GDP reading: GDP contracted by 0.1% month-on-month in April 2026, in line with expectations, following a 0.3% expansion in March....
Economic Growth in United Kingdom
The United Kingdom's GDP growth over the last decade was impacted by Brexit uncertainties and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brexit referendum in 2016 introduced prolonged economic uncertainty, affecting investment and growth. The pandemic caused a historic contraction in 2020, followed by recovery. However, the UK economy is growing more slowly than in pre-Brexit years, dampened by trade frictions with the EU plus soft economic growth in mainland Europe.
In the year 2024, the economic growth in United Kingdom was 1.10%, compared to 3.19% in 2014 and 0.40% in 2023. It averaged 1.60% over the last decade. For more GDP information, visit our dedicated page.
United Kingdom GDP Chart
Note: This chart displays Economic Growth (GDP, annual variation in %) for United Kingdom from 2014 to 2025.
Source: Macrobond.
United Kingdom GDP Data
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) | 8.5 | 5.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.4 |
| GDP (USD bn) | 3,195 | 3,180 | 3,421 | 3,693 | 4,002 |
| GDP (GBP bn) | 2,323 | 2,581 | 2,752 | 2,891 | 3,037 |
| Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) | 9.3 | 11.1 | 6.6 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
GDP falls in April
GDP reading: GDP contracted by 0.1% month-on-month in April 2026, in line with expectations, following a 0.3% expansion in March. This marked the first contraction since August last year. Q1 has typically been a strong quarter in recent years, so some payback in April was always on the cards.
Drivers: Services declined in April, while industrial output was flat and construction grew slightly.
Panelist insight: On the outlook, Berenberg analysts said: “We doubt that the economy will sustain its early-2026 momentum. Although household finances are in good shape, a decline in real household disposable income caused by CPI inflation overtaking slowing pay growth should result in a weak patch for consumer demand. Amid a drop in consumer confidence owing to higher petrol prices, mortgage rates and a tough jobs market, we doubt households will use their savings to increase consumption regardless.”
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects British GDP projections for the next ten years from a panel of 63 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable GDP forecast available for British GDP.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our British GDP projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of British GDP forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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