The monthly average yield on five, ten, and twenty-year nominal zero coupon British Government securities in the United Kingdom (UK) have all seen a continued decrease from December 2019 to July 2020. January 2021 saw a slight increase, progressing to October 2022 when yields reached a new high. At the end of December 2024, the monthly average yield of 20-year British Government Securities stood at 4.65 percent.

The average yearly yield of UK 10-year government bonds has shown a significant downward trend from 1990 to 2023. Starting at nearly 12 percent in 1990, yields steadily declined, with slight fluctuations, reaching a low of 0.37 percent in 2020. After 2020, yields began to rise again, reflecting recent increases in interest rates and inflation expectations. This long-term decline indicates decreasing inflation and interest rates in Australia over the past decades, with recent economic conditions prompting a reversal in bond yields.

Key information about UK Short Term Government Bond Yield

• United Kingdom Short Term Government Bond Yield: Month Avg: United Kingdom: 5 Years was reported at 3.89 % pa in Oct 2024, compared with 3.62 % pa in the previous month.
• UK Short Term Government Bond Yield data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1982 to Oct 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 15.47 % pa in Jan 1982 and a record low of -0.08 % pa in Jul 2020.
• Short Term Government Bond Yield is reported by CEIC Data.

The Bank of England provides monthly Short Term Government Bond Yield.

United Kingdom 10Y Bond Yield was 4.81 percent on Thursday March 27, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. UK 10 Year Gilt Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

The monthly average yield on 10 year nominal zero coupon British Government Securities in the United Kingdom (UK) has seen a continued decrease between December 2019 and July 2020, before recovering. In June 2024, the average yield was 4.12 percent, compared to 0.18 percent in July 2020.

Graph and download economic data for Interest Rates: Long-Term Government Bond Yields: 10-Year: Main (Including Benchmark) for United Kingdom (IRLTLT01GBM156N) from Jan 1960 to Feb 2025 about long-term, 10-year, United Kingdom, bonds, yield, government, interest rate, interest, and rate.

United Kingdom Government Bond Yield: Zero Coupon: 10 Years data was reported at 4.484 % pa in Feb 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.538 % pa for Jan 2025. United Kingdom Government Bond Yield: Zero Coupon: 10 Years data is updated monthly, averaging 4.734 % pa from Jan 1982 (Median) to Feb 2025, with 518 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.643 % pa in Jan 1982 and a record low of 0.125 % pa in Jul 2020. United Kingdom Government Bond Yield: Zero Coupon: 10 Years data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.M013: Government Bond Yield. The data reflects 10 year Government Bond Zero Coupon Yield.

Of the largest economies by GDP, the United States saw the sharpest fall in absolute terms for 10-year government bond yields due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. From a level of 1.51 percent in January 2020, yields on 10-year government bonds fell to 0.65 percent by April 2020, and had further fallen to 0.53 percent by July 2020 before starting to recover towards the end of the year. Conversely, countries that went into 2020 with already low bond yields like Japan, Germany and France actually saw a small increase in March 2020 - although these already low yields mean that these small changes are significant in relative terms. As of December 2024, the countries with the highest 10-year yields are the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia with 4.66, 4.54 and 4.46 percent, respectively.

UK 20 Year Bond Yield was 5.30 percent on Wednesday March 26, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for UK 20Y.

United Kingdom 30-Year Treasury Gilt Auction Bond Yield was 5.37 percent on Wednesday March 26, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. United Kingdom 30-Year Treasury Gilt Auction - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

The total market size of gilts in the United Kingdom (UK) amounted to approximately 2.6 trillion British pounds as of December 2024. The majority of gilts in the UK are made up of conventional (nominal) gilts which are as defined by the United Kingdom Debt Management Office as "A conventional gilt is a liability of the Government which guarantees to pay the holder of the gilt a fixed cash payment (coupon) every six months until the maturity date, at which point the holder receives the final coupon payment and the return of the principal. The prices of conventional gilts are quoted in terms of £100 nominal. However, they can be traded in units as small as a penny."

Government Bond Yields: Long Term: Month Avg: EU 27 excl UK data was reported at 3.420 % in Jan 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.140 % for Dec 2024. Government Bond Yields: Long Term: Month Avg: EU 27 excl UK data is updated monthly, averaging 3.500 % from Jan 2001 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 289 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.610 % in Jul 2001 and a record low of 0.060 % in Dec 2020. Government Bond Yields: Long Term: Month Avg: EU 27 excl UK data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Eurostat. The data is categorized under Global Database’s European Union – Table EU.M021: Eurostat: Long Term Government Bond Yield: Monthly Average: By Countries.

As of the first quarter of 2020, Central Government liabilities held the highest amount of government securities (gilts) with over 2.15 million. Insurance Companies and Pension funds accounted for the second highest share of UK government bonds.

Prices for UK 5Y including live quotes, historical charts and news. UK 5Y was last updated by Trading Economics this March 27 of 2025.

Germany 10Y Bond Yield was 2.79 percent on Thursday March 27, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. Germany 10-Year Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2025.

Key information about United Kingdom Government Debt: % of GDP

• United Kingdom Government debt accounted for 101.1 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Sep 2024, compared with the ratio of 100.9 % in the previous quarter.
• UK government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1966 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 107.5 % in Mar 2021 and a record low of 28.3 % in Dec 1990.

CEIC calculates quarterly Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly Government Debt and rolling sum of quarterly Nominal GDP. The Office of National Statistics provides Government Debt in local currency. The Office for National Statistics provides Nominal GDP in local currency.


Related information about United Kingdom Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, UK National Government Debt reached 3,810.9 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 786.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

One of the major duties the Bank of England (BoE) is tasked with is keeping inflation rates low and stable. The usual tactic for keeping inflation rates down, and therefore the price of goods and services stable by the Bank of England is through lowering the Bank Rate. Such a measure was used in 2008 during the global recession when the BoE lowered the bank base rate from 5 percent to 0.5 percent. Due to the economic fears surrounding the COVID-19 virus, as of the 19th of March 2020, the bank base rate was set to its lowest ever standing. The issue with lowering interest rates is that there is an end limit as to how low they can go.

Quantitative easing

Quantitative easing is a measure that central banks can use to inject money into the economy to hopefully boost spending and investment. Quantitative easing is the creation of digital money in order to purchase government bonds. By purchasing large amounts of government bonds, the interest rates on those bonds lower. This in turn means that the interest rates offered on loans for the purchasing of mortgages or business loans also lowers, encouraging spending and stimulating the economy.

Large enterprises jump at the opportunity

After the initial stimulus of 200 billion British pounds through quantitative easing in March 2020, the Bank of England announced in June that they would increase the amount by a further one hundred billion British pounds. In March of 2020, the headline flow of borrowing by non-financial industries including construction, transport, real estate and the manufacturing sectors increased significantly.

In January 2020, prior to the onset of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, three of the seven largest economies by GDP had negative yields for two-year government bonds (Japan, Germany and France). With the onset of the pandemic, two-year bond yields in these countries actually rose slightly - in contrast to the other major economies, where yields fell over this period. As of December 2024, yields for two-year government bonds exhibited fluctuations across all countries. Notably, Japan showed a slight upward trend, while China experienced a modest decline.Negative yields assume that investors lack confidence in economic growth, meaning many investments (such as stocks) may lose value. Therefore, it is preferable to take a small loss on government debt that carries almost no risk to the investor, than risk a larger loss on other investments. As both the yen and euro are considered very safe assets, Japanese, German and French bonds were already being held by many investors prior to the pandemic as a hedge against economic downturn. Therefore, with the announcement of fiscal responses to the pandemic by many governments around March 2020, the value of these assets rose as confidence increased (slightly) that the worst case may be avoided. At the same time, yields on bonds with a higher return fell, as investors sought out investments with a higher return that were still considered safe.