Facts & figures - Trade in the UK
The UK is one of the world’s most advanced economies, but what have the various political, economic and social upheavals of the past few years meant for trade?
In May 2023, the UK exported £68.4bn worth of goods, while importing £75bn, resulting in a trade deficit of around £6.6bn, due to an £18.7bn deficit in goods trade offset by a £12.1bn trade surplus in services.
Since 1997, trade has quadrupled, reaching an import high of £80bn in August 2022.
Europe is our largest trading partner, accounting for 56.1% of our imports and 53% of our exports. Asia-Pacific is our next largest market (23.7% import / 18.4% export) followed by the Americas (10.4% import / 17.6% export), Middle East (4.1% import / 5% export) and Africa (2% import / 1.6% export).
Leading export markets
The United States and the Netherlands were the UK’s two biggest market for our exports in 2022.
Leading import partners
In 2022, Germany and China were the UK’s main import partners
What we were exporting in 2022
Precious metals were the most valuable commodity exported 2022, followed by crude oil.
What we were importing in 2022
Cars topped the list of our biggest imports, followed by medicine and pharmaceuticals and gas.
