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.
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.
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 2024 and 2025, as well as medium-term forecasts from 2024 to 2028
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The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the United Kingdom expanded 0.30 percent in the second quarter of 2025 over the previous quarter. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom GDP Growth Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.
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.
In the second quarter of 2025, the quarterly gross domestic product of the United Kingdom was approximately, 705 billion British pounds, compared with around 703 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 652 billion pounds to 522 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.
The United Kingdom's economy grew by 1.1 percent in 2024, after a growth rate of 0.3 percent in 2023, 5.1 percent in 2022, 8.5 percent in 2021, and a record ten percent fall in 2020. During the provided time period, the biggest annual fall in gross domestic product before 2020 occurred in 2009, when the UK economy contracted by 4.6 percent at the height of the global financial crisis of the late 2000s. Before 2021, the year with the highest annual GDP growth rate was 1973, when the UK economy grew by 6.5 percent. UK economy growing but GDP per capita falling In 2022, the UK's GDP per capita amounted to approximately 37,371 pounds, with this falling to 37,028 pounds in 2023, and 36,977 pounds in 2024. While the UK economy as a whole grew during this time, the UK's population grew at a faster rate, resulting in the negative growth in GDP per capita. This suggests the UK economy's struggles with productivity are not only stagnating, but getting worse. The relatively poor economic performance of the UK in recent years has not gone unnoticed by the electorate, with the economy consistently seen as the most important issue for voters since 2022. Recent shocks to UK economy In the second quarter of 2020, the UK economy shrank by a record 20.3 percent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there was a relatively swift economic recovery initially, the economy has struggled to grow much beyond its pre-pandemic size, and was only around 3.1 percent larger in December 2024, when compared with December 2019. Although the labor market has generally been quite resilient during this time, a long twenty-month period between 2021 and 2023 saw prices rise faster than wages, and inflation surge to a high of 11.1 percent in October 2022.
The gross domestic product of the United Kingdom was around 2.56 trillion British pounds, an increase when compared to the previous year, when UK GDP amounted to about 2.54 trillion pounds. The significant drop in GDP visible in 2020 was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the smaller declines in 2008 and 2009 because of the global financial crisis of the late 2000s. Low growth problem in the UK Despite growing by 0.9 percent in 2024, and 0.4 percent in 2023 the UK economy is not that much larger than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since recovering from a huge fall in GDP in the second quarter of 2020, the UK economy has alternated between periods of contraction and low growth, with the UK even in a recession at the end of 2023. While economic growth picked up somewhat in 2024, GDP per capita is lower than it was in 2022, following two years of negative growth. UK's global share of GDP falling As of 2024, the UK had the sixth-largest economy in the world, behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and India. Among European nations, this meant that the UK currently has the second-largest economy in Europe, although the economy of France, Europe's third-largest economy, is of a similar size. The UK's global economic ranking will likely fall in the coming years, however, with the UK's share of global GDP expected to fall from 2.16 percent in 2025 to 2.02 percent by 2029.
As of the second quarter of 2025, the CPIH index in the United Kingdom was ***, indicating that consumer goods and services had increased in price by ** percent when compared with the baseline year of 2015. In June 2025, the CPIH inflation rate was *** percent, unchanged from the previous month. The CPIH index is the consumer price index, which also includes costs related to owning and maintaining a home. Inflation falls to more usual levels in 2024 After reaching a peak of *** percent in October 2022, the CPIH inflation rate fell throughout 2023 and into 2024, eventually falling to a low of *** percent in October 2024. Although the decline in energy inflation led to a significant fall in prices early in the 2023, other aspects of inflation, such as food prices remained high for a longer period. Throughout 2023 inflation in the UK was still quite high across many sectors, indicated by persistently high core inflation (inflation excluding food and energy prices) rates reported that year. UK economy continues to struggle Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK's economic performance has been quite lackluster. Although the economy bounced back from the initial drop in GDP caused by lockdowns, it has alternated between months of low growth and declines in GDP since 2021. In the last two quarters of 2023, the UK economy shrank by *** percent and then by *** percent. As a result, the UK economy officially ended 2023 in a technical recession. While growth picked up in the first half of 2024, there was no growth in the third quarter of the year.
After reaching a peak of 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, the CPI inflation rate in the United Kingdom has fallen considerably, and was 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. In 2025, there is expected to be an uptick in inflation, with prices expected to be increasing by 3.7 percent in the third quarter of 2025, before falling to two percent by the second quarter of 2026. Inflation and the Cost of Living The high inflation experienced by the UK since late 2021 is one of the main factors behind the country's ongoing cost of living crisis. Price surges, in relation to food and energy costs in particular, played havoc with the finances of UK households. At the height of the crisis, around nine out of ten households were experiencing a cost of living increase compared to the previous month. Although inflation has eased since reaching a peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022, and wages are growing in real terms, approximately 59 percent of households were still experiencing rising costs relative to the previous month in March 2025. Economic growth downgraded for 2025 Since 2022, the economy has generally been the main issue for UK voters, seen by 51 percent of people as one of the top three issues facing the country in March 2025. Throughout this time, UK households have struggled through a cost of living crisis, while the wider economy has struggled to achieve consistent growth. Between the first quarter of 2022, the UK economy has alternated between periods of low growth and minor contractions, with the UK even in recession at the end of 2023. While there was a slight uptick in growth in 2024, this momentum appears to have already been lost, with the UK's economic growth forecast for 2025 recently downgraded from two percent to one percent.
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.
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Modular Data Centers Market Size 2024-2028
The global modular data centers market size is forecast to increase by USD 42.56 billion, at a CAGR of 19.8% between 2023 and 2028. The need to streamline traditional data centers is a major factor fueling market growth. Today, companies running single conventional data centers grapple with complex management and soaring capital costs due to sophisticated power and cooling systems. With the current economic recession, businesses are increasingly seeking cost-effective and scalable solutions. Modular data centers, with their standardized, portable designs, provide an ideal alternative that can be quickly deployed. Mobile network operators and colocation providers are among the leading users of these solutions. These modular setups are more environmentally friendly, thanks to their energy-efficient HVAC systems and IT equipment. As big data, AI, cloud computing, 5G, and IoT applications require higher operating temperatures, the flexibility and scalability of modular designs become even more crucial.
What will be the Size of the Market During the Forecast Period?
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Market Segmentation
By End-user
IT and Telecom is the Leading Segment to Dominate the Market
The IT and telecom segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. In the global market, Modular Data Centers hold a significant share, particularly in the IT and telecom sector. These centers are essential for providing the required computing power and storage for various applications and services in the industry. With the rise of cloud computing, the demand for data centers has escalated, as businesses seek to access resources without substantial capital expenditure. The IT and telecom segment was the largest and was valued at USD 4.02 billion in 2018. The influx of data from businesses and individuals necessitates data centers capable of handling vast amounts of information. Recession or not, Modular Data Centers offer scalability and rapid deployment, making them attractive to mobile network providers and data center colocation providers. Green data centers, with their standard design and cooling systems, are increasingly popular due to their energy efficiency. Big data, AI, cloud computing, 5G infrastructure, Internet of things, and cloud-based solutions are driving the market's growth.
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North America Holds a Prominent Position in the Market
North America is estimated to contribute 30% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Technavio's analysts have elaborately explained the regional trends and drivers that shape the market during the forecast period. The Edge computing trend is driving the growth of the market in the US and Canada, particularly in the BFSI industry. Large enterprises are shifting towards energy-efficient data centers to minimize costs and CAPEX, opting for cloud solutions from hyperscale providers like AWS, Microsoft, and Oracle. As of 2021, the US hosts over 2,670 data centers, making it the global leader. Quicksilver Capital and the World Economic Forum highlight the importance of digital transformation in this context. These offer Scalable data centers for large enterprises, enabling them to meet their computing capacity requirements efficiently.
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Market Dynamics and Customer Landscape
They have emerged as a popular solution for businesses seeking scalability and rapid deployment during times of economic uncertainty, such as a recession. These data centers utilize a modular design, allowing for easy expansion and contraction based on demand. Green data centers, which prioritize energy efficiency, are a key focus in the modular data center market. Mobile network providers and large enterprises are major consumers, as they require cloud-based networking and 5G infrastructure to support digital transformation initiatives. The solutions sub-segment and services segment of the modular data center market are expected to grow significantly, as businesses increasingly turn to cloud-based solutions for their data storage and processing needs. The World Economic Forum has the importance of energy-efficient data centers in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the environmental impact of digitalization. Quicksilver Capital and other investors have shown interest in the modular data center market, recognizing its potential for innovation and growth. Overall, the modular data center market is poised for expansion, driven by the need for scalable, energy-efficient, and quickly deployable solutions.
Key Market Driver
Requirement to reduce complexity of traditional data centers is notably driving market growth. In today's business landscape, enterprises operating a single traditional data center face increasing complexi
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.
In the first quarter of 2025, output per hour worked in the United Kingdom was one percent lower than in the base year of 2022, but still higher than in the previous quarter.
In 2023 and through 2024, the world saw inflation rates increase amid, among other things, post-COVID-19 effects and the Russia-Ukraine war. Argentina and Turkey were both plagued by hyperinflation, with over *** and ** percent in 2024, respectively. Except for these, Russia had the highest inflation rate, at nearly ***** percent. On the other hand, China had the lowest rate of the countries included here, at *** percent. Argentinian inflation crisis During the *****, Argentina was struck by extreme levels of inflation, which severely impacted the livelihoods of Argentinians. Specifically, the costs of goods have presented numerous challenges to Argentinian consumers. In Argentina, a basic food basket that costs around ****** Argentinian pesos cost over 100,000 by February 2024. Similarly, a basic consumer goods basket that cost around ****** Argentinian pesos in February 2023 rose to over ******* by February 2024. While these rising costs have been challenging for consumers, Argentina’s inflation rate is expected to decrease beginning in 2024 and is estimated to reach ***% by 2029.
British recession Besides the outliers of Argentina and Turkey, the United Kingdom had a comparatively high CPI rate. As of 2024, the British economy has entered a recession, the only G7 country to do so. Just before the general election held in July 2024, British voters indicated that health, mostly the lack of financial support and staff shortages, as well as the economy was the most important issue to them.
The statistic shows GDP per capita in the United Kingdom from 1987 to 2020, with projections up until 2030. In 2020, GDP per capita in the United Kingdom was at around 40,230.55 US dollars. The same year, the total UK population amounted to about 67.26 million people. The United Kingdom is among the leading countries in a world GDP ranking.Falling unemployment in a time of recessionGDP is a useful indicator when it comes to measuring the state of a nation’s economy. GDP is the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time, usually a year. GDP per capita equals exactly the GDI (gross domestic income) per capita and is not a measure of an individual’s personal income.As can be seen clearly in the statistic, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the United Kingdom is beginning to increase, albeit not to pre-recession levels. The UK is beginning to see signs of an economic recovery, though as of yet it remains unclear what sort of recovery this is. Questions have been raised as to whether the growth being seen is the right sort of growth for a well balanced recovery across the necessary sectors. An interesting oddity occurred in the United Kingdom for nine months in 2012, which saw a decreasing unemployment occurring at the same time as dip in nationwide economic productivity. This seems like good - if not unusual - news, but could be indicative of people entering part-time employment. It could also suggest that labor productivity is falling, meaning that the UK would be less competitive as a nation. The figures continue to rise, however, with an increase in employment in the private sector. With the rate of inflation in the UK impacting everyone’s daily lives, it is becoming increasingly difficult for vulnerable groups to maintain a decent standard of living.
According to projections by a range of economic institutions, the economy of the Euro currency area is forecast to grow by between 0.5 percent and 1.2 percent in 2024. The Eurozone saw slow growth in 2023, when it grew by 0.7 percent - albeit this was significantly better than many economic forecasts which predicted a recession in the EU in that year. Across all the forecasts included, growth is expected to pick up in 2025, when the Eurozone's economy is expected to grow between 1.4 and 1.8 percent.
This statistic shows the national debt of the United Kingdom from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the national debt in the United Kingdom was about 3.91 trillion U.S. dollars. Reduction of the national debt and recovery of the economy in the UK The debt of the United Kingdom, which amounted to around 1,600 billion pounds in 2014 - more than it has ever been - is projected to keep rising. Since the economic recession of 2007-08, economic growth in the United Kingdom has been slow, but it has been able to recover. In 2014, the United Kingdom recorded a 2.8 percent growth rate. Many believe that if the economy is stable, the government will reduce spending and not accrue any more debt, and it can indeed be seen that while government spending continues to increase, the gap between spending and revenue is projected to get smaller. If the government were to earn more than it spends, it could use the money left over to pay the national debt and start to reduce it. However, what is even more important is the size of the debt in relation to the size of the country's economy; if the debt grows slower than the economy, the debt to GDP ratio can still fall, despite a budget deficit. The ratio of government expenditure to GDP indicates that the economy is recovering at a faster rate than government expenditure, with the ratio decreasing significantly over the last decade and the national debt in relation to GDP being expected to decrease further as well - albeit slowly. This should help relieve concerns over the United Kingdom’s mounting debt, but for some debt reduction is just not fast enough.
With a Gross Domestic Product of over 4.3 trillion Euros, the German economy was by far the largest in Europe in 2024. The similarly sized economies of the United Kingdom and France were the second and third largest economies in Europe during this year, followed by Italy and Spain. The smallest economy in this statistic is that of the small Balkan nation of Montenegro, which had a GDP of 7.4 billion Euros. In this year, the combined GDP of the 27 member states that compose the European Union amounted to approximately 17.95 trillion Euros. The big five Germany’s economy has consistently had the largest economy in Europe since 1980, even before the reunification of West and East Germany. The United Kingdom, by contrast, has had mixed fortunes during the same period and had a smaller economy than Italy in the late 1980s. The UK also suffered more than the other major economies during the recession of the late 2000s, meaning the French economy was the second largest on the continent for some time afterward. The Spanish economy was continually the fifth-largest in Europe in this 38-year period, and from 2004 onwards, has been worth more than one trillion Euros. The smallest GDP, the highest economic growth in Europe Despite having the smallerst GDP of Europe, Montenegro emerged as the fastest growing economy in the continent, achieving an impressive annual growth rate of 4.5 percent, surpassing Turkey's growth rate of 4 percent. Overall,this Balkan nation has shown a remarkable economic recovery since the 2010 financial crisis, with its GDP projected to grow by 28.71 percent between 2024 and 2029. Contributing to this positive trend are successful tourism seasons in recent years, along with increased private consumption and rising imports. Europe's economic stagnation Malta, Albania, Iceland, and Croatia were among the countries reporting some of the highest growth rates this year. However, Europe's overall performance reflected a general slowdown in growth compared to the trend seen in 2021, during the post-pandemic recovery. Estonia experienced the sharpest negative growth in 2023, with its economy shrinking by 2.3% compared to 2022, primarily due to the negative impact of sanctions placed on its large neighbor, Russia. Other nations, including Sweden, Germany, and Finland, also recorded slight negative growth.
In 2023, South Asia recorded the highest real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the Asia-Pacific region at seven percent, at least 2.7 percentage points higher than other subregions. East Asia reported a real GDP growth rate of about 4.3 percent, while Southeast Asia's real GDP growth rate was around 4.1 percent that year. In 2025, South Asia was forecasted to remain the subregion with the highest real GDP growth rate at six percent, while Southeast Asia was projected to rank second at around 4.7 percent.
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.