** percent in Q3 and by *** percent in Q4, plunging the UK into recession for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before that last recession, however, the UK economy has been struggling with weak growth. Although growth since the pandemic has been noticeably sluggish, there has been a clear long-term trend of declining growth rates. The economy has consistently been seen as one of the most important issues to people in Britain, ahead of health, immigration and the environment. Achieving strong levels of economic growth is one of the main aims of the Labour government elected in 2024, although after almost one year in power it has so far proven elusive.
The UK economy reported zero growth in July 2025 after growing by 0.4 percent in May. Since a huge decline in GDP in April 2020, the UK economy has gradually recovered and is now around 4.4 percent larger than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. After the initial recovery from the pandemic, however, the UK economy has effectively flatlined, fluctuating between low growth and small contractions since 2022. Labour banking on growth to turn around fortunes in 2025 In February 2025, just over half a year after winning the last general election, the approval rating for the new Labour government fell to a low of -48 percent. Furthermore, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer was not only less popular than the new Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, but also the leader of the Reform Party, Nigel Farage, whose party have surged in opinion polls recently. This remarkable decline in popularity for the new government is, in some part, due to a deliberate policy of making tough decisions early. Arguably, the most damaging of these policies was the withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance for some pensioners, although other factors such as a controversy about gifts and donations also hurt the government. While Labour aims to restore the UK's economic and political credibility in the long term, they will certainly hope for some good economic news sooner rather than later. Economy bounces back in 2024 after ending 2023 in recession Due to two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, in late 2023 the UK economy ended the year in recession. After not growing at all in the second quarter of 2023, UK GDP fell by 0.1 percent in the third quarter, and then by 0.3 percent in the last quarter. For the whole of 2023, the economy grew by 0.4 percent compared to 2022, and for 2024 is forecast to have grown by 1.1 percent. During the first two quarters of 2024, UK GDP grew by 0.7 percent, and 0.4 percent, with this relatively strong growth followed by zero percent growth in the third quarter of the year. Although the economy had started to grow again by the time of the 2024 general election, this was not enough to save the Conservative government at the time. Despite usually seen as the best party for handling the economy, the Conservative's economic competency was behind that of Labour on the eve of the 2024 election.
Across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union, gross domestic products (GDP) decreased in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, by 2021, growth rates were positive in all four areas again. The United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union all experiencing slow economic growth in 2023 amid high inflation, with Germany even seeing an economic recession. GDP and its components GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is composed of government spending, consumption, business investments and net exports. It is an important indicator to measure the economic strength of a country. Economists rely on a variety of factors when predicting the future performance of the GDP. Inflation rate is one of the economic indicators providing insight into the future behavior of households, which make up a significant proportion of GDP. Projections are based on the past performance of such information. Future considerations Some factors can be more easily predicted than others. For example, projections of the annual inflation rate of the United States are easy to come by. However, the intensity and impact of something like Brexit is difficult to predict. Moreover, the occurrence and impact of events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine is difficult to foresee. Hence, actual GDP growth may be higher or lower than the original estimates.
In 2023, the GDP of the United States increased by about *** percent compared to the previous year. This comes amid high inflation rates globally, and countries such as Argentina and Germany even experiencing economic decline. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator to measure the economic strength of a country.
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The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United Kingdom expanded 1.40 percent in the second quarter of 2025 over the same quarter of the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom GDP Annual Growth Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.
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The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United Kingdom was worth 3643.83 billion US dollars in 2024, according to official data from the World Bank. The GDP value of the United Kingdom represents 3.43 percent of the world economy. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom GDP - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.
This statistic displays the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) forecast of the United Kingdom (UK) from 2017/18 to 2023/24. By 2023/24, it is expected that there will be a significant growth at approximately **** trillion British pounds.
The UK economy grew by 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 0.7 percent growth in the previous quarter. After ending 2023 in recession, the UK economy grew strongly in the first half of 2024, growing by 0.9 percent in Q1, and 0.5 percent in Q2, with growth slowing in the second half of the year. In the third quarter of 2020 the UK experienced record setting growth of 16.8 percent, which itself followed the record 20.3 percent contraction in Q2 2020. Growing economy key to Labour's plans Since winning the 2024 general election, the UK's Labour Party have seen their popularity fall substantially. In February 2025, the government's approval rating fell to a low of -54 percent, making them almost as disliked as the Conservatives just before the last election. A string of unpopular policies since taking office have taken a heavy toll on support for the government. Labour hope they can reverse their declining popularity by growing the economy, which has underperformed for several years, and when measured in GDP per capita, fell in 2023, and 2024. Steady labor market trends set to continue? After a robust 2022, the UK labor market remained resilient throughout 2023 and 2024. The unemployment rate at the end of 2024 was 4.4 percent, up from four percent at the start of the year, but still one of the lowest rates on record. While the average number of job vacancies has been falling since a May 2022 peak, there was a slight increase in January 2025 when compared with the previous month. The more concerning aspect of the labor market, from the government's perspective, are the high levels of economic inactivity due to long-term sickness, which reached a peak of 2.84 million in late 2023, and remained at high levels throughout 2024.
A recent analysis on the impact of Brexit suggests that in 2023, the United Kingdom's economy was *** percent smaller than it would have been in a base scenario where the UK never left the EU. The estimated hit to the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) increases to ***** percent in 2024, and to *** percent by 2025 in this forecast. UK growth cut at start of turbulent 2025 After growing by *** percent in 2024, the UK economy is expected to grow by *** percent in 2025, down from an earlier forecast of *** percent. As of 2025, the UK economy is approximately *** percent larger than it was just before the COVID-19 pandemic five years earlier, which delivered a sudden and severe economic shock to the country. While the initial bounce back from this collapse was robust, the recovery slowed by the end of 2020, and it wasn't until late 2021 that the economy returned to its pre-pandemic size. Throughout 2022 and 2023, the economy continued to struggle, and even experienced a recession at the end of 2023. How voters feel about Brexit in 2025 Since the middle of 2021, a growing majority of voters in Britain have advised that they think Brexit was the wrong decision. As of January 2025, around ** percent thought it was wrong to leave the EU, compared with just ** percent in April 2021. By comparison, the share of Britons who think Brexit was the right decision has fallen from ** percent to ** percent in the same time period. Voters are, however, still quite divided on what relationship they want with the EU, with only ** percent supporting rejoining completely. Furthermore, Brexit has fallen behind other issues for voters such as the economy, the NHS, and immigration and the issue played a much smaller role in the 2024 election than it did in 2019.
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The Gross Domestic Product per capita in the United Kingdom was last recorded at 47265 US dollars in 2024. The GDP per Capita in the United Kingdom is equivalent to 374 percent of the world's average. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom GDP per capita - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.
In the second quarter of 2025, the quarterly gross domestic product of the United Kingdom was approximately, 649 billion British pounds, compared with around 647 billion pounds in the previous quarter. The large dip in GDP that can be seen in the second quarter of 2020 saw the UK economy fall from 604.7 billion pounds to 481.8 billion, with more usual levels of output not recovering until well into 2021. The COVID-19 lockdowns enacted by the UK government at that time was the main reason for this large fall in GDP. Growth lagging as UK heads into 2025 After ending 2023 in recession, the UK economy started 2024 with the strongest quarterly GDP growth in several years, growing by 0.7 percent in the first quarter, and then by 0.4 percent in the second quarter. Economic growth in the second half of the year was, however, far less promising, with GDP flatlining in the third quarter, and monthly GDP shrinking by 0.1 percent in September and then again in October. Although GDP is still forecast to grow in 2025, the overall economic picture is precarious. In November, UK inflation rose to 2.6 percent, compared with just 1.7 percent in September, while the labor market continues to show signs of cooling after a period of high job vacancies and low unemployment. Labour pinning hopes on long-term growth After winning its first general election in 19 years in 2024, the Labour Government has seen its approval ratings plummet in its first few months in office. This shaky start is partly due to a government strategy of making unpopular decisions early in their tenure, which they hope will eventually encourage stable economic growth in the mid to long-term. By far the least popular policy was the withdrawal of winter fuel benefits for a significant number of pensioners, a cost-cutting measure deemed necessary due to the UK's vulnerable public finance position, with government debt at around 100 percent of GDP. A further measure introduced was a national insurance tax increase for employers, with almost half of UK firms citing increased taxes as their main external concern in Q3 2024. Avoiding any further tax rises or cuts to services will depend on if policies in other areas, such as planning reform, will kickstart the UK economy in time before the next election.
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Forecast: Government Expenditures on R&D Economic Affairs in the UK 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!
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United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Primary Balance: % of GDP data was reported at 0.630 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.560 % for 2022. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Primary Balance: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging -1.382 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.043 % in 2000 and a record low of -8.701 % in 2009. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Primary Balance: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.IMF.FM: Government Finance Statistics.
The tourism sector GDP share in the United Kingdom was forecast to increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total *** percentage points. This overall increase does not happen continuously, notably not in 2027. The share is estimated to amount to **** percent in 2028. While the share was forecast to increase significant in the next years, the increase will slow down in the future.Depited is the economic contribution of the tourism sector in relation to the gross domestic product of the country or region at hand.The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than *** countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).
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United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Revenue: % of GDP data was reported at 36.409 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 36.347 % for 2022. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Revenue: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 35.169 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 36.655 % in 2019 and a record low of 30.978 % in 1993. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Revenue: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.IMF.FM: Government Finance Statistics.
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United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Expenditure: % of GDP data was reported at 37.165 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 37.245 % for 2022. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Expenditure: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 37.697 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 44.468 % in 2010 and a record low of 33.798 % in 2000. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Expenditure: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.IMF.FM: Government Finance Statistics.
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United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Gross Debt: % of GDP data was reported at 83.990 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 85.057 % for 2022. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Gross Debt: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 43.979 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2023, with 34 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 87.909 % in 2016 and a record low of 28.568 % in 1991. United Kingdom UK: IMF Forecast: General Government: Gross Debt: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Monetary Fund. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.IMF.FM: Government Finance Statistics.
The statistic shows the growth rate in the real GDP in the United Kingdom from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the rate of GDP growth in the United Kingdom was at around 1.1 percent compared to the previous year.The economy of the United KingdomGDP is used an indicator as to the shape of a national economy. It is one of the most regularly called upon measurements regarding the economic fitness of a country. GDP is the total market value of all final goods and services that have been produced in a country within a given period of time, usually a year. Inflation adjusted real GDP figures serve as an even more telling indication of a country’s economic state in that they act as a more reliable and clear tool as to a nation’s economic health. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the United Kingdom has started to level in recent years after taking a huge body blow in the financial collapse of 2008. The UK managed to rise from the state of dark desperation it was in between 2009 and 2010, from -3.97 to 1.8 percent. The country suffered acutely from the collapse of the banking industry, raising a number of questions within the UK with regards to the country’s heavy reliance on revenues coming from London's financial sector, arguably the most important in the world and one of the globe’s financial command centers. Since the collapse of the post-war consensus and the rise of Thatcherism, the United Kingdom has been swept along in a wave of individualism - collective ideals have been abandoned and the mass privatisation of the heavy industries was unveiled - opening them up to market competition and shifting the economic focus to that of service.The Big Bang policy, one of the cornerstones of the Thatcher government programs of reform, involved mass and sudden deregulation of financial markets. This led to huge changes in the way the financial markets in London work, and saw the many old firms being absorbed by big banks. This, one could argue, strengthened the UK financial sector greatly and while frivolous and dangerous practices brought the sector into great disrepute, the city of London alone brings in around one fifth of the countries national income making it a very prominent contributor to wealth in the UK.
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Forecast: Civil Government Budget Allocations for R&D for Economic Development Programmes in the UK 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!
Forecasts for the UK economy is a monthly comparison of independent forecasts.
Please note that this is a summary of published material reflecting the views of the forecasting organisations themselves and does not in any way provide new information on the Treasury’s own views. It contains only a selection of forecasters, which is subject to review.
No significance should be attached to the inclusion or exclusion of any particular forecasting organisation. HM Treasury accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of material published in this comparison.
This month’s edition of the forecast comparison contains short-term forecasts for 2023 and 2024.